john hawks weblog

paleoanthropology, genetics and evolution

New bonobo reserve set aside in Congo

Tue, 2007-11-20 12:06 -- John Hawks

Good news for bonobos:

Congo has announced the establishment of a rain-forest preserve intended to shield the bonobo, one of human beings' two closest ape relations, from wildlife poachers and deforestation.

The Sankuru Nature Reserve -- at 11,803 square miles, it is larger than the state of Massachusetts -- is being created through a partnership involving American and Congolese conservation groups and government agencies.

Neandertals

For years, I've worked on their bones. Now I'm working on their genes. Read more about the science studying these ancient people.

Denisova

From a finger bone of an ancient human came the record of a completely unexpected population. My lab is working on the science of the Denisova genome.

Acceleration

The advent of agriculture caused natural selection to speed up greatly in humans. We're uncovering some of the ways that populations have rapidly changed during the last 10,000 years.

Malapa

Just outside Johannesburg, the Malapa site is producing some of the most exciting finds in human evolution. This site is the headquarters of the Malapa Soft Tissue Project.