john hawks weblog

paleoanthropology, genetics and evolution

Top archaeology stories of 2005

I mentioned last month that the January issue of Discover had a list of the top 100 science stories of 2005 along with a short writeup about each. Now the magazine has put all the archaeology-related stories online for free.

They include the Mexican footprints (are they or aren't they?), the use of multispectral imaging to read faded papyri, the attempts to decode Incan khipus (knot patterns), the discovery of ancient Thracian goldwork, an artifact-looting bust, and of course the continuing Homo floresiensis carnival.

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Low-velocity spatter from the Neandertal palette

A discovery of red ochre use by ancient Europeans before 250,000 years ago

Orangutan loris capture and meat-eating

A discussion of early hominin meat-eating emerges from observations of orangutan hunting

The thrifty brainotype

Were brains constrained by information efficiency, or energy efficiency?

Aleut origins and relationships

A news article covers research into the history of Aleut populations.

Public interests in data from federally funded research

My response to a federal Request for Information on the topic of digital data access to federally funded research

Stature estimates for Sima de los Huesos

The long bones of the Atapuerca people double our information about early human statures

Looking over a Neandertal's shoulder

A study of the glenoid fossa finds a pattern across the genus Homo, and similarities between a Vindija specimen and more recent humans

Best practices and tips for Twitter in the higher-ed classroom

Thinking about integrating Twitter in your class communication strategy? Here are some pointers.

James F. Crow, 1916-2012

In memory of a friend and colleague, one of the most prominent figures in the history of genetics

Schools of fish, schools of thought

A paper on decision making in groups of animals prompts me to think about science.

Is humanistic research a waste of time?

A scholar tries to quantify the value of humanistic research.

Neandertal introgression, 1000 Genomes style

We're quantifying the amount of Neandertal ancestry in whole genome data from living people.

"Transformative" research can't come from milquetoast

Grant agencies should set transformative objectives, not set aside money for transformative research

Pigmentation of archaic humans: introduction

I describe the outline of our project on the pigmentation genetics of the Neandertal and Denisova genomes

When anthropological and geological facts collide

Weidenreich's introduction to the Sinanthropus cranial monograph illuminates some issues I'm facing with ancient genomes.

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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.