Genetic mutation in key enzyme may explain why humans survived while Neanderthals went extinct
A minor genetic difference in one of the enzymes may have helped separate modern humans from Neanderthals and Denisovans, our closest extinct relatives, and may have even contributed to the fact that Homo sapiens thrived while the others became extinct..
Genetic mutation in key enzyme may explain why humans survived while Neanderthals went extinct
A minor genetic difference in one of the enzymes may have helped separate modern humans from Neanderthals and Denisovans, our closest extinct relatives, and may have even contributed to the fact that Homo sapiens thrived while the others became extinct. These are the findings of a new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), led by researchers at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) in Japan and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany...
43,000-year-old Neanderthal fingerprint discovered on stone is the world’s oldest
In a discovery from the San Lázaro rock shelter in central Spain, near Segovia, archaeologists have unearthed what is thought to be the earliest known human fingerprint, challenging long-standing assumptions about Neanderthals’ symbolic and artistic capabilities...
43,000-year-old Neanderthal fingerprint discovered on stone is the world’s oldest
In a discovery from the San Lázaro rock shelter in central Spain, near Segovia, archaeologists have unearthed what is thought to be the earliest known human fingerprint, challenging long-standing assumptions about Neanderthals’ symbolic and artistic capabilities. The find—an ocher-stained granite pebble with a well-defined fingerprint and arranged facial features—reveals an intentional attempt at symbolic expression some 43,000 years ago...
Kindred Neanderthal Life, Love, Death and Art by Rebecca Wragg Sykes
Much of what defines us was also in Neanderthals, and their DNA is still inside us. Planning, co-operation, altruism, craftsmanship, aesthetic sense, imagination, perhaps even a desire for transcendence beyond mortality. Kindred does for Neanderthals what Sapiens did for us, revealing a deeper, more nuanced story where humanity itself is our ancient, shared inheritance.
** WINNER OF THE PEN HESSELL-TILTMAN PRIZE 2021 **'Beautiful, evocative, authoritative.' Professor Brian Cox'Important reading not just for anyone interested in these ancient cousins of ours, but also for anyone interested in humanity.' Yuval Noah HarariKindred is the definitive guide to the Neanderthals. Since their discovery more than 160 years ago, Neanderthals have metamorphosed from the losers of the human family tree to A-list hominins.
Rebecca Wragg Sykes uses her experience at the cutting edge of Palaeolithic research to share our new understanding of Neanderthals, shoving aside clichés of rag-clad brutes in an icy wasteland. She reveals them to be curious, clever connoisseurs of their world, technologically inventive and ecologically adaptable. Above all, they were successful survivors for more than 300,000 years, during times of massive climatic upheaval.