Neanderthals: Gut stubborn
Some useful human microorganisms have long, long histories.
Humans and Neanderthals could have more in common than just DNA – we also might share the microorganisms in our gut. ...
Anthropology
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Rainfall in a nutshell
Scraps of meals yield millennia-long history of Top End climate.
Across the world, it’s what humans and other organisms have left behind that’s advanced our understanding of the Eart...
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Anthropocene: Lessons from the past
Could Indigenous wisdom help us create a “good Anthropocene”?
The Anthropocene marks relentless and increasingly grave environmental degradation as the Earth faces tipping points ...
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Venus figurines: Shaped for the times
Researchers offer new theory on Venus figurines.
The enigmatic Venus figurines, one of world's earliest known examples of art, are the subject of much conjecture. ...
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History
Franz Boas takes a new look at race
Maverick anthropologist changed our view of humanity.
Franz Uri Boas has been described as “the father of the field” of anthropology (The Atlantic), the professor who “pio...
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Clues to cultivation in the Torres Strait
Study sheds new light on old horticultural practices.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people had a history of skilfully resourcing food and managing the land long be...
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Ancient artisans made a projectile point
Independent invention across continents revealed.
Neolithic toolmakers in southern Arabia created intricate stone weapons designed both to be useful and to showcase th...
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More pieces to the Polynesian puzzle
Studies support influence of Native Americans.
Native Americans had a genetic and cultural influence on Polynesia more than five centuries before the arrival of Eur...
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How African ancestors moved and mingled
DNA reveals population dynamics of foragers, herders and farmers.
Revelations about Africa’s past just got more colourful as ancient DNA analysis shows historical population interacti...
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Western Asia connected before rise of cities
Genomic analysis reveals early human movement.
High levels of human movement in parts of Western Asia – which includes the modern-day Middle East – led to a more ge...
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Society structure impacts innovation
Study finds fewer interactions, not more, fuel cultural evolution.
Over time, evolution has endowed humans with bigger, better brains, but a study of Agta hunter-gatherers in the Phili...
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Sign language grew from five lineages
Scientists merge linguistics with evolutionary biology.
Delving into centuries-old manuscripts depicting dozens of sign language alphabets, scientists have identified five p...