It almost goes without saying, but 2016 has been a tough year. However, we did learn a lot in the realm of paleoanthropology this year (as we do every year)! And because focusing on the positive is a good coping strategy, I think a look back the incredible science announced this year is in order. Last…
Summer is coming to a close, giving us a great excuse to reflect on the incredible announcements that have been recently made in paleoanthropology. From footprints to new fossils, these discoveries have definitely altered the ways I think about many hominin species, so I’m counting down my favorites. This time, I polled a bunch of you…
In 1887, a Dutch physician named Eugene Dubois set sail halfway around the world to look for the missing link. A fossilized link between humans an apes, which would prove once and for all that humans evolved. The only thing crazier than this mission was the fact that the physician actually found what he was looking for (sort of). For…
Revisiting the Trinil Femur As a historian of science, a paper in the March 2015 issue of the Journal of Human Evolution recently caught my eye. The study reexamined the Trinil femur discovered by Eugene Dubois in 1892, using computed tomography to reconstruct the bone and compare it to other Homo femurs. This application of new tools to fossils that have been studied since…
A Jaw, Eagle Beads, & More! To say that March was an interesting month for paleoanthropology would be a colossal understatement. March publications suggested revisions to the Homo genus, argued that Neandertals were skilled jewelry makers, and explored body diversity in hominins. But while you’re still digesting from the Ledi Jaw and the Kenyan pelvis, I’m…
Fossil History 