It’s only March (on a related note–how is it already March?!), and already a TON has happened in paleoanthropology this year. So far in 2016, we’ve seen announcements on everything from teeth to DNA. I thought I’d recap some of the big finds, but as always, I have to include the disclaimer that these announcements are…
I find history to be fascinating. The stories of fossil discoveries, ah-ha moments, and conflict fuel me. But are these stories helpful? Does historical knowledge help move us forward? Or are the stories just that, stories? I often think about the ways history can contribute to science. Though I could come up with numerous reasons why awareness…
Neanderthals are arguably the most well known hominin species (other than our own) that have ever existed. Thanks to their European inhabitance and widespread burial practices, paleoanthropologists have tons of Neanderthal individuals to study and make sense of. Interestingly, in addition to being the most well known, Neanderthals were also the first non human hominin species to…
Boule and the Old Man One day in early August, 1908, a pickaxe struck the side of a remarkable skull. Further digging revealed a relatively completely skeleton of Neanderthal, curled up in a fossilized fetal position. The find occurred near the town to La Chapelle-aux-Saints in France, and was soon sent to the French paleontologist…
Bones Hanging from Tongues At a 1835 scientific society meeting, an amusing scene erupted between two scientists who were arguing over the alleged age of bones. William Buckland reportedly gave an entire lecture with the bone of a cave bear hanging from his tongue. Subsequently, another scientist (Philip Schmerling) was humiliated in front of the audience when he could not do the…
In celebration of 2014 coming to a close, I’ve compiled a list of my favorite 2014 Neandertal finds!
I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about George Busk. He was a surgeon and paleontologist who lived in London in the nineteenth century (at the same time as Darwin) and he studied everything from sea moss to cave bears–even human skulls. Over the past few years, I’ve sifted through dozens of Busk’s old notebooks,…
Fossil History 