How to make sense of a skull Imagine this scenario: you are handed a skull. That’s all you’ve got, no other information. The skull is only partial, but it’s relatively large, approximately the size of a human skull. But it’s strange, it doesn’t look like any human skull you’ve ever seen. You examine its shape and notice it…
Who were the Neanderthals, and how were they related to humans? These are questions that have plagued paleoanthropologists since the first Neanderthal fossil was found over a century and a half ago. On July 11, 1997 a very important paper appeared in the journal Cell that shed light on this issue. It was titled “Neanderthal…
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…
Many hominin species have been named throughout history. Whether it’s a name that sticks–like Australopithecus africanus, or one that fades–like Homo gardarensis, new names carry interesting meanings and stories. Out of all the hominin species names throughout history, I find one especially interesting. In my opinion, the first new hominin species that was named, Homo neanderthalensis, is also the coolest.…
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…
Charles Lyell is an iconic geologist. From popularizing the idea of uniformitarianism to influencing scientists like Charles Darwin, Lyell’s list of accomplishments is quite long. But one aspect of his career is often overlooked–his involvment with hominin fossils! Little known fact: Lyell was responsible for bringing knowledge of the original Neanderthal fossil to London? The Neanderthal in Germany: 1856 Lyell entered…
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…
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 