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When Did Humans Start Talking? Genomic Evidence Pushes Language Back to 135,000 Years Ago

Anthropology.net

Traditionally, scholars have debated linguistic origins based on indirect clues—symbolic artifacts, brain size, or the complexity of tool-making. Fossils do not speak, and ancient DNA does not carry recordings of conversations. 1 Miyagawa, S., DeSalle, R., Nóbrega, V. Nitschke, R., Okumura, M., & Tattersall, I.

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The Geometry of Memory: How Knots Carry the Weight of Human History

Anthropology.net

Many knotted artifacts remain tucked away in storage, undocumented and undigitized. link] — Explores cultural phylogenetics through folk narratives, analogous to the methods applied to knot histories. The ties that bind: Computational, cross-cultural analyses of knots reveal their cultural evolutionary history and significance.

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Ancient Meteors and Early Iron: How Space Rocks Became Everyday Tools in Iron Age Poland

Anthropology.net

Recent analysis of artifacts from two Lusatian Culture cemeteries suggests that early metallurgists were not only working with iron from terrestrial sources but also incorporating metal from ataxite meteorites—an extremely rare form of nickel-rich iron that originates in space. Pin fragment (E) from Częstochowa-Mirów (4).

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A Forgotten Chapter in Human Evolution: The Hidden Ancestry of Modern Humans

Anthropology.net

Rather than a single lineage evolving smoothly over time, the evidence suggests a history of separation and recombination," says Cousins. This approach circumvents the need for physical fossils, offering a way to reconstruct population history even when no bones or artifacts remain. Nat Genet (2025). Reich, D.,

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The Mythological Tapestry of Humanity: Unraveling Ancient Stories through Genes and Geography

Anthropology.net

Yet, could these stories also encode the history of humanity’s migrations and interactions? “Our results reveal that correlations between mythemes and genetic patterns can be traced back to population movements that pre-date the Last Glacial Maximum,” the authors write, situating storytelling at the core of human history.

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Echoes from the Ice Age: DNA Unveils the Prehistoric Inhabitants of El Mirón Cave

Anthropology.net

For centuries, the study of prehistoric life has relied on the fragile remnants of bones and artifacts. Credit: Nature Communications (2025). ” Implications for Archaeology and Genetics A New Era in Prehistoric Research The ability to extract DNA from sediments is revolutionizing the study of human and animal history.

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East Meets West: Avar Society’s Genetic Patchwork in Early Medieval Austria

Anthropology.net

The graves, filled with artifacts like ornate belt fittings and everyday items, reflected a shared culture. It exemplifies how ancient populations balanced coexistence and diversity, paving the way for future exploration of genetic and cultural intersections in human history. But ancient DNA analysis told a different story.