June 2012 Archeology - Early Humans

[Aisling]

Data mining courtesy of: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Explorator/messages

On dental plaque (mostly) and Neanderthal diet:
http://phys.org/news/2012-05-dental-calculus-clues-ancient-human.html

Not sure where to put this Neanderthal teeth ‘forgery’ defense story:
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120530/letters/My-father-was-no-forger.422000

[Aisling]

 
Data mining courtesy of: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Explorator/messages

On purported animation effects (!) in cave art:
http://news.discovery.com/history/prehistoric-movies-120608.html

Spanish scientists are accused of misdating bones:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/jun/10/fossil-dating-row-sima-huesos-spain

More voices for the ‘Out of Asia’ theory:
http://phys.org/news/2012-06-evidence-asia-africa-source-earliest.html

On infectious disease and human origins:
http://phys.org/news/2012-06-infectious-disease-human.html

They’ve figured out how tall Homo heidelbergensis was:
http://www.sci-news.com/othersciences/anthropology/article00369.html

Why humans beat out the Neanderthal types:
http://news.discovery.com/history/humans-neanderthals-120605.html

Not sure if we mentioned this feature on the Shanidar caves:
http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/hominids/2012/05/human-evolution-discoveries-in-iraq/

[Aisling]

Data mining courtesy of: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Explorator/messages

Cave paintings in Spain are associated with the Neanderthals now:
http://www.npr.org/2012/06/15/155110484/neanderthals-the-oldest-cave-painters

On homo heidelbergensis being an ‘early’ Neanderthal:
http://phys.org/news/2012-06-largest-group-fossil-humans-neanderthals.html

What the bonobo genome says about chimps, humans, and bonobos:
http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2012/06/bonobo-genome-hints-at-common.html

Feature on Louis Leakey:
http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/hominids/2012/06/louis-leakey-the-father-of-hominid-hunting/

Theory about a plague wiping out almost every human/protohuman (not sure about this one):
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2154882/Was-huge-prehistoric-plague-killed-5-000-pre-humans-key-let-man-defeat-Neanderthals.html

More on dogs and early human success v. Neanderthals:
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/05/humanitys-best-friend-how-dogs-may-have-helped-humans-beat-the-neanderthals/257145/

… and more on cave paintings as early versions of cartoons:
http://www.npr.org/2012/06/16/155169614/a-flicker-of-inspiration-brings-cave-drawings-to-life

[Aisling]

Data mining courtesy of: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Explorator/messages

Something about a major volcanic eruption that somehow affected Neanderthals:
http://phys.org/news/2012-06-italian-super-eruption-larger-thought.html

Theory that Homo erectus lived in ‘baboon-like’ societies:
http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/hominids/2012/06/why-homo-erectus-lived-like-a-baboon/

More on Neanderthal cave paintings in Spain:
http://news.sky.com/home/article/16247537