Adventure Ausrama Blog

 A new study on Neanderthal dietary practices has just been published in the journal PNAS by researchers from the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and several German scientific institutions. They were able to determine that a Neanderthal who lived in a cave on the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Paleolithic period (50,000 years ago) ate exclusively carnivorous food using a newly developed method for studying the chemical signatures of ancient tooth enamel. This isn't the first study to find this, either. Despite this, it is a one-of-a-kind and significant discovery because it was made through the development of a novel analytical method that could be used to learn more about the diet and way of life of Neanderthals who lived in other parts of Eurasia in the distant past.   To investigate the diet and eating habits of Neanderthals, numerous research projects have been initiated. However, they have resulted in contradictory outcomes. The CNRS researchers...

 The Human Evolution gallery at Natural History explores the origins of Homo sapiens by tracing our lineage back to when it separated from that of our closest living relatives, the bonobos and chimpanzees. Around 200,000 years ago, Africa was where modern humans developed. They have smaller faces and brow ridges, a chin that is more prominent than that of other ancient humans, and a brain case that is higher and more rounded. Modern human fossils from Israel (around 100,000 years old), Africa (around 195,000 years old), and Australia (around 12,000 years old) are among the casts on display. These fossils demonstrate that typical characteristics of modern humans evolved over time rather than emerging fully formed from Africa. They also suggest that at least two waves of people leaving Africa may have occurred, one about 100,000 years ago and the other about 60,000 years ago. We are all descendants of those who left during that second migration wave outside of Africa. Source: Natural...

 According to a new study, the first farmers from Central Europe used milk around 7,400 years ago in the early Neolithic era. This helped humans learn how to eat milk and laid the groundwork for the dairy industry. A ground-breaking method was used in the international study, which was led by the University of Bristol and was published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). It was used to date dairy fat traces that were preserved in the walls of pottery vessels that were made in the 54th century BC. Because it targets fatty acids from animal fat residues, this method is especially useful for determining when new foodstuffs were introduced in prehistoric times. Dr. Emmanuelle Casanova, the lead author, said, "It is amazing to be able to accurately date the very beginning of milk exploitation by humans in prehistoric times." She conducted the research while completing her Ph.D. in archaeological chemistry at the University of Bristol. By introducin...

It is said that ancient humans settled down because they wanted to turn grain  (they did not use barley then)  into beer. This is unlikely: How did they know how to make beer before they had the bread and learned how yeast worked? Note that the original beer did not have hops. This beer was not that fizzy. it was like a soup. The euphoric feeling you get from drinking alcohol led to it being included in ritual and worship of prehistoric people. Moreover, we all know how imbibing improves social interaction. Ancient societies liked it so much that it became embedded in their culture. Identifying when the first beer was made is difficult. The remains of prehistoric malted grain can be identified by thinning of aleurone cell walls Grains from five sites were obtained. Researchers simulated the preservation process of ancient beer. They malted barley grain by charring. This was compared with the ancient grains. Findings were evaluated for more than a year. Fin...

It is said that ancient humans settled down because they wanted to turn grain  (they did not use barley then)  into beer. This is unlikely: How did they know how to make beer before they had the bread and learned how yeast worked? Note that the original beer did not have hops. This beer was not that fizzy. it was like a soup. The euphoric feeling you get from drinking alcohol led to it being included in ritual and worship of prehistoric people. Moreover, we all know how imbibing improves social interaction. Ancient societies liked it so much that it became embedded in their culture. Identifying when the first beer was made is difficult. The remains of prehistoric malted grain can be identified by thinning of aleurone cell walls Grains from five sites were obtained. Researchers simulated the preservation process of ancient beer. They malted barley grain by charring. This was compared with the ancient grains. Findings were evaluated for more than a year. Fin...

Until recently the earliest language pathway was believed to have originated 5 million years ago. However, it seems that the auditory system was evolving toward language in nonhuman primates 25 million years ago. This conclusion was reached after brain scans of humans, apes and monkeys. The auditory system found in other primates is an evolutionary forerunner of the human language pathway. Therefore, there is a clear evolutionary path toward auditory cognition and vocal communication. Language capability is nascent in nonhuman primates. Proof of early language development was there all the time but was never understood before. Analysis of the human brain shows a strong structure on the left side of the language pathway. The right side has changed from what it was in other primates: it has diverged into non-auditory parts of the brain. It is now believed that the path to language capability began more than 25 million years, probably in preprimate animals. Brain scans of n...

The research shows that super-archaic humans migrated from Africa to Eurasia two million years ago (note: Homo erectus is classed as human) . There is nothing special about them. Super-archaic is just a name given to them. Hominins are the line that resulted in us, from the time when the divergence from chimpanzee and bonobo occurred. Super-archaics had a long time out of Africa alone. Well we think that is the case. Much later, between 400,000 and 300,000 years ago another ancient human moved from Africa. Those who went to Europe evolved into Neanderthals, while those moving into Asia became Denisovans. Our ancestors who remained in Africa became Homo sapiens, us. There is a lot of debate and disagreement about when we left Africa. Theories range from 200,000 years ago or even earlier to 60,000 before the present. But it is thought that the early leavers died out - not yet fully proven. When Homo-sapiens met Neanderthals and Denisovans interbreeding took place. However...