neanderthals

If you walk through the woods and pass a beehive, you may catch the sweet scent of honey in the wind and suddenly be flooded with memories: having tea with grandma or eating warm biscuits on a Sunday morning.If you were taking that walk 300,000 years ago with a Denisovan – a now-extinct hominid closely related to Homo sapiens and first discovered in 2010 – by the time you smelled the honey, your companion might have already been climbing the tree for a sugary treat.That's because Denisovans appear to have been especially…

Cut marks on the heel bone of a male straight-tusked elephant, which was about 50 years old when it died.Photo: Wil Roebroeks, Leiden UniversityHistorical finds of elephant remains alongside stone tools have long prompted speculation among researchers that early humans or other hominin species may have relied on the massive mammals for food.Now, a team of researchers has determined that Neanderthals in Europe were taking down elephants and methodically butchering them, yielding food stores that would have lasted…

On the muddy shores of a lake in east-central Germany, Neanderthals gathered some 125,000 years ago to butcher massive elephants. With sharp stone tools, they harvested up to 4 tons of flesh from each animal, according to a new study that is casting these ancient human relatives in a new light. The degree of organization required to carry out the butchery—and the sheer quantity of food it provided—suggests Neanderthals could form much larger social groups than…

Neanderthals hunted and butchered huge elephants, according to a new study. This photo shows deep cut marks on the heel bone of a male elephant. Neanderthals may have lived in larger groups than previously believed, hunting massive elephants that were up to three times bigger than those of today, according to a new study. The…

Three of the seven premolars belonging to Homo antecessor analyzed in this study. Credit: Laura Martín-Francés The Dental Anthropology Group of the Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH) has participated in a paper published in the American Journal of Biological Anthropology on the dental remains of Homo antecessor, the species recovered from level TD6 of the Gran Dolina site (Atapuerca, Burgos),…

India’s highest telescope has captured a stunning image of the Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) which was last seen around 50000 years ago. India's Himalayan Chandra Telescope has added a feather in its cap by capturing a stunning image of the Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) which is expected to come close to Earth next month. Comets are of interest to scientists because they are remnants of the early Solar System, and can tell us about the conditions and composition of the early Solar System. When a comet approaches the Sun, the heat…

A comet which was last seen by Neanderthals could make another trip to Earth next month. If you are a fan of watching comets, there is some exciting news for you. A comet which was last seen by Neanderthals is all set to pass Earth this year. Comets are cosmic snowballs of frozen gases, rock and dust roughly the size of a small town. A comet also orbits the Sun, but unlike an asteroid, it's mostly composed of ice and dust. When a comet gets close to the Sun, its ice and dust content start to vaporize. So, when seen…

NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day is a stunning image of a comet which is set to pass Earth closely next month. Comets are cosmic snowballs of frozen gases, rock and dust roughly the size of a small town. A comet also orbits the Sun, but unlike an asteroid, it's mostly composed of ice and dust. When a comet gets close to the Sun, its ice and dust content start to vaporize. So, when seen in a telescope, a comet appears fuzzy and has a tail. So, if you're an avid comet watcher, there is exciting news for you. A comet…

Neanderthal reproduction in Trento Museum of Natural History. Credit: Luca Lorenzelli/Shutterstock In evolutionary terms, the human population has rocketed in seconds. The news that it has now reached 8 billion seems inexplicable when you think about our history. For 99% of the last million years of our existence, people rarely came…

A first molar from a Neanderthal, which was analyzed for this study. Credit: © Lourdes MontesFor the first time, zinc isotope ratios in tooth enamel have been analyzed with the aim of identifying the diet of a Neanderthal.The Neanderthal to whom the tooth belonged was probably a carnivore.Other chemical tracers indicate that this individual did not consume the blood of their prey, but ate the bone marrow without consuming the bones.For the first time, a new study has used zinc isotope analysis to determine the position of…