Through fossilized tooth enamel, scientists are reconstructing the diets and landscapes that existed millions of years ago. We really are what we eat.
Articles on Human history
Displaying 1 - 20 of 36 articles
New research shows a tradition of smoke-drying human remains persisted for thousands of years across southern Asia and beyond – even into the modern day.
It’s the first evidence that early humans made a formidable sea crossing from the mainland to Sulawesi at least 1 million years ago.
The balance of different varieties of atoms inside a person’s teeth can reveal a week-by-week record of rainfall and protein consumption during their infancy.
A fossil face reveals that a prehistoric human species reached Western Europe much earlier than anybody thought.
A photo of Lucy’s reconstructed skeleton next to a live four-year-old girl shows how human Lucy was – and how small.
Even before writing was invented, oral stories had to be constantly told and retold to be passed down through hundreds of generations.
At the heart of the Maya civilisation were sacred sites where ritual sacrifices took place. A new DNA analysis reveals more about this practice and Maya genetic legacy.
Understanding how humans came to exert such enormous pressure on Earth’s ecosystems can inform more sustainable ways of living.
New research reveals signs of ancient human habitation in a vast cave beneath the Arabian desert. It may have been used as a waystation by Stone Age herders travelling from one oasis to another.
After sifting through DNA from almost 10,000 people from ancient and pre-modern societies, we have discovered six cases of Down syndrome in past human populations.
Our new study reveals a mosaic of habitable landscapes – now submerged by the ocean – once supported up to 500,000 people living in Australia’s northwest.
The findings reveal a close association between climatic conditions and early human migrations out of Africa.
In the largest study of its kind, researchers have used DNA from a 6,700-year-old cemetery in France to reconstruct the lives of everyday Neolithic people.
A scholar of religion who is writing a book on sacred drugs explains how today’s ‘psychedelic renaissance’ reflects a millennia-long history of using intoxicants to seek insight and connection.
DNA analysis sheds light on important societies within Africa that existed before colonialism.
45,000 years ago, people first started arriving in what’s known as Europe today. We thought a worsening ice age made them disappear – but it seems some lineages survived.
The findings suggest we weren’t the first advanced carnivore among the hominins, as has been previously assumed.
A new analysis of deep soil sediments accumulated in the mangroves of Pohnpei and Kosrae islands reveals a potentially different history of human arrival in this oceanic region.
The UN estimates the global population will pass 8 billion people on Nov. 15, 2022. From the Stone Age to today, here’s how things spiraled out of control.
Top contributors
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Mathematician and Ancient DNA Researcher, Adelaide University
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Associate Professor of Archaeology, Griffith University
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Professor in the Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution & Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research, Griffith University
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Professor of Archaeological Science, Griffith University
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Honorary Associate Professor, UNSW
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Director, ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage (CABAH), University of Wollongong
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Professor of Archaeology, Griffith University
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Director, Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University
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Professor in Geochronology and Geochemistry, Southern Cross University
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Sir John Monash Distinguished Professor, Monash University. Deputy Director ARC Centre of Excellence for Indigenous and Environmental Histories and Futures, Monash University
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Lecturer, Deakin University
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Principal Research Associate, UCL
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Research fellow, Griffith University
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Lecturer, School of Dentistry and Medical Sciences, Charles Sturt University
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Professor with Research Focus in Stone Age Archaeology, Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg