Reprieve
A discussion of research, controversy and silliness in the field of human evolution
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EvoAnth
http://evoanth.wordpress.com/
A discussion of the latest research into human origins.
LATEST ARTICLES ( 510 )
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Researchers Have Been Underestimating Human Brain Size
One of the most impressive things about humans is our brain size. And now our noggin is about to get even more impressive. It turns out we've been... Read more
Posted on 28 April 2016 BIOLOGY, SCIENCE -
What Makes Technology Evolve? Not Population Size
Around 100,000 years ago our ancestors began developing a set of new technology called the "Upper Palaeolithic". It took Neanderthals millennia to catch up. By... Read more
Posted on 26 April 2016 BIOLOGY, SCIENCE -
Religious Acceptance of Evolution Due to Dogma, Not Understanding
Evolution is one of the most important scientific ideas ever. It helps helps make sense of the entirety of biology. Unfortunately, many still reject this crucia... Read more
Posted on 25 April 2016 BIOLOGY, SCIENCE -
Cooking Didn’t Help Our Big Brains Evolve
What makes humans special? Whichever attribute you pick is probably made possible by our big brains. However, these brains aren't all benefits and sunshine.... Read more
Posted on 21 April 2016 BIOLOGY, SCIENCE -
Neanderthals Stole Human Technology
The Neanderthals were closely related to us. Despite this, they just couldn't produce technology as good as ours. Until they met us, that is. Once humans arrive... Read more
Posted on 19 April 2016 BIOLOGY, SCIENCE -
Intelligent Design Survey Shows Evolution Erodes Morals; but the Results Are...
The intelligent design movement tries to argue that the origin of species is best explained by the intervention of an intelligent designer. One of their... Read more
Posted on 18 April 2016 BIOLOGY, SCIENCE -
Parasite Alters Chimp Behaviour; Makes Them “morbidly” Attracted to Leopards
The Toxoplasma parasite lives in cats; but can infect humans. If we get infected this parasite can actually change our behaviour. It can increase aggression,... Read more
Posted on 16 April 2016 BIOLOGY, SCIENCE -
The Large Human Body May Have Evolved by Accident
There are many unique things about the human body. We've got a large brain, move around upright, and are relatively hairless. Our body is also pretty big. In... Read more
Posted on 14 April 2016 BIOLOGY, SCIENCE -
How Did Humans and Neanderthals Stay Separate Species?
In the not too distant past there were several species of human, all living side by side. Humans, Neanderthals and Denisovans happily co-existed for several... Read more
Posted on 13 April 2016 BIOLOGY, SCIENCE -
Pre-human Burial by Homo Naledi Challenged
In 2015 palaeoanthropologists discovered what might be the oldest burial ever. A 2 milllion year old human relative carried its dead deep into a cave; disposin... Read more
Posted on 12 April 2016 BIOLOGY, SCIENCE -
Study Reveals Evolutionary Displays Cause Misunderstandings
The tree of life shows how all living things are related. This makes it one of the most important scientific diagrams ever. It's also one of the best ways to... Read more
Posted on 11 April 2016 BIOLOGY, SCIENCE -
Diet Influenced the Shape of Neanderthals’ Body?
Neanderthals were our closest living relatives. At least, until they went extinct. However, despite being so closely related to humans there were still some... Read more
Posted on 05 April 2016 BIOLOGY, SCIENCE -
Students Who Reject Evolution Have Worse Understanding of Biology
A famous scientific saying is that " nothing in biology makes sense except in light of evolution ". Well, now it's not just a saying. A recent study has... Read more
Posted on 04 April 2016 BIOLOGY, SCIENCE -
New Australopithecus Site Discovered (Kanti, Kenya)
A new site has been discovered in Kenya; called Kanti. It seems to date to sometime between 2.5 - 3.5 million years ago and contains 4 Australopithecus... Read more
Posted on 01 April 2016 BIOLOGY, SCIENCE -
Neanderthals Interbred with Humans Three Different Times
The Neanderthals were our closest living relatives. At least, they were until they went extinct ~30,000 years ago. But a little piece of them lives on in us... Read more
Posted on 31 March 2016 BIOLOGY, SCIENCE -
(Some) Genes for Music Found
Music is kind of a bid deal to us humans. But is it just a bi-product of our evolution, or did it influence it? A new study has identified many genes linked wit... Read more
Posted on 29 March 2016 BIOLOGY, SCIENCE -
Creationists Claim “Creator” Paper Proves Creationism
PLoS recently published research that claimed the human hand was so well adapted it was " the proper design by the Creator". This conclusion was criticised,... Read more
Posted on 21 March 2016 BIOLOGY, SCIENCE -
Cutting Food: the Secret Behind Our Big Brains?
Our big brains require a lot of energy to fuel. Which means they need a lot of food. And that would require an awful lot of chewing. Except our ancestors' jaws... Read more
Posted on 17 March 2016 BIOLOGY, SCIENCE -
Oldest Hominin DNA Pinpoints Neanderthal Ancestor
Atapuerca is a Spanish site that sheds a lot of light on human evolution. It contains hundreds of fossils, plus early evidence of religion and cannibalism.... Read more
Posted on 15 March 2016 BIOLOGY, SCIENCE -
YECs Say Censorship of Others Actually Censorship of Them
PLoS recently published research that claimed the human hand was so well adapted it was " the proper design by the Creator". This conclusion was criticised,... Read more
Posted on 14 March 2016 BIOLOGY, SCIENCE