Human evolution
Evolutionary process leading to anatomically modern humans
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We include updates on Charles Darwin, Nudity, Homo, Hominidae, All Tomorrows, Hunter-gatherer, Hominini, Origin of language, Dunbar's number, Youngest Toba eruption, Haplogroup, Population bottleneck, Persistence hunting, Behavioral modernity, Stoned ape theory, Jebel Irhoud ... and more.
| 2025 |
Haplogroup
FamilyTreeDNA introduced their MitoTree in Beta version, joining other companies in developing the mitochondrial DNA haplogroup tree.
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| July 2024 |
All Tomorrows
Preorders begin on Unbound for the English language hardback and e-book editions of All Tomorrows, featuring additional materials and artwork.
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| April 2024 |
All Tomorrows
Kosemen announced the release of a physical copy of the book in Thai language, including illustrations by other artists and a new chapter with species information.
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| March 2024 |
All Tomorrows
The first licensed physical edition of All Tomorrows is published by Time Publishing in the Thai language, including the original content and a new chapter about the book's creation.
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| 2023 |
Population bottleneck
Genetic analysis revealed a human ancestor population bottleneck of 100,000 to 1,000 individuals lasting about 117,000 years, occurring between 930,000 and 813,000 years ago.
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| 2023 |
Human genome
A draft human pangenome reference was published, based on 47 genomes from individuals of varied ethnicity.
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| 2023 | BBC4 broadcast the documentary series to commemorate its 50th anniversary during the summer. |
| August 31 2023 |
Homo
Researchers reported a significant human ancestor population bottleneck based on genetic studies, revealing that the population reduced to between 1,000 and 100,000 individuals and lasted approximately 117,000 years, nearly bringing human ancestors to extinction between 930,000 and 813,000 years ago.
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| July 2023 |
Human genome
The current standard reference genome version GRCh38.p14 was released, containing 22 autosomes, one X chromosome, and one Y chromosome.
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| 2022 |
Chimpanzee–human last common ancestor
Scientific literature continued to cite studies proposing even more recent dates for the Chimpanzee-Human Last Common Ancestor.
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| 2022 |
Human genome
The complete sequence of the human genome was fully determined through DNA sequencing, including the methylome, marking a significant milestone in genetic research.
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| 2022 |
Human evolution fossils
Discovery of Sima del Elephante maxilla, a possible Homo erectus fossil in Spain.
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| October 16 2022 |
All Tomorrows
Kosemen had written an expanded version of the book up to the Qu's conquest of the galaxy, amounting to approximately 200 pages.
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| June 2022 |
Control of fire by early humans
Researchers from Weizmann Institute of Science, University of Toronto, and Hebrew University of Jerusalem published an article using AI-powered spectroscopy to analyze heat exposure of 26 flint tools from the Evron Quarry in Israel, revealing tools were heated up to 600°C.
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| January 2022 |
Human genome
Telomere-to-Telomere (T2T) consortium reported complete sequence of a human female genome, including the Y chromosome.
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| January 2022 |
Human genome
The human Y chromosome was completely sequenced, consisting of 62,460,029 base pairs from a different cell line.
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| 2021 |
Evolution of human intelligence
Research using polygenic scores found no evidence of divergent selection by race and a statistically insignificant contribution to racial differences in IQ.
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| 2021 |
Homo longi
Chinese geologist Shao Qingfeng and colleagues conducted non-destructive x-ray fluorescence, rare-earth element, and strontium isotope analyses on the skull and mammalian fossils from the Dongjiang Bridge area, determining the fossils were likely deposited around the same time and originated from the Upper Huangshan Formation, dating between 309,000 to 138,000 years ago.
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| 2021 |
Chimpanzee–human last common ancestor
New research suggested a more recent CHLCA timeframe, narrowing the estimate to between 9.3 and 6.5 million years ago.
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| 2021 | The ESHE annual meeting was again held online due to continuing COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. |
| 2021 |
Homo
Nesher Ramla Homo discovered in Israel and officially recognized.
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| 2021 |
Recent human evolution
A study published revealing rapid malaria resistance evolution in Cape Verde island populations, with the highest prevalence on Santiago Island within roughly 20 generations since human habitation began.
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| 2021 |
Human genome
Scientists successfully sequenced a complete female genome (without the Y chromosome).
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| June 2021 |
All Tomorrows
YouTuber Alt Shift X uploaded an abridged version of the book's story, leading to a significant surge in online popularity.
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| May 2021 |
Human genome
Telomere-to-Telomere (T2T) consortium completed sequencing of 22 human autosomes. First complete telomere-to-telomere sequence of a human autosomal chromosome (chromosome 8) achieved.
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| 2020 |
The Ancestor's Tale
Second edition of Chinese (Traditional) translation of 'The Ancestor's Tale' published by translator Gu Xiaozhe (顧曉哲)
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| 2020 | Following the elections, the society relocated to Tübingen, Germany, with Professor Dr. Katerina Harvati becoming the new president and Director of the Department of Paleoanthropology at the University of Tübingen. |
| 2020 | Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ESHE annual meeting was held online instead of in a physical location. |
| 2020 |
Sexual selection in humans
A research study was conducted exploring women's attraction preferences, finding that women tend to view a man as more attractive if his previous relationships ended mutually, and less attractive if he was dumped by previous partners.
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| 2020 |
Recent African origin of modern humans
A study revealed that Yoruba and Mende populations in West Africa have between 2% and 19% of their genome derived from an unidentified archaic hominin population that likely diverged before the split of modern humans and the ancestors of Neanderthals and Denisovans.
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| 2020 |
All Tomorrows
The book was discussed in Jörg Matthias Determann's scholarly work 'Islam, Science Fiction and Extraterrestrial Life'.
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| 2020 |
Recent human evolution
A study of African populations unveiled Neanderthal haplotypes linked to immunity and ultraviolet sensitivity.
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| 2020 |
Recent human evolution
Teghan Lucas, Maciej Henneberg, and Jaliya Kumaratilake provided evidence of increasing prevalence of median artery retention in human forearms, suggesting extremely strong selection within the last 250 years.
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| 2020 |
Human genome
First truly complete telomere-to-telomere sequence of a human chromosome determined, specifically the X chromosome.
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| 2019 |
Gibbon–human last common ancestor
A scientific study provided new insights into the Gibbon-Human Last Common Ancestor (GHLCA), revealing that the species was smaller than previously thought, approximately the size of a gibbon, challenging earlier size estimates.
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| 2019 |
The Ancestor's Tale
Second edition of Danish translation of 'The Ancestor's Tale' published by translator Lotte Follin
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| 2019 |
Man After Man
Anthropologist Matthew Wolf-Meyer assessed Man After Man as 'humanity's ultimate humiliation in the face of the world they had created'.
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| 2019 | A group of younger researchers pledged to boycott the annual ESHE meeting in protest of alleged sexual and professional misconduct by past president Jean-Jacques Hublin, who denied the allegations. |
| March 2019 |
Microcephalin
Chinese scientists conducted a research study inserting the human MCPH1 gene into laboratory rhesus monkeys, demonstrating improved short-term memory performance in transgenic monkeys on color and shape matching tests compared to non-transgenic control monkeys.
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| 2018 |
Homo longi
The 'Dragon Man' skull was finally brought to paleoanthropologists for scientific examination and study, after being hidden for approximately 85 years.
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| 2018 |
Homo longi
Before his death, the laborer's third-generation family learned about the skull. Chinese paleoanthropologist Ji Qiang persuaded the family to donate the skull to Hebei GEO University for scientific study. The skull was catalogued with the number HBSM2018-000018(A).
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| 2018 |
Who We Are and How We Got Here
David Reich published 'Who We Are and How We Got Here', a book detailing groundbreaking research on human population genetics using genome-wide ancient DNA analysis, revealing that most human populations are mixtures resulting from multiple migrations and gene flow.
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| 2018 |
The Ancestor's Tale
Polish translation of 'The Ancestor's Tale' published by translator Sobolewska Agnieszka
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| 2018 |
Human evolution fossils
Discovery of DNH 155 and DNH 152 (Khethi), Paranthropus robustus fossils in Drimolen Main Quarry, South Africa by Andy Herries and Stephanie Baker's team.
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| 2018 |
Evolution of human intelligence
A research study proposed the 'transformative cultural intelligence hypothesis' by investigating four-year-old children's problem-solving skills in different social contexts. The experiment involved children attempting to extract a floating object from a tube using water, demonstrating that physical cognition can be significantly influenced by social presentation of tasks.
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| 2018 |
Evolution of human intelligence
Muthukrishna and researchers constructed a model based on the cultural intelligence hypothesis, revealing relationships between brain size, group size, social learning, and mating structures through evolutionary simulation.
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| 2018 |
Recent human evolution
An international team of researchers from Israel and the United States genetically analyzed 6,500-year-old human remains in Israel's Upper Galilee region, discovering previously unseen traits including blue eyes.
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| 2018 |
Recent human evolution
Researchers concluded that a significant demographic shift occurred 6,000 years ago due to migration from Anatolia and the Zagros mountains, contributing to the development of the Chalcolithic culture in the region.
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This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia articles Population bottleneck, Control of fire by early humans, Homo, Gibbon–human last common ancestor, Who We Are and How We Got Here, The Ancestor's Tale, Recent human evolution, Chimpanzee–human last common ancestor, Recent African origin of modern humans, Microcephalin, List of human evolution fossils, Homo longi, The Ascent of Man, Man After Man, Human genome, European Society for the Study of Human Evolution, Haplogroup, Evolution of human intelligence, All Tomorrows & Sexual selection in humans, which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.