From American Scientist, John Shea on refuting a myth about human origins: Homo sapiens emerged once, not as modern-looking people first and as modern-behaving people later. Where in the world did anatomically modern humans come from? The discovery of 125,000-year-old stone tools in the Arabian Peninsula may force scientists to rethink how and when humans first left Africa. Archaeologists uncover startling discovery in the Arctic that reveals behavioral habits of first human inhabitants (and more). Anthropologists studying living hunter-gatherers have radically revised their view of how early human societies were structured, and how humans evolved away from apes. A review of The Humans Who Went Extinct: Why Neanderthals Died Out and We Survived by Clive Finlayson. When did early humans come up with the weaponry that made them the world's dominant predators? Clovis people weren’t first in Americas, Texas spear points suggest. A review of Social Anthropology and Human Origins by Alan Barnard. In a locally well known cave near an industrial town in Spain, researchers have unexpectedly discovered faint images of horses and hand prints dating back some 25,000 years. A review of Born in Africa: The Quest for the Origins of Human Life by Martin Meredith. Interpret the numbers how you will (and every diet guru does), there’s something disarmingly simple and alluring about the caveman diet. Debate erupts: Did modern humans meet Neanderthals? The concept of the "killer-ape" offers a pessimistic reflection of humanity and its genesis, but the latest research shows that a primate species whose success is based on mutual aid and pleasure, not violence, is a better model for human origins. Research suggests play was a central element of people's lives as far back as 4,000 years ago.
