Humans news stories

Models of early population migrations assume people moved to places with easy access to water. But this assumption has left us with a fascinating mystery in ancient Arabia. Despite evidence that monsoon rains once filled lakes and supported grasslands in the vast sandy interior, evidence of early human occupation is concentrated almost entirely around the desert margins. The findings are published in a paper in the journal Nature.

Researchers asked 50 people to draw maps of the spaces they remembered encountering during near-death experiences, an intriguing pattern emerged: The geometry of those spaces appeared to be linked to the colors people recalled seeing. The research has been published in Frontiers in Psychology.

Scientists are getting astonishingly good at extracting ancient human DNA from mere dirt and dust, even when there are no physical remains left…No bones, no teeth, no fossils. A small scoop of sediment from a cave in Spain has now offered up ancient DNA from several individuals who lived roughly 22,000 years ago. The findings from the study, led by researchers at the University of Vienna in Austria, are published in Science Advances.

Usually, people associate archaeological studies with bones, pottery and primitive tools, but archaeologists often find other clues about how ancient people lived hidden throughout a site. A new study, published in the Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology, focuses on bits of charcoal and their spatial organization to get a glimpse of Neanderthal life in Abric Romaní, an ancient rock shelter near Barcelona.

Ketamine and MDMA treatment were associated with changes in DNA methylation, a chemical modification that can influence gene activity, at genes linked to neuroplasticity and immune processes, according to a study published in Translational Psychiatry. The changes were measured in blood and saliva samples from people treated for depression or post-traumatic stress disorder.

Tucked away inside a limestone cave in southeastern France lies some of the oldest artwork in existence. Known as Chauvet Cave, the site is so historically important—and fragile—that its location is kept secret and the cave is locked behind a huge steel door. And now, researchers have devised a technique to safely investigate these artworks and understand the natural varnish that has protected them for centuries. Their findings are published in the journal ACS Omega.

Accordingly, the crux of this landmark study (published in the journal Science) is the evidence that the closest genetic ties are between the two most-separated islands: Hawaii and Rapa Nui (also known as Easter Island), which are each over 3,000 kilometers (nearly 2,000 miles) from the nearest inhabited island and 7,000 kilometers from each other.

More than 30,000 years ago, people associated with one of Europe’s major Paleolithic cultures (the Gravettian) were more interconnected than previously thought. An international research team led by the University of Vienna has uncovered new genetic evidence of long-distance connections between these populations. Published in Science Advances, the study combines genomic data from rare human remains with human DNA preserved in cave sediments.

It was long assumed to be a product of Vincent van Gogh’s rich imagination – but scientific sleuthing now suggests The Starry Night may be based on a real dawn sky. Researchers say the celestial bodies depicted in the famous painting match the sky the Dutch artist may have seen on about 22 July 1889, a month later than the usual date given for the work.

A new fossil analysis from an international team of researchers, published in the Annals of Human Biology, pushes back the emergence of these proto-people by about 200,000 years.

These findings, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B,  provide new evidence for the complex technical and possibly symbolic behaviors of early Homo sapiens.

Anew analysis of that trove of data has revealed a striking pattern in these mysterious episodes. The findings, reported in Psychology of Consciousness: Theory, Research, and Practice, can’t really be explained, researchers say.

In addition to helping people with stress and mental health, high ventilation breathwork is also reported to induce altered states of consciousness…In a new study published in Progress in Neuropsychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry, researchers found evidence that could explain how these mysterious side effects emerge.

A shipwreck off the coast of Turkey is the oldest shipwreck in the world, our team of archaeologists believes. There’s little left of the ship itself, but based on clues from its cargo—including pottery vessels—a research team I was part of has tentatively dated the wreck to around 2700–2400 B.C.

For decades, archaeologists have argued about what happened next. Some pictured an apocalypse that wiped out all human life near the blast. Others claimed people survived even close to the eruption. A new international study led by Lund University says both sides got it wrong.

Around 13,800 years ago, hunters set up camp on a small ridge above the Tanana River in interior Alaska. Spruce trees cover the spot today. Back then, shrub tundra rolled across the land. Archaeologists now call the place Shég’ Xdaltth’i’, an Athabascan name meaning “they were there.”  See the study titled: ‘Highlights from an early base camp in Beringia 13,800 years ago: Shég’ Xdaltth’í’ and the Late Pleistocene peopling of Alaska’ published in Science Advances (Oct 14th).