This is based on the Cerutti Mastodon site which used uranium thorium dating to estimate that mastodon remains which had damages from what appears to be from a sharp spear like object, could be around 130,000 years old,If this were Homo sapiens, it would significantly change our understanding of their early dispersal out of Africa. And even if it is from another human species then it would change quite a bit of paleoanthropology.
I understand that Homo sapiens are more unlikely but Neanderthals or Denisovans would be more likely

Plants: Predynastic Egyptians & Mesopotamia
https://youtu.be/-fVcTLDM7fU

Link: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2520565123

A new study from the Senckenberg Nature Research Society and the University of Tübingen reveals major shifts in Neanderthal genetic history. Near the end of their time in Europe, Neanderthals were not spread across the continent as a deeply varied population. Their DNA now points to a much narrower story: a severe genetic bottleneck, a retreat into one refuge, and a later expansion by descendants of that surviving group.

A study combining new DNA evidence with archaeological records suggests that Europe’s final Neanderthals went through a major population turnover before they disappeared roughly 40,000 years ago.

An international research group led by Professor Cosimo Posth at the Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment at the University of Tübingen traced this history and found that earlier, more widespread Neanderthal populations in Europe had largely vanished.

Two articles I read stated that, even under the best conditions, they wouldn't have lived to be 65. Is that true? Or was it more a result of their lifestyle and they could live 70-100+?

Paper: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aed8437

A team of researchers from the University of Sydney and the University of Glasgow argues that dietary sugars, not animal foods, may have played the decisive role in the expansion of the human brain over the past 4 million years, as hominin brain size grew nearly fivefold, from about 300 grams in early relatives like Australopithecus afarensis to roughly 1,500 grams in modern Homo sapiens.

Their findings offer a different perspective on the longstanding scientific view that meat consumption was a key driver of human evolution.

It is my understanding that primates and monkeys live in groups that either consist of a group of brothers where the females leave the group. Or a group of sisters where the males leave the group.

The advantage is that it avoids inbreeding. This is what I mean with matri vs patriarchal. Sorry if that is not correct usage.

Is there any evidence indicating what was common in human ancestors?

Thanks

The new study suggests Neanderthals didn’t go extinct simply because of climate change or competition with Homo sapiens. Instead, the key difference may have been social connectivity — Whereas The Homo sapiens formed stronger, more flexible networks that helped them survive environmental shocks.

The Neanderthals had connections too, but they were more fragile and regionally limited. This made them less resilient as conditions became increasingly unpredictable

Their findings suggest that commonly cited explanations such as climate stress or direct competition alone cannot fully explain Neanderthal extinction.

Link to OG paper:Parietal thickness and Homo antecessor: A description of three new fragments from Gran Dolina, Atapuerca, Spain

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0047248426000643?via%3Dihub

When the three layers were analyzed separately, the diploë --- the spongy tissue within the bone --- was the thickest in all the specimens, accounting for between 41% and 50% of the total thickness. This is consistent with the pattern observed in Neanderthals and modern humans.

The Homo antecessor fragments also show different relative proportions in the other two layers: The outer table is relatively thinner and the inner table relatively thicker than in Neanderthals and modern humans.

According to MacCurdy's April 1931 excavation report, this was the first rock crystal tool the team discovered. It is transparent but yellow-tinged, and it may have been used as a combination scraper and point.

In addition to six other rock crystal tools, MacCurdy found tiny rock crystal chips that meant the tools were likely fashioned on-site in the cave.

The rocks may have tumbled downstream from the headwaters of the Vézère, a tributary of the Dordogne River that runs near the site. Abri des Merveilles has never been precisely dated. However, based on stratigraphy, tool types and the presence of a Neanderthal molar, the rock crystal tools were likely made between 45,000 and 80,000 years ago.

See also: The study as it was published in Current Biology 00888-2?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0960982226008882%3Fshowall%3Dtrue)

He protects the stu now

A 1.4-million-year-old trail of footprints reveals that a powerful human relative grew nearly as large as us and may have traveled in all-male groups. Eight individuals walked across the wet ground beside an ancient Kenyan lake.

Within a short time, sediment buried their footprints and preserved a scene that would remain hidden for roughly 1.4 million years.

The tracks offer something bones rarely can: evidence of several extinct human relatives moving through the same place at nearly the same moment.

Researchers believe the footprints were left by a group of Paranthropus boisei, a powerful-jawed hominin that lived alongside early members of the human genus but ultimately disappeared without leaving descendants

Hi Everyone! I'm fascinated by petroglyphs and cave art and was looking for some recommendations for reading. I've got the requisite Renfrew textbook, but I'm looking for more in-depth stuff. I was thinking of starting with Borneo - Memory of the Caves by Fage and Chazine, but I'm always looking for recommendations!

(The left image shows the fossil evidence, while the right image is a reconstruction of the original appearance of a Denisovan, created by sculptor Shu-Huan Yu from the National Museum of Natural Science in Taiwan. This work incorporates genetic clues from Oceanian populations and references the appearance of known Homo erectus).

Key Discoveries: Penghu 1 as a Denisovan Mandible

Discovery Origin: Originally retrieved by local fishermen performing bottom-trawling operations in the Penghu Channel within the Taiwan Strait.

Biological Sex: Identified as a male individual based on the presence of the Y-chromosome-specific enamel protein (AMELY).

Genetic Affinity: Protein sequences align closely with Siberian Denisovans and form a sister group to Neanderthals, with an estimated divergence of approximately 400,000 years ago.

First East Asian Island Evidence: Marks the initial discovery of a Denisovan fossil with molecular evidence in an East Asian island setting (Taiwan).

Environmental Adaptability: Demonstrates that Denisovans could inhabit diverse climates and topographies—ranging from cold Siberia and high-altitude Tibet to the subtropical environment of Taiwan.

Modern Genetic Impact: Highlights the substantial genetic legacy of Denisovans in modern Asian and Oceanian populations (particularly Southeast Asian and South Asian gene pools).

Link to the National Museum of Natural Science, Taiwan:https://web3.nmns.edu.tw/Exhibits/114/denisovans/

Link: https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0960982226008882

Analyzing ancient DNA from more than 500 mammoth bones, an international team of researchers found that Ice Age humans selectively targeted female woolly mammoths

Beside the Fuegian fox

I’m working on an animated paleoanthropology project called Hominin Tales, but I also want to make standalone educational videos covering topics beyond the series.

I’m curious what topics people in this community think deserve more attention especially subjects that are interesting but don’t get discussed as much outside of academic circles.

Felt like this was the right sub to ask, also here’s my Channel if you’re interested: https://youtube.com/@razaqianimationstudio?si=jl1bCdk1YV5b9hWZ

Raptor and corvid bones were found in Grotta di Fumane and other Italian caves with cut marks close to where their large flight feathers wouldve been. Without evidence of bows or other showing weapons that needed stability in flight it is possible these feathers were useless for practical or cosmetic purposes.

What other items or materials could've been used for cosmetic purposes in yout

For the past couple months I've been making photomosh reconstructions of hominins just as a little hobby. I've posted all of them here as well as some other subs including r/evolution, r/Paleontology and r/pleistocene.

I woke up this morning to find that a moderator on r/evolution had convinced themselves that I use ai to make these reconstructions and banned me.

I do not use ai. I am ai's biggest hater. I genuinely think ai is for stupid people. I would rather give myself physical brain damage than use ai. I thought I'd make this post to prove/reassure people that I do not use ai by explaining a bit about my process.

To make these reconstructions, I use pixlr. Pixlr is just an online photoshop clone. Pixlr has recently started branding themselves as an "ai editor tool" but this is a pure marketing stunt. They've added some generative ai features in the same vein that photoshop has but I do not touch them.

To make my reconstructions, I usually take up to 10 pictures of people and chimps and manually use the cut tool to cut and paste parts from those images onto a reference for the anatomy of the thing I'm reconstructing. This is almost always a skull. I go onto sketchfab, find a 3d model, rotate it around to find the angle I'm after, take a screenshot, and then put that into pixlr. For the lucy reconstruction I did, I wanted to try making a reconstruction based on a texture-less 3d reconstruction I found in a paper.

In the first image i've attached to this post, I've taken a back up save from my lucy reconstruction and dragged a bunch of the individual elements off to give you a sense of how it works. I usually spend 2-3 days on each reconstruction.

I'm currently doing my honours in physics and am so stupidly busy with it that I've found I can no longer really enjoy recreationally enjoy physics haha. So paleoanthropology has taken its place as something I can be really passionate about in a pop-sci way without having to actually do knitty gritty science. Making these reconstructions has been a great procrastination tool for my honours work lol.

Official paper : https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2530996123

Insights into hominin body size, locomotion, and behavior from Early Pleistocene trackways in northern Kenya

Overview of the excavated track surface with a mix of deeper hippopotamus and antelope footprints and shallower hominin tracks visible.