Ardipithecus has arrived.

After near fifteen years of waiting, the partial skeleton of Ardipithecus ramidus is published this week in Science. “Ardi” is a 4.4 million year old hominin from the Aramis region of Ethiopia and is the oldest partial hominin skeleton discovered to date. There are 11 publications in this week’s Science covering all things Ardipithecus. Here [...]

Synchronized exercise and endorphin release

Recent research published in Biology Letters suggests physiological mood systems may have been involved in the evolution of coordinated physical activities. Researchers from the United Kingdom discovered that the pain threshold of collegiate rowers significantly increased when exercising with teammates v. solo-exercise controls 1. This increase in pain threshold was also observed for individuals exercising [...]

A summer for hobbits

Two publications in Nature this week 1,2, a special issue of the Journal of Human Evolution, and a conference at Stony Brook University this past month provide new data on the origins of the curious fossil hominin from Ling Bua Cave, Flores, Indonesia. First announced in 2004 3,4, the LB-1 fossil hominin has been the [...]

New Homo erectus pelvis described in Science

A nearly complete female Homo erectus pelvis (BSN49/P27) is described in this week’s issue of Science (Simpson et al. 2008). The fossil pelvis was excavated from the Busidima Formation of Gona, Afar, Ethiopia (Simpson et al. 2008). It dates from the early Pleistocene, with specific radiometric dating of the site to be 0.9-1.4 million years [...]

On facial metrics and aggressive behavior in ice hockey players

Is sexually dimorphic facial width-to-height ratio an “honest signal” indicating aggressive tendencies in humans? Researchers from Brock University (Ontario) suggest that it is, at least in male professional and varsity ice hockey players (Carre and McCormick 2008). Follow the link (currently open-access) to read more.
Carre JM, and McCormick CM. 2008. In your face: facial metrics [...]