In 2012, paleontologist Kristina Curry Rogers was digging through drawers of miscellaneous crocodile fossils at the State University of New York at Stony Brook when she saw something both familiar and unfamiliar: the bones of a giant dinosaur, in miniature. Even out of context, she realized instantly that they had come from a class of…
Category: Palaeontology
Major Jurassic fossil find
Paleontologists in Argentina have announced the discovery of a major Jurassic-era fossil site four years after it was first discovered. The site, which spans 23,000 square miles (60,000 square kilometers) in Patagonia, southern Argentina, came to light this week with the publication of a report in the journal Ameghiniana. “No other place in the…
Human Culture, Technology, and the Neocortex
Blombos Cave in South Africa has given us vast knowledge about our early ancestors.
Inca child mummy reveals lost genetic history
Back in 1985, hikers climbing Argentina’s Aconcagua mountain stumbled upon a ghastly surprise: the frozen corpse of a 7-year-old boy. It was apparent that he’d been there for a long time, so the hikers notified archaeologists, who carefully excavated the body. They determined that the Aconcagua boy, as he came to be known, was…
Ancient DNA reveals ‘into Africa’ migration
(Main Image: The remains were found in this cave in the highlands of Ethiopia) An ancient African genome has been sequenced for the first time. Researchers extracted DNA from a 4,500-year-old skull that was discovered in the highlands of Ethiopia. A comparison with genetic material from today’s Africans reveals how our ancient ancestors mixed and…
‘Lost world’ of cold weather dinosaurs discovered
A Florida State University and University of Alaska Fairbanks research team has uncovered a new species of duck-billed dinosaur, a 30-footlong herbivore that endured months of winter darkness and probably experienced snow. The skeletal remains of the dinosaurs were found in a remote part of Alaska. These dinosaurs were the northernmost dinosaurs known to have…
Baby Dinosaur Skeleton Unearthed in Canada
The tiny, intact skeleton of a baby rhinoceroslike dinosaur has been unearthed in Canada. The toddler was just 3 years old and 5 feet (1.5 meters) long when it wandered into a river near Alberta, Canada, and drowned about 70 million years ago. The beast was so well-preserved that some of its skin left impressions…
Study: Bones in South African cave reveal new human relative
MAGALIESBURG, South Africa (AP) — Scientists say they’ve discovered a new member of the human family tree, revealed by a huge trove of bones in a barely accessible, pitch-dark chamber of a cave in South Africa. The creature shows a surprising mix of human-like and more primitive characteristics — some experts called it “bizarre” and…
