The Human Dynasty

Archaeologists believe they have found a nearly 1,800-year-old tomb of legendary ruler Cao Cao.

(Arizona State University) The timing of molar emergence and its relation to growth and reproduction in apes is being reported by scientists at Arizona State University’s Institute of Human Origins in the Dec. 28 online early edition of PNAS. They report, “We can use the same techniques to calculate ages at first molar emergence from the fossils of early hominids that just happened to die while their first molars were erupting.”

The Human Dynasty wishes everyone a wonderful Christmas and a happy new year.

(The Hebrew University of Jerusalem) Evidence of sophisticated, human behavior has been discovered by Hebrew University of Jerusalem researchers as early as 750,000 years ago — some half a million years earlier than has previously been estimated by archaeologists.

The discovery a “central character in the story of human evolution” is named the scientific breakthrough of 2009.

Hominids displayed advanced organizational thinking almost 800,000 years ago

The publication of the Neanderthal genome sequence is imminent, so we may finally be able to determine if they interbred with our ancestors

(Kent State University) Ardipithecus ramidus, or “Ardi,” receives the top honor as the Breakthrough of the Year, named by Science and its publisher, AAAS, the world’s largest science society. “Ardi,” a hominid species that lived 4.4 million years ago, was unveiled on Oct. 1 by Kent State University Professor of Anthropology Dr. C. Owen Lovejoy and his colleagues.

(American Association for the Advancement of Science) The research that brought to light the fossils of Ardipithecus ramidus, a hominid species that lived 4.4 million years ago in what is now Ethiopia, has topped Science’s list of this year’s most significant scientific breakthroughs. The journal also identifies nine other important scientific accomplishments from this past year in a top ten list, appearing in a special news feature in the journal’s Dec. 18, 2009, issue.

(University of Calgary) The consumption of wild cereals among prehistoric hunters and gatherers appears to be far more ancient than previously thought, according to a University of Calgary archaeologist who has found the oldest example of extensive reliance on cereal and root staples in the diet of early Homo sapiens more than 100,000 years ago.