Tag: Neanderthals
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Neanderthals’ Crimea Crayons: Ancient Red and Yellow Pigments Indicate Symbolic Art
Ancient pigments, modern questions A recent study sheds new light on how Neanderthals in the Crimean region might have used colored pigments to communicate, create art, or mark territory. Researchers contend that red and yellow materials, fashioned into pointed “crayons,” were sharpened into edges that could produce precise, deliberate marks on various surfaces. This discovery…
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Ancient Lead Exposure Shaped the Evolution of the Human Brain and Language
Ancient Lead Exposure: A Hidden Thread in Human Evolution New findings published in Science Advances reveal that our ancestors faced intermittent lead exposure for nearly two million years, long before industrial activity. The study stitches together fossil geochemistry, brain organoid experiments, and evolutionary genetics to propose that the toxic metal may have subtly steered the…
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Ancient Lead Exposure May Have Shaped Human Brain Evolution and Language
Ancient Lead Exposure: A Hidden Thread Through Human Evolution A sweeping new study argues that lead—long associated with modern pollution—was intermittently present in the environments of our ancestors for roughly two million years. By analyzing fossil teeth and combining cutting-edge brain biology, the research suggests that this toxic metal may have subtly steered the evolution…
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Training AI to Identify Ancient Artists: Griffith Researchers Map Finger Fluting Through Digital Archaeology
Unveiling Ancient Hands Through Digital Archaeology Griffith researchers have taken a bold step into the deep past by marrying artificial intelligence with digital archaeology to study one of humanity’s oldest rock art traditions: finger fluting. These marks, created by fingers sliding across a soft mineral film known as moonmilk on cave walls, offer a doorway…
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Training AI to Identify Ancient Artists: Griffith’s Digital Archaeology Approach to Finger Fluting
Introduction: A new frontier in understanding ancient hands Researchers at Griffith are exploring whether modern artificial intelligence can help identify the gender of ancient cave artists by studying finger flutings—one of the oldest forms of rock art. Finger flutings are marks formed when a finger strokes a soft mineral film called moonmilk on cave walls.…
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Training AI to Identify Ancient Artists: Griffith’s Digital Archaeology of Finger Fluting
Introduction: A New Frontier in Digital Archaeology Researchers at Griffith’s Centre for Social and Cultural Research have piloted a digital archaeology framework to explore who created ancient finger flutings in cave walls. Finger fluting, marks made by fingers through a soft mineral film called moonmilk, is one of the oldest forms of rock art known…
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Ancient Lead Poisoning May Have Shaped Human Evolution
New findings challenge the idea that lead exposure is a modern problem A recent study published in Science Advances proposes a provocative reversal of conventional wisdom: lead poisoning may have been a feature of the evolutionary landscape long before the Industrial Revolution. The international team behind the work argues that lead and other toxic metals…
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Could Lead Poisoning Have Shaped Human Evolution? New Research Sparks Debate
Lead, An Ancient Influence: Rethinking a Modern toxin A provocative new study published in Science Advances suggests that lead exposure was not merely a modern problem. Instead, researchers argue that lead and other toxic metals may have subtly shaped the evolutionary trajectory of our species, influencing brain development and even social behavior in ancient humans.…
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Lead Poisoning May Shape Human Evolution, New Study Reveals
Lead Exposure Rewrites a Chapter in Evolutionary History A groundbreaking study published in Science Advances suggests that lead poisoning may have been a persistent factor in human evolution, long before the Industrial Revolution. The international team argues that lead and other toxic metals shaped the neurobiology of ancient humans, potentially influencing brain development, communication, and…
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Lead Exposure Edge: Ancient Humans Gained Advantage
Ancient Lead Exposure: A Surprising Footnote in Human Evolution Lead, long seen as a modern toxin, might have shadowed our ancestors for nearly 2 million years. A new international study suggests that episodic lead exposure could have provided ancient humans with an edge over Neanderthals and other early relatives. By examining fossilized teeth and conducting…