Scientists extracted ancient proteins from 400,000-year-old H. erectus teeth in China and found a molecular signature unique to the species, plus evidence that H. erectus and Denisovans interbred. Could this be the mysterious "ghost lineage" lurking in Denisovan DNA?
A 19th-century dental bridge made of cattle bone and reinforced with toxic lead is the first of its kind ever found in Portugal. Too thin to chew with, it was likely worn purely for aesthetics. https://medium.com/the-academic/a-smile-without-teeth-portugals-only-known-bone-dental-bridge-917c50154232
A new study reveals the only known subtropical primate mummy from South America. The mummy is of a black-and-gold howler monkey dressed in rhea feathers, dating to the late pre-Hispanic era (ca. 1475–1644 CE). https://medium.com/palaeopress/mummified-monkey-dressed-in-rhea-feathers-new-study-analyzes-the-only-subtropical-primate-mummy-0cb4f35f5316
Archaeologists identified the earliest known restorative dental work in Scottish history: a 20-carat gold wire ligature on a medieval man's jaw from Aberdeen, likely fitted by a goldsmith between 1460 and 1670 CE.
Launching Palaeopress: where history buffs, paleontologists, and curious minds share their love for the past. If you're passionate about (pre)history, we'd love it if you followed or wrote for us! https://medium.com/palaeopress/palaeopress-a-publication-for-those-who-love-the-past-c0ef7921839a
Scientists just described a new extinct koala species (Phascolarctos sulcomaxilliaris) from Western Australia that had distinctive grooves in its skull, essentially giving it "dimples." It likely went extinct ~28,000 years ago when climate change wiped out its forests https://medium.com/fossils-et-al/dimpled-koalas-new-study-just-discovered-a-new-koala-fossil-from-western-australia-eab2eaa7dd7a
New study found scurvy in ancient California infants as young as 40 weeks but not in their mothers. Slower bone turnover in adults may have hidden signs of deficiency, possibly exacerbated by food taboos and pregnancy nutrient needs https://medium.com/palaeopress/scurvy-in-the-womb-why-ancient-californias-babies-had-scurvy-but-their-mothers-didn-t-27bcc9748be7
Archaeologists just identified ~55,000-year-old heat-treated chert at Nauwalabila I in Australia making it the oldest in the world, predating Eurasian examples by at least 40,000 years. https://medium.com/the-academic/fire-stones-the-worlds-oldest-heat-treated-chert-in-the-world-was-just-found-in-australia-ff4be323e8a8
Bronze Age Chinese oracle bones recorded inquiries about "disaster," interestingly, the disaster character resembles jagged flood waves, but why?
https://medium.com/science-spectrum/typhoons-oracle-bones-bronze-age-disasters-how-ancient-storms-toppled-dynasties-how-the-past-2968bb2a76ef
What would you do if you found bones in your backyard?
https://medium.com/science-spectrum/unearthed-during-lockdown-recent-study-uncovers-the-oldest-human-burials-on-patagonias-atlantic-0653c0d8255b