Top Human Origins Discoveries of 2023
12/27/23 • 44 min
2023 was another exciting year in human origins research! Fossil discoveries and long-term primate studies expanded our understanding of what makes us human. In this episode, four Leakey Foundation scientists shared their favorite human evolution discoveries from the past year.
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Guests
Links to learn more
- Top 13 Discoveries in Human Evolution, 2023 Edition
- Hunting and processing of straight-tusked elephants 125,000 years ago: Implications for Neanderthal behavior (open-access research paper)
- Neanderthals lived in groups big enough to eat giant elephants
- Evidence for the earliest structural use of wood at least 476,000 years ago (open-access research paper
- Early Homo erectus lived at high altitudes and produced both Oldowan and Acheulean tools (open-access research paper)
- The surprising toolbox of the early Homo erectus
- Demographic and hormonal evidence for menopause in wild chimpanzees (open-access research paper)
- Wild chimpanzees experience menopause
- Chimpanzee menopause revealed ft. Melissa Emery Thompson (Lunch Break Science on YouTube)
Sponsors and credits
Origin Stories is sponsored by Jeanne Newman, the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation, and the Joan and Arnold Travis Education Fund.
Origin Stories is produced by Ray Pang. Our editor is Audrey Quinn. Theme music by Henry Nagle. Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions and Lee Roservere.
2023 was another exciting year in human origins research! Fossil discoveries and long-term primate studies expanded our understanding of what makes us human. In this episode, four Leakey Foundation scientists shared their favorite human evolution discoveries from the past year.
Help us make more episodes! All tax-deductible donations to Origin Stories will be quadruple-matched!
>>>> Please click here to make a one-time or monthly donation.
Guests
Links to learn more
- Top 13 Discoveries in Human Evolution, 2023 Edition
- Hunting and processing of straight-tusked elephants 125,000 years ago: Implications for Neanderthal behavior (open-access research paper)
- Neanderthals lived in groups big enough to eat giant elephants
- Evidence for the earliest structural use of wood at least 476,000 years ago (open-access research paper
- Early Homo erectus lived at high altitudes and produced both Oldowan and Acheulean tools (open-access research paper)
- The surprising toolbox of the early Homo erectus
- Demographic and hormonal evidence for menopause in wild chimpanzees (open-access research paper)
- Wild chimpanzees experience menopause
- Chimpanzee menopause revealed ft. Melissa Emery Thompson (Lunch Break Science on YouTube)
Sponsors and credits
Origin Stories is sponsored by Jeanne Newman, the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation, and the Joan and Arnold Travis Education Fund.
Origin Stories is produced by Ray Pang. Our editor is Audrey Quinn. Theme music by Henry Nagle. Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions and Lee Roservere.
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Siblings
Sibling relationships can include everything from love and support–to tension, competition, and conflict. They might also play a fundamental role in the evolution of our species. In the final installment of our three-part series on family relationships, researchers Karen Kramer, Cat Hobaiter, and Rachna Reddy explore surprising new science about the role of siblings in primate and human evolution.
Links to learn more:
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Credits:
This episode was produced by Leo Hornak. Sound design and production by Ray Pang. Host and executive producer, Meredith Johnson. Our editor is Audrey Quinn. Theme music by Henry Nagle, additional music by Lee Roservere and Blue Dot Sessions.
Sponsors:
Dana LaJoie and Bill Richards, Jeanne Newman, the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation, and the Joan and Arnold Travis Education Fund.
Next Episode
A Brief History of Bling
Travel through 50,000 years of human history following clues hidden inside beads made from ostrich eggshells. In this episode, researchers Jennifer Miller and Yiming Wang share how these tiny artifacts reveal a sweeping story of ancient social networks, cultural connections, and human adaptability.
Support the show
Help us make more episodes! All tax-deductible donations to Origin Stories will be quadruple-matched!
>>>> Please click here to make a one-time or monthly donation.
Guests
Links to learn more
- Ostrich eggshell beads reveal 50,000-year-old social network in Africa (open access)
- An ancient social safety net in Africa was built on beads
- Are these snail shells the world's oldest known beads?
- Zambezi basin (Wikipedia)
- Paleoclimatology info and interactive paleoclimate map (National Centers for Environmental Education
Sponsors and credits
This episode was generously sponsored by Leakey Foundation Fellow Eddie Kislinger in honor of his wife, jewelry designer Cathy Waterman. Her designs are inspired by nature and influenced by her study of and connection with ancient human history. We are grateful to them for making this episode possible.
Additional support comes from Jeanne Newman, the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation, the Joan and Arnold Travis Education Fund, and our listener-supporters.
Origin Stories is produced by Ray Pang. Our editor is Audrey Quinn. Theme music by Henry Nagle. Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions and Lee Roservere.
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