10 Mind-Blowing Discoveries in Biological Anthropology

Biological Anthropology is a discipline that deals with the study of human beings, both past and present. Many breakthroughs have been made in recent years that have expanded our understanding of human evolution and behavior. From uncovering ancient fossils to analyzing modern human characteristics, here are ten mind-blowing discoveries in biological anthropology.

The discovery of Homo naledi

In 2015, we discovered Homo naledi in a cave system in South Africa. The fascinating aspect of this discovery was that the researchers concluded Homo naledi may have used a form of rituals as they found that bodies have been moved inside caves.

Oldest modern human remains found in Morocco

The oldest known fossils representing Homo sapiens were discovered in Morocco in 2017. These fossils date back around 315,000 years, about 100,000 years earlier than previously known specimens.

Neanderthal Genome Project

The complete mapping of the Neanderthal genome in 2010 opened up new possibilities for studying our ancient relatives. Among the findings was the effect of Neanderthal DNA on modern-day humans – up to 2% of most people’s genomes can be traced back to Neanderthals.

The Homo floresius

The iconic discovery of the most famous ‘hobbit,’ Homo floresiensis, stunned the world in 2003. This species typically matured at 3.5ft and inhabited the Indonesian island of Flores.

The unification of Anthropology, genetics, linguistics, and archaeology

In 1994 a convergence of the disciplines of anthropology, linguistics, genetics, and archaeology resulted in a miraculous discovery about our evolution, i.e., people only entered and inhabited the American continent about 15,000 years ago, probably coming across The Bering, i.e., land connecting Asia with North America.

The elucidation of Denisovans

In 2010, an ancient race known as Denisovans were discovered when a small section of a hand bone and two teeth were found in the Altai Mountains region of Siberia. Subsequent studies found that around 5% of the DNA of living people from Melanesia and Australia can be traced back to Denisovan ancestry.

Cultural Evolution Studies

Anthropologists are beginning to study culturally driven mutations that have allowed us, we humans, to increase in technological sophistication at an amazing rate. Our lives are undefined without computers, but what is breathtaking is the speed of influences across human groups facilitated way back then in ages past.

Linguistic studies demonstrate how sound patterns share DNA.

In essence, scholars see enormous benefits explaining many characteristics co-evolution of language sounds and varying firmament combinations.

The human tongue

Numerous studies have uncovered the sublingual gland in your throat, which has been deemed to transmit taste expressions to assist one to avoid inexplicably ingesting poisons.

The skull’s secretive life

Developing us into adults comes with numerous biological constraints – metabolism, physical topographic characteristic alignment, etc., but even after the thoracic cage passes the hip bone, our skulls open gas release exosomes making the brain feel like a jolt from enhancing our brain development

In conclusion, the study of biological anthropology has given us fascinating insights into our human origins, evolution, and behavior. Our understanding of this discipline continues to grow with each new discovery, and we can’t wait to see what the future holds!