Center for the Human Past (CHP)

New #preprint with Carina Schlebusch
@cschlebu.bsky.social
as one of the co-authors: #Ancient #Pathogen #Genomics in #Africa–Current Evidence and Future Directions. #humanpast #genetics #paleogenomics #aDNA www.preprints.org/manuscript/2...

Beyond bones: how biomolecular archaeology is challenging the definition of ancient human remains and its ethical implications Technological advancements in the twenty-first century have profoundly transformed archaeological research. Biomolecular archaeology has emerged as a pivotal field, generating vast quantities of mo...

#Reading alert: Beyond bones: how #biomolecular #archaeology is challenging the definition of #ancient #human remains and its #ethical implications, by Rita Peyroteo Stjerna and Mari Tõrv doi.org/10.1080/0043...
#humanpast #publications #humanremains

Around 60,000 years ago, humans in southern Africa made etchings on eggshells. There are hatches, grids, rotations, repetitions—signs that the artist had the final egg design in mind before starting the work!

archaeology.org/news/2026/03/04/ostrich-eggshell-etchings-analyzed/

#Call for #Applications: #HumanPast #SCAS #Fellowships 2027-28 for both #early-career and senior #interdisciplinary researchers. Deadline: 1 June 2026. More information on our web: shorturl.at/VAAfl #humanpast #opportunity #genetics #archaeology #linguistics #prehistory @haam-community.bsky.social

#Reading tips: Wind(ow) of change: The end of the Middle #StoneAge and the beginning of the Later Stone Age at #Umhlatuzana rockshelter, showcasing concurrent technological and techno-economic shifts www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... #humanpast #interdisciplinary #Umhlatuzana #sciencedirect

Interbreeding between Neanderthals and modern humans was strongly sex biased Sex biases in admixture and other demographic processes are recurrent features throughout human evolution. For admixture between Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans (AMHs), sex bias has been p...

New reading: #Interbreeding between #Neanderthals and modern #humans was strongly sex biased | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... #humanpast

Multiple southward migrations of Neolithic Chinese farmers into Southeast Asia revealed from large-scale Y-chromosome sequences Large-scale East Asian Y-chromosomes reveal multiple waves of Neolithic farmer contributions to Southeast Asian patrilineages.

More reading tips from #ScienceAdvances: Multiple southward #migrations of #Neolithic #Chinese #farmers into #SoutheastAsia revealed from large-scale #Y-chromosome sequences www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... #genetics #humanpast

Genetic relatedness mattered in the co-burial ritual of Neolithic hunter–gatherers Abstract. Kin relations among past societies can offer valuable information about the social dynamics of the population. Genetic data from prehistoric huma

New #publication by @humanevouu.bsky.social group, co-authored by Magdalena Fraser, Torsten Günther, Helena Malmström, Mattias Jakobsson and other #CHP associates: #Genetic #relatedness mattered in the #co-burial ritual of #Neolithic #hunter–gatherers #humanpast #archaeology shorturl.at/o98Bq

Lasting Lower Rhine–Meuse forager ancestry shaped Bell Beaker expansion - Nature A distinctive population with high hunter-gatherer ancestry persisted 3,000 years later than in most European regions, contributing to later Lower Rhine–Meuse Bell Beaker users.

Reading tips: www.nature.com/articles/s41... #Nature #aDNA #farmers #huntergatherers #genomics #ancestry #humanpast #Europe #bellbeaker #humanevolution

New #preprint: #Ancient #tree-topologies and #gene-flow processes among #human lineages in #Africa #humanpast #genetics www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Ancient human genomes from Ladakh reveal Tibetan, South Asian, and Central Asian admixture over the last three millennia https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.26.701789v1

Inference and applications of ancestral recombination graphs - Nature Reviews Genetics Ancestral recombination graphs (ARGs) are revolutionizing population genetics by elucidating genetic processes such as demography, migration and selection. This Review introduces ARG structure, compar...

Another #reading tip: Inference and applications of #ancestral #recombination graphs www.nature.com/articles/s41... #nature #humanpast #methods #genetics

A geographic history of human genetic ancestry Describing the distribution of genetic variation across individuals is a fundamental goal of population genetics. We present a method that capitalizes on the rich genealogical information encoded in g...

Maybe it's not a bad idea to brush up on: A #geographic #history of #human #genetic #ancestry www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... #science #population #humanpast

The population history of Central Europe in the Early Bronze Age (2200/2100–1600/1500 BC) - a craniometric approach - Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences During the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, migrations and the advent of working bronze alloy materials triggered profound cultural, social, and economic shifts across Central Europe. As a result ...

#Reading tips: The #population history of Central #Europe in the Early #BronzeAge (2200/2100–1600/1500 BC) - a craniometric approach. doi.org/10.1007/s125... Our former fellow, Hugo Reyes-Centeno, is the co-author. #archaeology #anthropology #humanpast #publication

This handprint is the oldest known cave art Beating the previous record for the oldest known cave artwork by at least 15,000 years, a hand stencil in an Indonesian cave might shed light on when early humans migrated to Australia

In an Indonesian cave system known for its prehistoric art, the oldest cave art yet found was hiding in plain sight. It might shed light on when early humans migrated to Australia: spklr.io/633278xck1

We are looking for an enthusiast and motivated postdoc to join the Paleogenomics and Evolutionary Biology group at @liigh-unam.bsky.social, to lead a project working with human pre-hispanic samples. Interested candidates send a CV and letter of intent to fsanchez@liigh.unam.mx. Please #RT

🚨 6th HAAM-RADIO Webinar
🌍 African Population Demography and Social Organizations of the Past
🗓️ Wed, 28 Jan 2026
Register here:
👉 forms.gle/FuBTTX4wreW4...

#AncientDNA #HumanGenetics #AfricanHistory #HAAM #Webinar
@abinstitute.bsky.social @cesarforteslima.bsky.social
@hildegunnink.bsky.social

#Reading tips: Tracing the #Neanderthal–Modern #Human hybrid zone using #paleogenomic #data #humanpast
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

PANAF2026

Check this out! #Panaf2026 #conference Discovering #African #Archaeology and #Heritage Without Borders, 26-31 July 2026, Maputo, #Mozambique. Abstract submission until 30 March 2026. Share! panaf2026moz.com #humanpast #linguistics #genetics #panafrican #interdisciplinary @haam-community.bsky.social

For those interested in #aDNA, #methods, #SNPretrieval and #Tweap: new preprint from #jakobssonLab: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... @biorxiv-genomic.bsky.social

DDLS Research School Postdoc call 2026 Call for Academic and Industrial Postdoctoral Fellowships in Data-Driven Life Science 2026 Generic Description of the DDLS Postdoc Program The SciLifeLab and Wallenberg National Program for Data-Drive...

SciLifeLab has opened a call for #postdoc fellows in Data-Driven Life Science. We would be happy to host such fellows!

Get in touch if you are interested in applying with a project on the evolution of humans and domestic animals using ancient and/or modern DNA 🧪🏺

www.scilifelab.se/data-driven/...

Using poison-tipped arrows to hunt prey is a trick humans learned long ago—a new discovery gives a better idea of just how long. Archaeologists detected traces of two toxins on quartz arrowheads dated to 60,000 years old!

archaeology.org/news/2026/01/12/poison-detected-on-60000-year-old-arrowheads/

Global patterns of natural selection inferred using ancient DNA https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.07.697984v1

Drought and a volcanic eruption 50,000 years ago may have caused the extinction of Homo floresiensis, the small hominin called a “hobbit.” Scarcity of food could have put hobbits in direct competition with modern humans.

archaeology.org/news/2025/12/12/drought-may-have-triggered-hobbit-extinction/

Ancestry, admixture, and pathogens in contemporaneous Neolithic farmers and foragers on the Island of Gotland Two archaeological cultural complexes coexisted on Gotland for over 500 years, between ∼3300 and 2800 calBCE, i.e. the Neolithic Funnelbeaker culture (FBC), and the Pitted ware culture (PWC). The ance...

New #preprint from the #HumanEvolutionProgram team at #UppsalaUniversity: #Ancestry, #admixture, and #pathogens in contemporaneous #Neolithicfarmers and #foragers on the Island of #Gotland www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... #genetics #archaeology

@haam-community.bsky.social

Last chance to apply! Deadline on Monday 15 Dec. #postdoc #archaeology #vacancy

Last chance to apply! Deadline on Monday 15 Dec. #postdoc #linguistics #vacancy

Last chance to apply! Deadline on Monday 15 Dec. #postdoc #genomics #vacancy

In the Paris Basin, 7,000 years ago, farmers began planting wheat and building big: Their tomb monuments can stretch the length of three football fields. The story behind who built them is surprising.

archaeology.org/issues/january-february-2026/letters-from/neolithic-cultural-revolution/