Human Evolution Research Articles

100 Years of palaeo-research and its relevance for transformation and social cohesion in South Africa

Australian-born Raymond Dart arrived in South Africa in 1922 and subsequently gave the name Australopithecus africanus to the fossilised juvenile skull discovered by mine workers in Taung, North West Province. After this discovery, and its announcement in 1925, the discipline of palaeoanthropology grew exponentially on the continent. This centennial milestone necessitates reflection on the role of science in society, with a critical look at the relationship between palaeosciences, the theories of human evolution, and the researcher’s interaction with southern African Indigenous peoples. Here we examine the palaeoanthropological scientific practice in southern Africa and suggest ways to decolonise science, and its narratives, in the future. To achieve meaningful transformation and social cohesiveness, we discuss measures to counter the wrongs of the past through meaningful and socially responsive practices such as equitable funding schemes, meaningful collaboration, and doing away with ‘helicopter research’.

Taung and beyond: The mining history, geology and taphonomy of Australopithecus in South Africa

South Africa is host to the single richest early hominin fossil record worldwide, including many examples of the endemic species Australopithecus africanus fossils. This species was first described by Raymond Dart in 1925 from the deposits near the town of Taung. Later, many more fossils, of different species and genera, were found in the caves of the Sterkfontein and Makapan Valleys. To understand this rich and diverse fossil record, we must understand how the landscape formed (cave formation processes) and changed (mining), when this happened (geochronology), and how the fossils were accumulated and modified (taphonomy). Here we provide a review of these themes to mark the centenary of the Taung Child discovery. We mark this moment in our field by critically reflecting on the role of extractive practices, especially centred around past mining of the Caves and the exclusion of many members of research teams. The South African Fossil Hominid sites provide a unique opportunity to expand our understanding of the intersection between human evolution and changing environmental conditions, as the karstic landscape and remnant cave systems preserve both fossils and sedimentary archives of past environmental change. We offer a perspective on future research areas: more standardised excavation practices and techniques to raise the quality of data collected from the caves and new techniques to date and extract palaeoclimate data from cave deposits themselves, to provide novel insights into the world of the early australopiths.

The ground beneath our feet: A critical reflection on 135 years of landscape evolution models for southern Africa

In his 1925 paper describing the Taung Child fossil, Dart makes various assertions about the landscape around Taung, inferring past climate dynamics, and the role these factors play in the evolution of our early prehuman relatives. He argues that this region of southern Africa is dry today and has been for much of the Cenozoic. This notion of long-term aridity and stability has dominated perspectives on southern African landscape evolution. Here, we present a review of this field, starting with the foundational studies from the late 1890s, which underpin Dart’s hypothesis. We examine the work of 20th-century researchers who developed models of landscape evolution; however, almost all of these models have been qualitative. With technological advancements, new quantitative techniques have emerged to provide evidence of landscape evolution events and to test previous models, and we present a brief overview of these methods. We call for reflection on the framing and languaging of many of these landscape models, specifically the ‘African land surface’ model. While the evidence of a homogeneous and stable landscape is continually being challenged through scientific advancement, this terminology is rooted in outdated colonial thinking. We also note that the key narratives that have driven research on landscape evolution have been largely shaped by selected prominent Western-based scientists. As we mark the centenary of the Taung discovery, we look toward a new era of landscape evolution research: one characterised by technological advancements and more diverse, local teams that will produce more quantitative, nuanced models for southern Africa and create richer, more dynamic backdrops for our own human evolution.

Looking for the origins of the human brain: the role of South Africa in the history of (palaeo)neurology

In 1925, Raymond Arthur Dart published his description and interpretations of the ‘Taung Child’ in the journal Nature, including a description of the natural brain endocast associated with the face and mandible. Details preserved in the endocast of the Taung Child have opened critical questions and debates about how the human brain evolved, and how to identify and study evidence of brain changes from fossil hominin crania. In this paper, we review and synthesise methodological innovations (how do we study fossil hominin brains?) and critical conceptual shifts (how did the hominin brain evolve?) triggered by the discovery of the Taung Child. In particular, we detail the impact of the study of the well-preserved crania and natural endocasts from the southern African hominin-bearing sites on our understanding of brain evolution and the integration of newly developed analytical tools into research in palaeoneurology (e.g. imaging techniques, 3D modelling). Additionally, we examine how the use of digital replicas of fossil hominin endocasts and the need to study extant human brains to form a comparative platform might raise questions about research practices (e.g. study and exhibition of fossil and extant human brains) and management of such invaluable heritage resources (e.g. data sharing). We finally consider how our view of human brain evolution, and in particular the putative uniqueness of the hominin brain, has changed over the last century.

Hominin heritage: How institutional repositories are managing collections, collaboration and repatriation

In this article, we discuss South African heritage management, and how it has shaped the role institutions play in protecting heritage 100 years ago versus today. Museums and universities are in a difficult position as they address past unethical archaeology and palaeoanthropology practices while implementing transformation and decolonisation approaches to protect and share heritage inclusively. We outline some of the complexities that museums, universities, and heritage bodies face in navigating human evolution research, site and material access, potential returns, repatriations or reburials, curation and the development of accessible educational content in a contemporary context.

Why heads matter in palaeoanthropology: The impacts and consequences of collecting skulls

This piece reflects on the importance of and focus on heads – especially the collecting of skulls and its impacts – in alpha taxonomy, biological anthropology, and Western science more broadly. We consider how the announcement and overall discovery story of the Taung Child revolutionised our understanding of hominin cranial evolution, but also fit within these skull-collecting objectives and contributed to the palaeoanthropological fixation on the skull. We contextualise this within the history of ‘physical’ anthropology in light of its initial goals in scientific racism, and consider how this process of skull collecting has become normalised in the discipline as a result of this history. As evidence for this, we quantify the possible effects of skull-collecting by collating available data on the number of skulls versus post-crania curated in a representative South African collection and compare the number of skulls versus post-cranial hominin fossils that form part of species hypodigms. We also explore how the ownership of skulls and ownership of narrative in the discipline have been intertwined throughout its history. Finally, we focus on how this early overemphasis on skulls, and especially brain size/intelligence, may have skewed our understanding of human evolution and contributed to ideas of human exceptionalism.

The discovery that Africa is the birthplace of human evolution

The discovery that Africa is the birthplace of human evolution

Morality as a cause, not only an effect, of evolution: Thomistic reflections on gene‐culture coevolutionary theory

AbstractSome recent philosophical analyses of gene‐culture coevolutionary theory propose that morality is a contributing cause in (and not only an outcome of) human evolution. This paper considers implications of this idea for Thomistic moral theory. According to the coevolutionary account, the social practices of early human communities create selection pressures in favour of pro‐moral adaptations, making the evolution of morality a ‘biocultural’ process in which culture in some respects drives biology. This position chimes with, and indeed advances, some core themes of Thomistic ethics, including: the abiding significance of moral passions; the centrality of practical reason; the social character of practical reason; moral realism; the naturalness of morality; the link between nature and normativity. Biocultural evolutionary theory can thus offer Thomistic ethicists some new ways to understand their old ideas. If it is true that morality is a cause and not only an effect of human evolution, then Thomists are invited to see morality as an even more natural phenomenon than they previously thought.

Understanding the Emergence of Schizophrenia in the Light of Human Evolution: New Perspectives in Genetics.

Schizophrenia is a frequent and disabling disease. The persistence of the disorder despite its harmful consequences represents an evolutionary paradox. Based on recent discoveries in genetics, scientists have formulated the "price-to-pay" hypothesis: schizophrenia would be intimately related to human evolution, particularly to brain development and human-specific higher cognitive functions. The objective of the present work is to question scientific literature about the relationship between schizophrenia and human evolution from a genetic point of view. In the last two decades, research investigated the association between schizophrenia and a few genetic evolutionary markers: Human accelerated regions, segmental duplications, andhighly repetitive DNA such as the Olduvai domain. Other studies focused on the action of natural selection on schizophrenia-associated genetic variants, also thanks to the complete sequencing of archaic hominins' genomes (Neanderthal, Denisova). Results suggested that a connection between human evolution and schizophrenia may exist; nonetheless, much research is still needed, and it is possible that a definitive answer to the evolutionary paradox of schizophrenia will never be found.

Molecular signature of primate astrocytes reveals pathways and regulatory changes contributing to human brain evolution.

Astrocytes contribute to the development and regulation of the higher-level functions of the brain, the critical targets of evolution. However, how astrocytes evolve in primates is unsettled. Here, we obtain human, chimpanzee, and macaque induced pluripotent stem-cell-derived astrocytes (iAstrocytes). Human iAstrocytes are bigger and more complex than the non-human primate iAstrocytes. We identify new loci contributing to the increased human astrocyte. We show that genes and pathways implicated in long-range intercellular signaling are activated in the human iAstrocytes and partake in controlling iAstrocyte complexity. Genes downregulated in human iAstrocytes frequently relate to neurological disorders and were decreased in adult brain samples. Through regulome analysis and machine learning, we uncover that functional activation of enhancers coincides with a previously unappreciated, pervasive gain of "stripe" transcription factor binding sites. Altogether, we reveal the transcriptomic signature of primate astrocyte evolution and a mechanism driving the acquisition of the regulatory potential of enhancers.

Transitions in development - an interview with Aleksandra Pękowska.

Aleksandra Pękowska leads the Dioscuri Center for Chromatin Biology and Epigenomics at the Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw, Poland, where she studies the role of astrocytes in brain development. Her research connects astrocyte chromatin architecture to broader questions about how these glial cells have influenced human brain evolution. We met Aleksandra over Zoom to discuss her career path so far. She told us about how she came to work on nervous system development, the interdisciplinary nature of her research group, and how she almost ended up studying law at university.

Anatomical alterations: biparietal thinning in antiquity. Review of published cases and a new case

Cranial anatomical variations, such as biparietal thinning, offer critical insights into the health and living conditions of ancient populations. Despite the presence of extensive archaeological records, biparietal thinning remains a relatively rare and understudied condition. This review aims to synthesize existing bioarchaeological literature on biparietal thinning, addressing its historical prevalence, geographical distribution, and potential etiologies. This study integrates data from previous bioarchaeological research supplemented with a new case from skeletal remains excavated at the hypogeal cemetery of Santa Maria Maggiore in Vercelli, Northern Italy. The analysis included macroscopic examination, radiological imaging, and comparative analysis with clinical and paleopathological cases to identify and assess the characteristic features of biparietal thinning. Our analysis of the skeletal remains of an old adult female individual revealed clear indicators of biparietal thinning. Notably, the thinning was bilateral, with the absence of diploe in the affected areas while maintaining the inner and outer tables of the cranial vault. These findings align with documented cases in the literature and contribute new data to the limited corpus of biparietal thinning cases. This study underscores the importance of integrating paleopathological findings with modern medical knowledge to enhance the understanding of ancient diseases. The case from Vercelli provides an opportunity to explore the multifactorial origins of biparietal thinning and highlights the necessity of a multidisciplinary approach, combining archaeological, anthropological, and medical perspectives. By presenting this new case, we aim to stimulate further research into biparietal thinning and similar cranial pathologies, enriching the broader narrative of human health evolution.

ASPECTOS TRADUTÓRIOS: PARTIDA E CHEGADA EM O SEGREDO DE BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN

Translation studies are challenges for those who want to explore the paths of this art. Translating requires more than searching for an equivalent word in the languages involved. However, Translation has an important role in linguistic, critical and interpretive training of academics. It involves several areas of knowledge such as text linguistics, the grammars of the languages involved and Literature, proposing a compilation of them in the search for understanding form and the production of meaning. Although all of this is well-known and indispensable, it can be said that the translation methods used in universities are limited to an empty vision of instant understanding, thus excluding the details of this artistic manifestation that were necessary for human evolution. Based on this assumption, a bibliographical research was carried out, with the aim of showing that Translation can contemplate the skills proposed for the development of academics through studies of their historicity, source language and target language, form and meaning, critical fortune of author and finally the practice of this theory in the comparative analysis of the work Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx with its translation by Adalgisa Campos da Silva. The linguistic resources used by the translator were identified and what changes were made to achieve the meaning proposed by the author of the original work within a specific context, which Annie Proulx made a point of exposing in her narrative.

LAPS SA: Measuring Attachment to Dogs and Cats Among South American Countries.

Human biological and cultural evolution is tied to the relationships established with other animals. Attachment is one of the mechanisms established between dogs/cats and humans and allows the generation of affective bonds and close proximity. Many instruments have been used to study attachment of people to their dogs/cats, such as the Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale (LAPS). Our aim was adapting LAPS for South American populations (Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Peru and Colombia), and its languages (Brazilian Portuguese and South American Spanish) and evaluating them with South American data. We translated and back translated the instrument, examined versions with a pilot sample and collected data from 2832 respondents (18-85 y.o.), who lived with at least one cat/dog. We report and compare findings from psychometric analyses of the two versions of LAPS using both classical test (coefficient alpha, confirmatory factor analysis) and item response theory (Rasch analysis) methodologies. Findings demonstrate the comparability of the versions while observing some minor differences in their dimensionality. As in the original LAPS, results suggest one main dimension (general attachment) that assesses the general relationship between a person and a companion animal. We suggest that using appropriate language (e.g., companions and guardians instead of pets and owners) will improve understanding. We emphasize the importance of adapting wording and content of research tools considering cultural aspects of the populations studied. We introduce LAPS SA (LAPS South America) as a unified instrument to measure attachment between people and companion animals. Implications for the use of LAPS SA and future research are discussed.

Epigenetic Mechanisms Driving Human Evolutionary Changes

A crucial aspect of our comprehension of human evolution is epigenetics, the study of heritable modifications in gene function that do not include modifications in the DNA sequence. This intriguing field of study emphasises on how reversible and environmental-sensitive mechanisms, such as histone, DNA methylation, and non-coding RNA activity, control gene expression and support phenotypic variation. These techniques allow animals to adapt to changing environments without experiencing permanent genetic changes, providing a flexible basis for evolutionary processes. Understanding human evolution now heavily relies on epigenetics. Since animals can adapt to changing environments without enduring permanent genetic changes, evolutionary processes have a flexible basis. Epigenetic modifications have closely linked characteristics such as immune system function and brain development throughout human evolution. Epigenetic patterns have been impacted by environmental factors like diet, illness, and climate, which has allowed organisms to flourish and procreate in a variety of ecological niches. With an emphasis on their function in human evolution, this study explores the molecular mechanisms underlying epigenetic control and how epigenetics allows humans to display amazing phenotypic plasticity. The ramifications of epigenetic studies in anthropology are also examined, with a focus on how modern humans differ from their hominid ancestors and how epigenetics influences cultural and social practices. This review further highlights the revolutionary potential of epigenetics in deciphering the intricacies of human evolution by fusing knowledge from genetics, anthropology, and environmental studies.

Complexity Growth Patterns in the Stelliferous Era of Big History

A previous study compared the symmetries of the cooling after the Big Bang and the development of life, humans, and civilization on Earth. A simple model of the relative rates of change depicts two cones joined at their bases representing the Big Bang expansion and the acceleration of complexity development on earth through life evolution, human evolution, and civilization development. This indicates points of rapid change at both ends corresponding to at the Big Bang and our current technological and demographic change. However, this depiction oversimplifies complexity growth, specifically at where the transitions from the Universe’s decelerating physical complexity development and Earths accelerating complex adaptive systems. This transition is important in both organization and energy flow. In this paper, the build-up of potential variety in elements and chemicals to later build planets and life is the focus. These are mostly derived from stellar formation through the conversion of gravitational and nuclear potential energy into elements through nuclear fusion. Other’s models have been employed to explore the dynamics of this buildup from the first Population I stars, which were large and short-lived, through the Population II stars of galactic spherical bulges and haloes, to the formation of smaller, long-lived stars with a high amount of non-Hydrogen and Helium atoms, called “metals”. The rates of these dynamics during the transition from cosmic development to terrestrial evolution on Earth are explored here.

AI and Big History

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly becoming a part of our everyday lives. In this paper, we examine how AI understanding can help Big History in two ways: 1. by providing insight into the complexity of human evolution; 2. by enabling a better understanding of future scenarios as the complex relationship between humans and artificial intelligence evolves. In addition, it discusses how AI tools can be used to enhance scientific discovery and then provide access to information through search and communication. Our understanding of AI and brains is explored by reviewing the fascinating developments in AI, comparing them to brain evolution, and comparing them to the current components of brain architecture. The integration of artificial intelligence and humans is discussed in different future scenarios, including the development of an ongoing relationship between humans and AI similar to a parent-child relationship. The future development of this complex system of humans and AI will proceed along various pathways including placing humans in virtual and augmented realities of AI, placing AI systems in cooperation with humans and organizational processes, and embedding AI within human minds.

Tracing human trait evolution through integrative genomics and temporal annotations.

Understanding the evolution of human traits is a fundamental yet challenging question. In a recent Cell Genomics article, Kun etal.1 integrate large-scale genomic and phenotypic data, including deep-learning-derived imaging phenotypes, with temporal annotations to estimate the timing of evolutionary changes that led to differences in traits between modern humans and primates or hominin ancestors.

Sequencing and characterizing human mitochondrial genomes in the biobank-based genomic research paradigm.

Human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) harbors essential mutations linked to aging, neurodegenerative diseases, and complex muscle disorders. Due to its uniparental and haploid inheritance, mtDNA captures matrilineal evolutionary trajectories, playing a crucial role in population and medical genetics. However, critical questions about the genomic diversity patterns, inheritance models, and evolutionary and medical functions of mtDNA remain unresolved or underexplored, particularly in the transition from traditional genotyping to large-scale genomic analyses. This review summarizes recent advancements in data-driven genomic research and technological innovations that address these questions and clarify the biological impact of nuclear-mitochondrial segments (NUMTs) and mtDNA variants on human health, disease, and evolution. We propose a streamlined pipeline to comprehensively identify mtDNA and NUMT genomic diversity using advanced sequencing and computational technologies. Haplotype-resolved mtDNA sequencing and assembly can distinguish authentic mtDNA variants from NUMTs, reduce diagnostic inaccuracies, and provide clearer insights into heteroplasmy patterns and the authenticity of paternal inheritance. This review emphasizes the need for integrative multi-omics approaches and emerging long-read sequencing technologies to gain new insights into mutation mechanisms, the influence of heteroplasmy and paternal inheritance on mtDNA diversity and disease susceptibility, and the detailed functions of NUMTs.

Were Huxley's social views constituted by his biological work, and vice versa? Progress, perfection, & social values in Julian Huxley's biological worldview.

While Julian S. Huxley's role in the Eugenics Society is well known, the ways in which his scientific research program intimately intertwined with his broader social views is sometimes overlooked. This paper analyzes Huxley's earlier and later research centering Individual (1912) and Modern Synthesis (1942) as two case studies in the context of his larger body of work. There currently exists much exceptional literature on Huxley, which is incorporated and reviewed as much as possible. That literature explores the connection between Huxley's biological views and social views, but there is more to say about the nature of that connection warranting a return to the details of his research program. Huxley aimed to establish the biologist's role for engineering human evolution towards sets of ideals conceived by the educated elite.