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PLEISTOCENE FOSSILS
A 31,000-year-old fossil has challenged everything scientists thought about the extinct 'American cheetah' — its DNA and diet tell a surprising storyAncient DNA studies have rewritten the family tree of the "American cheetah," Miracinonyx trumani. Genetic evidence shows this extinct cat ...
Tibetans adapted to live at high altitudes where oxygen is scarce; study suggests ancient interbreeding with an extinct human population may have given their ancestors a genetic advantage to survive in one of planet’s harshest environmentsTibetan highlander populations have distinct genetic variants in proximity to the EPAS1 gene, facilitating their adaptation to high altitud...
Science says ancient soil can reveal about extinct animals that left no bones, the hidden DNA record beneath our feetThe discovery of DNA preserved in ancient sediments is expanding our understanding of what can constitute a fossil record. Bones provide ph...
Manatees are visiting Texas again but fossils suggest they may have been there thousands of years ago during the Ice AgeThis summer, Texan shores welcome an unusual sight: manatees. Historical fossils reveal that these gentle giants once swam in Texas waters ...
In 2016, workers digging beneath an Oregon State University stadium uncovered Ice Age mammoths, bison and ancient camelsRecently, construction workers at Oregon State University stumbled upon remarkable Ice Age mammoth fossils, unveiling a prehistoric landsca...
Did violent volcanic eruptions create modern humans? A landmark 2016 study linking the East African Rift Valley to Homo sapiens around 300,000 years ago says they may haveDid violent volcanic eruptions create modern humans? New science says yes. Hundreds of thousands of years ago, massive eruptions shook the ...
At Kenya’s Lake Turkana, 21 ancient footprints from 1.43 million years ago don’t fit the known hominins, and the size clues point in two directionsThe unveiling of 1.43 million-year-old fossilized footprints near Lake Turkana, Kenya, has left researchers in a conundrum. The prints do n...
Lost world of birds and frogs: Scientists open a million-year-old cave time capsule in New Zealand, where 12 bird species and four frogs reveal a lost world reshaped by volcanoes and climate long before humans arrivedA remarkable fossil discovery in a New Zealand cave has unveiled a lost world of ancient birds and frogs, dating back one million years. Th...
Ancient squirrels ate meat like 'zombies,' and the proof is in the poopFrozen ancient squirrel feces from Canada's Yukon have revealed a lost Ice Age world. These coprolites, dating back up to 700,000 years, co...
Goodbye to the Dragon Man mystery: Ancient proteins suggest the skull belonged to a DenisovanScientists have uncovered new molecular evidence. This evidence indicates the Harbin cranium fossil, known as 'Dragon Man', is a Denisovan....
Archaeologists discovered ancient stone tools on Sulawesi, and it revealed that hominins reached the island far earlier than expectedNew stone tool discoveries on Sulawesi, Indonesia, have dramatically altered our understanding of early human migration. These artifacts, d...
In 1997, construction workers building a laser facility found enormous mammoth bones that surprised scientists with evidence of California’s ancient past from the ice ageConstruction workers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory unearthed mammoth bones in 1997. The discovery occurred during excavation fo...
What construction workers discovered beneath a South Dakota housing site became one of North America’s richest mammoth fossil localitiesIn 1974, construction workers in Hot Springs, South Dakota, unearthed a significant Ice Age fossil site. The discovery revealed numerous ma...
In 1979, miners using hydraulic hoses in Alaska uncovered a mummified steppe bison preserved for 36,000 yearsAlaska's permafrost yielded a remarkable 36,000-year-old steppe bison, nicknamed "Blue Babe," in 1979. Unlike typical fossils, this specime...
When a 9-year-old tripped in the New Mexico desert, he accidentally uncovered the remains of an ancient elephant relative from 1.2 million years agoA remarkable fossil discovery in New Mexico, made by a 9-year-old boy, has unearthed a 1.2-million-year-old stegomastodon skull. This chanc...
A giant echidna fossil sat in a museum drawer for over a century, before revealing Australia’s lost giantsA forgotten fossil, overlooked for over a century, has revealed crucial insights into Australia's extinct giant echidnas. This re-evaluatio...
Half a Million Years Underwater: Scientists Discover Rare Ice Age Fossils in FloridaDivers found a sinkhole in Florida's Steinhatchee River. It holds fossils from nearly half a million years ago. These ancient remains belon...
What Workers Found Beneath a Los Angeles School… Scientists Say It Sat There for 9 Million YearsConstruction at San Pedro High School in Los Angeles unearthed a massive fossil deposit. Millions of marine specimens from two distinct anc...
What Was Found Inside Petralona Cave: The Ancient Skull That Is Reshaping Europe’s Human HistoryA remarkable skull found in Greece's Petralona Cave is rewriting human history. Dated to over 286,000 years old, this fossil does not fit n...
Pollen grains analysis unveils secret of 1st human migration into Eurasia 50,000 yrs agoDispersal of people occurred during some of the highest temperatures in the late Pleistocene, which also would have featured higher humidit...