Human Genetics & Evolution
A further discussion on human evolution
January 3, 2012
Philip Guelpa responds to a letter on his article about the relationship between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens
New research may show that Neanderthals did not go extinct
By Philip Guelpa, December 27, 2011
DNA derived from the Neanderthals has been found in many human populations around the globe
New hominin fossil finds in South Africa may fill a gap in the record of human evolution
By Philip Guelpa, September 23, 2011
A newly reported fossil discovery from the Malapa, South Africa may provide greater insight into the evolution of the genus Homo from our australopithecine ancestors. The fossils consist of remains of two individuals, an adult female and juvenile male, possibly a mother and son.
New research sheds light on cognitive abilities of animals
By Frances Gaertner, June 10, 2011
Recent research has begun to investigate the cognitive abilities of animals and is helping to identify the evolutionary developments made by human beings that began to distinguish them from apes.
Fossil discovery confirms “Lucy” walked upright
By Chris Talbot, February 25, 2011
A new 3.2 million-year-old fossil discovery at Hadar, Ethiopia shows that Australopithecus afarensis, an ancestor of modern humans, had arched feet and was “committed” to walking upright.
A letter on the Denisova discovery
January 25, 2011
The World Socialist Web Site received this letter in response to “The Denisova discovery: Ancient genomics shed new light on human origins,” published January 17, 2011.
The Denisova discovery: Ancient genomics shed new light on human origins
By Thomas H. Douglass, January 17, 2011
An international team of scientists made headlines last year when they used genetic evidence to show that an ancient people, once living in the Altai Mountains of southern Siberia, were distant cousins of the Neanderthals and contributed to the modern human genome before their extinction.
The Artificial Ape: How humans invented themselves
By Philip Guelpa, January 3, 2011
The new book by Timothy Taylor proposes that a technological invention was critical to the biological evolution of modern humans.
“Strange Fruit” by Kenan Malik: A polemic against racism and identity politics
By Nancy Hanover, May 8, 2010
Kenan Malik has situated himself in the crosshairs of the dispute over the nature of race, arguing from the standpoint of Enlightenment rationalism and scientific objectivity.
New fossils provide insights into early human evolution
By William Moore, October 20, 2009
After 15 years of painstaking study, the journal Science has published a series of articles on the fossilized remains of Ardipithecus ramidus, which is interpreted to be an early form of hominin, the group including humans and all human ancestors back to the evolutionary split with the last common ancestor
Marx and Darwin: Two great revolutionary thinkers of the nineteenth century
Part 3
By Chris Talbot, June 19, 2009
Marx and Engels immediately recognised the significance of Darwin’s theory when On the Origin of Species appeared 150 years ago, laying out a scientific conception of the process of historical evolution of the biological world.
Marx and Darwin: Two great revolutionary thinkers of the nineteenth century
Part 2
By Chris Talbot, June 18, 2009
Marx and Engels immediately recognised the significance of Darwin’s theory when On the Origin of Species appeared 150 years ago, laying out a scientific conception of the process of historical evolution of the biological world.
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