A Disappointing Decade for the Study of Human Evolution
Addis Ababa, anagenesis, ancient DNA, Ann Gauger, annus horribilis, Associated Press, Australopithecus afarensis, Australopithecus anamensis, Berhane Asfaw, Bernard Wood, BIO-Complexity, David H. Koch Hall, Denisovans, Ethiopia, genetic diversity, germline mutations, gradualism, Günter Bechly, Homo sapiens, human evolution, Human Origins, Mark Grabowski, Nature (journal), Ola Hössjer, paleoanthropology, population genetics, primates, punctuated equilibrium, Single-Origin Couple, Smithsonian Institution, Smithsonian Magazine, Tim White
The 2010s was a bad decade for the study of human evolution. Smithsonian Magazine recently published an article titled “These are the Decade’s Biggest Discoveries in Human Evolution.” It opens by saying: Human evolution is one of the most vibrant areas of scientific investigation. In the past decade we’ve seen many discoveries that add to our understanding of our origins. To mark the 10th anniversary of the Smithsonian’s “David H. Koch Hall of Human Origins,” here are some of the biggest discoveries in human evolution from the last 10 years. What are the big discoveries of the decade? Did they reveal new and compelling evidence that humans evolved from lower primates? Some of these big discoveries actually turn out to be instances where the evidence for human evolution weakened, and the rest…