02Jun 2026 by Post

Günter Bechly and the “Species Pair” Problem

A Biologist’s View, African elephants, Asian elephants, Bible, Cambrian Explosion, Charles Darwin, chimps, classes, computers, creations, Darwinism, designs, Evolution, Evolution after Darwin, explosions, fossil record, Genesis, George Gaylord Simpson, Gorilla gorilla, Günter Bechly, Homo sapiens, human exceptionalism, humans, Intelligent Design, Jean Rostand, orders, paleontology, Pan paniscus, phyla, software, species pair problem, theists, TimeTree.org, University of Chicago Press
Asian elephants (like the one at the top of this page) and their African counterparts apparently diverged about 8 million years ago. Source
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22May 2026 by Post

Not Out of Context: Comments on Hawks et al. (2000)

anthropology, Aosis, Australopithecines, Australopithecus, autosomes, body plan, body size, bottleneck, brain size, cladogenesis, Evolution, faces, fossil record, Grok, hominids, Homo, Homo erectus, Homo ergaster, Homo sapiens, Human Origins, Human Origins and Anthropology, John Hawks, Journal of Molecular Biology and Evolution, Molecular Biology and Evolution, mtDNA, nuchal areas, nuclear DNA, paleoanthropology, paleontology, population, population size, Religions (journal), Science and Faith in Dialogue, sex chromosomes, skeleton, speciation, Stephen Barr, University of Wisconsin-Madison
The lead author is John Hawks, a professor of anthropology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, who has a popular blog on paleoanthropology. Source
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18May 2026 by Post

Physicist Overstates the “Gradual” Nature of Human Origins in the Fossil Record

Ann Gauger, Australopithecines, Australopithecus, brain size, cranial buttressing, dental function, Evolution, First Things, God's Grandeur, Homo erectus, Homo rudolfensis, Homo sapiens, Human Origins, Human Origins and Anthropology, humans, Nature (journal), paleoanthropologists, paleontology, Stephen Barr, theology, University of Delaware
We’ve gone back and forth with Dr. Barr many times in the past. Mainstream paleoanthropologists acknowledge that the origin of humans is sudden and abrupt. Source
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24Feb 2026 by Post

Like It Never Happened: Yunxian Skulls Reassigned Based on Evolution, Not Data

Archaeology, China, Chris Stringer, Denisovans, Evolution, evolutionary narrative, evolutionary timeline, Günter Bechly, hominins, Homo erectus, Homo longi, Homo sapiens, human evolution, Human Origins and Anthropology, London, media, morphological data, morphology, Natural History Museum, paleoanthropologists, paleontology, revision, Rick Potts, Science (journal), Science Advances, skulls, Susan Antón, Xiaobo Feng, Yunxian 2, Yunxian skulls
As Günter Bechly used to wryly observe, human evolution is a subject that is constantly being “rewritten,” often accompanied by much media fanfare. Source
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14Nov 2025 by Post

The Neanderthal Story Keeps Evolving (Even if Nothing Else Does)

arithmetic, DNA, egg cells, footprints, genetics, Homo sapiens, Human Origins and Anthropology, James Woodford, modern humans, Monte Clérigo, Neanderthals, New Scientist, obstetrics, paleontology, Patrick Eppenberger, PIEZO1, population disparities, sperm, stillbirths, Switzerland, University of Seville, University of Zurich
The University of Seville announces that Neanderthal footprints found along Portugal’s Algarve coast have led to unexpected insights about Neanderthal culture. Source
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03Oct 2025 by Post

Skulls from China Said to Push Origin of Homo sapiens Back to 1 Million Years 

Ann Gauger, BBC, China, Chris Stringer, Denisovans, Evolution, fossil record, Homo heidelbergensis, Homo longi, Homo sapiens, homoplasy, Human Origins, Human Origins and Anthropology, Intelligent Design, Live Science, London, Middle Pleistocene, Natural History Museum, Neanderthals, Ola Hössjer, paleoanthropologists, paleontology, Science (journal), skulls, Yunxian skulls
How many times have we been told that some new paleoanthropological find is “rewriting the story of human evolution”? Source
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26Jul 2025 by Post

Investigation of Ancient Burials Yields Surprises

Archaeology, Associated Press, bones, brain, burial, Colin Barras, Evolution, Homo naledi, Homo sapiens, Human Origins and Anthropology, Melanie Lidman, Michael Egnor, Neanderthals, New Scientist, Rising Star Cave, skeletons, stereotype, teeth, The Immortal Mind, Tinshemet Cave, Yossi Zaidner
Archaeologists are reporting on a group culture around death from 100,000 years ago, maybe involving both Neanderthals and modern humans. Source
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07May 2025 by Post

Slow-Witted? Neanderthals Invented Their Own Tech — Didn’t Copy

archaeologists, Archaeology, Ars Technica, Bob Yirka, bone tip, Caucasus Mountains, Eurasia, Europe, Homo sapiens, Human Origins, Human Origins and Anthropology, humans, Kiona N. Smith, Liubov V. Golovanova, Mezmaiskaya Cave, Neanderthals, paleontology, Phys.org, Technology, weapons
Neanderthals cannot be the missing link that many paleontologists are looking for. But if the human mind has no history, there is no missing link. Source
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31Jan 2025 by Post

Science Writing Tries to Smash Human Exceptionalism

Africa, Amanda Richardson, animal behavior, antiquity, BBC News, Bronze Age, chimpanzees, Claire Asher, Côte D’Ivoire, Culture & Ethics, England, Homo sapiens, human exceptionalism, human mind, humans, Ice Age, Merlin, metal tools, monkeys, Neuroscience & Mind, New Stone Age, paleontology, polar bears, Royal BC Museum, Salisbury, Stone Age, stone tools, vultures, walruses
Stone tool use among animals versus the Stone Age provides a useful illustration of the tendency. Source
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