Millennial Vibes
Onset of extensive human fire use 50,000 y ago
Shoushu Jiang et al.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 8 July 2025
Abstract:
Fire is a pivotal aspect of human involvement in the carbon cycle. However, the precise timing of the large-scale human fire use remains uncertain. Here, we report a pyrogenic carbon record of East Asian fire history over the past 300,000 y from the East China Sea. This record suggests a rapid increase in fire activity since approximately 50,000 y ago, indicating a decoupling from the monsoon climate, and this pattern is consistent with fire histories in Europe, Southeast Asia, and Papua New Guinea-Australia regions. By integrating extensive archaeological data, we propose that the intensified global expansion of modern human and population growth, coupled with the rising demand for fire use during cold glacial periods, resulted in a significant increase in fire utilization from 50,000 y onward. This suggests that a measurable human imprint on the carbon cycle via fire likely predates the Last Glacial Maximum.
Evolution of long scalp hair in humans
Lo-Yu Chang et al.
British Journal of Dermatology, April 2025, Pages 574-584
Abstract:
The ability to grow long scalp hair is a distinct human characteristic. It probably originally evolved to aid in cooling the sun-exposed head, although the genetic determinants of long hair are largely unknown. Despite ancestral variations in hair growth, long scalp hair is common to all extant human populations, which suggests its emergence before or concurrently with the emergence of anatomically modern humans (AMHs), approximately 300 000 years ago. Long scalp hair in AMHs was also a trait that was selected because it conveyed essential signals related to an individual’s age, sexual maturity, health and social status. Biologically, hair length is primarily determined by the amount of time that a hair follicle spends in the active growth phase (anagen). While anagen duration is typically tightly regulated in most mammals, the inherent ability of a hair follicle to continuously recruit new dividing progenitors to its base, where hair fibre is generated, theoretically removes limits on maximal anagen duration. We propose a model wherein hair cycle progression into and out of anagen is regulated by evolutionary malleable molecular checkpoints. Several animal species and domesticated animal breeds display long body hair, which suggests that extremely long scalp hair in humans emerged via attenuation of an existing out-of-anagen checkpoint mechanism rather than via a newly evolved molecular programme. Studying congenital and somatic mosaicism conditions featuring altered hair length could potentially unveil the currently unknown molecular basis underlying this human trait.
Exploring the Early Neolithic in the Arabian Gulf: A newly discovered 8,400-year-old stone-built architecture on Ghagha Island, United Arab Emirates
Kevin Lidour et al.
PLoS ONE, June 2025
Abstract:
The site of GHG0088, with its two successive main phases of occupation, provides crucial data for re-evaluating our understanding of the Early Neolithic period (c. 6600–5400 cal. BCE) in the Arabian Gulf. The initial phase is marked by durable stone-built structures and evidence of domestic activities and funerary practices, presumably reflecting a settled lifestyle. The material culture includes a lithic industry, tools crafted from marine shells, and plaster vessels indicative of early pyrotechnological skills, while the absence of pottery challenges traditional views of Neolithic material assemblages in the Arabian Peninsula. Analysis of faunal remains indicates a subsistence strategy heavily reliant on marine resources, particularly fish, highlighting the exploitation of the neighbouring sea. While there is no evidence of agriculture or animal herding during that period, the rich coastal ecosystems likely ensured food security, reducing the need for residential mobility. The architectural remnants reveal patterns of continuity and adaptation across both phases. A significant layer of accumulated aeolian sand suggests a period of abandonment, potentially linked to the 8.2 ka BP climatic event. The subsequent reoccupation involved the adaptive reuse of the collapsed structures, transforming them into a temporary shelter for fishers, as suggested by numerous stone weights found. Additionally, the presence of shell beads underscores a renewed significance of marine resources during this second phase of occupation and suggests participation in extensive long-distance trade networks. These findings provide valuable new perspectives on the early stages of the Neolithic period in the Arabian Gulf. Comparisons with other contemporary sites offer a foundation for redefining the Early Arabian Neolithic and its timeline in this region.
The spatiotemporal distribution of human pathogens in ancient Eurasia
Martin Sikora et al.
Nature, forthcoming
Abstract:
Infectious diseases have had devastating effects on human populations throughout history, but important questions about their origins and past dynamics remain. To create an archaeogenetic-based spatiotemporal map of human pathogens, we screened shotgun-sequencing data from 1,313 ancient humans covering 37,000 years of Eurasian history. We demonstrate the widespread presence of ancient bacterial, viral and parasite DNA, identifying 5,486 individual hits against 492 species from 136 genera. Among those hits, 3,384 involve known human pathogens, many of which had not previously been identified in ancient human remains. Grouping the ancient microbial species according to their likely reservoir and type of transmission, we find that most groups are identified throughout the entire sampling period. Zoonotic pathogens are only detected from around 6,500 years ago, peaking roughly 5,000 years ago, coinciding with the widespread domestication of livestock. Our findings provide direct evidence that this lifestyle change resulted in an increased infectious disease burden. They also indicate that the spread of these pathogens increased substantially during subsequent millennia, coinciding with the pastoralist migrations from the Eurasian Steppe.
Multivariate analyses of Aurignacian and Gravettian personal ornaments support cultural continuity in the Early Upper Palaeolithic
Francesco d’Errico et al.
PLoS ONE, June 2025
Abstract:
Traditionally, lithic artefacts have served as the principal proxy for the definition of archaeological cultures in the Upper Paleolithic. However, the culture-historical framework in use, constructed unsystematically and shaped by regional research traditions, features a number of widely acknowledged drawbacks. Here we use personal ornaments to explore the nature of Early Upper Paleolithic cultural entities and establish to what extent they represent distinct or evolving cultural adaptations. We present an analysis of an updated georeferenced dataset composed of personal ornaments coming from two key successive Upper Paleolithic technocomplexes, the Aurignacian (42–34,000 years ago) and the Gravettian (34–24,000 years ago). Using a range of multivariate statistics, we demonstrate that, at both European and regional scales, people belonging to these technocomplexes wore similar personal ornaments, though fully-shaped personal ornaments appear more different between technocomplexes. We additionally show that the variability of the Aurignacian ornaments suggests more fragmented cultural clusters compared to the Gravettian, implying more extensive symbolic networks in the latter. Despite a long-standing consensus based on other archaeological proxies, which emphasises the dissimilarity between these cultural entities, our results demonstrate the complex nature of Upper Paleolithic cultures which are characterised by discontinuities in economic and technical systems and continuity in the culturalisation of the body.