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A pair of ancient DNA studies, including one of the largest assemblages of ancient human genomes yet published, recently homed in on the identity of the hunter-gatherers who settled down and began farming in the Middle East sometime before 12,000 years ago.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-01322-w
This week's Friday fun reading is on a more serious topic: the flagship journal of the American Association of Biological Anthropologists, the American Journal of Biological Anthropology, recently announced that any submissions to the journal would need to comply with ethical requirements for human remains used in the research. Read more in this Popular Science article on how the "decision is part of an ongoing conversation within the field of bioanthropologyโa discipline that uses biological tools like genetics to study human life throughout historyโto redefine its responsibilities to both its subjects and their descendants".
https://www.popsci.com/science/anthropology-human-remains-guidelines/
A recent study led by University of Padova's Luca Pagani analyzed Eurasian Paleolithic DNA evidence to help understand the population dynamics that followed the successful migration of our species out of Africa before population differentiation in other parts of Eurasia and Oceania.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d43978-022-00053-w
This week's Friday fun reading is a more serious piece in SAPIENS by University of Colorado Denver's Jaime Hodgkins and Yale University's Jessica Thompson: "Impossible Choices at the Crossroads of Motherhood and Fieldwork", calling for family-friendly work cultures.
https://www.sapiens.org/archaeology/motherhood-and-fieldwork/
We're excited to announce our final free online Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History HOT Topic event of this season, which will take place on Thursday May 19 from 11:30 am - 12:30 pm ET! Penn State's Nina Jablonski will talk about how human skin color has evolved, and why it matters - the role this adaptation plays in our health and well-being. Pre-registration required.
https://naturalhistory.si.edu/events/evolution-skin-tones-reflection-human-adaptation-and-health