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What really happened when ancient humans migrated out of Africa

The out-of-Africa migration, in which ancient humans went on to inhabit every other continent except Antarctica, may not have been one moment in time, but a long and slow process. Columnist Michael Marshall examines how archaeologists are rethinking this critical part of our history

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Alice Roberts

Humans

Alice Roberts: 'We are fundamentally, at the end of the day, animals'

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Humans

Ötzi's frozen remains may harbour metabolically active microbes

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Lascaux Cave is a Palaeolithic cave situated in southwestern France, near the village of Montignac in the Dordogne region, which houses some of the most famous examples of prehistoric cave paintings. Close to 600 paintings ??? mostly of animals - dot the interior walls of the cave in impressive compositions. Horses are the most numerous, but deer, aurochs, ibex, bison, and even some felines can also be found. Besides these paintings, which represent most of the major images, there are also around 1400 engravings of a similar order. The art, dated to c. 17,000 ??? c. 15,000 BCE, falls within the Upper Palaeolithic period and was created by the clearly skilled hands of humans living in the area at that time. The region seems to be a hotspot; many beautifully decorated caves have been discovered there. The exact meaning of the paintings at Lascaux or any of the other sites is still subject to discussion, but the prevailing view attaches a ritualistic or even spiritual component to them, hinting at the sophistication of their creators. Lascaux was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list in 1979, along with other prehistoric sites in its proximity. Valley, France.

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�鶹��ý recommends a smart new account of human exceptionalism

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Humans

Ancient teeth hint at links between Denisovans and Homo erectus

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Humans

The story of the first human tool: the humble container

Features

A lost ancient script reveals how writing as we know it really began

Humans

A lost ancient script reveals how writing as we know it really began

Features

Humans

Human heads have changed shape a lot in the past 100 years

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Reconstruction of a family of Neanderthals

Humans

Neanderthal infants were enormous compared with modern humans

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Humans

Are Neanderthals descendants of modern humans?

The gap between genetics and archaeology leaves us with an unclear picture of where the Neanderthals originated. Columnist Michael Marshall details a surprising new hypothesis that suggests they may have come from us

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We might be wrong about humanity’s near extinction

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Humans

Why early humans radically changed their toolkits 200,000 years ago

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We did not evolve alone: The story of our origins

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Life

Oldest known dog extends the genetic history of our canine companions

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