New research confirms that marmoset calls vary in different groups, showing that the calls are learned, not strictly biologically programmed. … More Even Marmosets Develop Regional Dialects
Perhaps the most famous paleoanthropology team are now live-streaming their fossil excavation efforts from South Africa … More Video: An Impromptu Skype Call with Lee Berger and John Hawks from inside the Rising Star Caves as They Excavated More Homo naledi Fossils
Researchers in South Africa have discovered another cave with remains of Homo naledi and the dating of the fossils reveals a big surprise. … More Exclusive Interview with Lee Berger: A Second Cave, Homo naledi Fossils Only 236-355k Years Old
[This is a quick summary of the second chapter of my book, Not So Different: Finding Human Nature in Animals on play and recreation. The thesis of the book is that we can better understand human behaviors by studying their equivalents in other animals.] Isn’t playing a pointless distraction for an animal? At first glance, there doesn’t seem to be any … More What is the value of play?
A new study of woodpeckers adds nuance to the relationship between brain power and social interactions. … More From Woodpeckers to Apes: Competition Drives the Correlation between Brain Size and Group Size
Researchers have catalogued body language in bonobos, providing key insight into the evolution of human language. … More The Body Language of Bonobos and the Evolution of Human Language
It’s becoming increasingly clear that animals do a great deal of social learning, which gives insight into how humans became culturally modern. … More Social Learning in Animals: Implications for the Evolution of Human Intelligence
Analysis of 1.8 million year old teeth reveal that this Homo habilis was right-handed. … More Even Homo habilis Was Right-handed
That “guilty dog” look is the product of millions of years of evolution and is actually a sophisticated social communiqué. … More Borrowed Signals: A Discussion of the “Guilty Dog” Look
The “pain grimace” is quite similar in many mammals, but where did it come from and why do we do it? … More Why do We and Other Animals Wince When in Pain?
