Press Releases 2016

The earth sciences have defined a new human age - now social scientists are calling for broader and more interdisciplinary discussion more

Dr. Jessica Hendy and Dr. Christina Warinner win the 200,000 € Annual Donation Award of the Max Planck Society more

Genetic evidence overturn established colonization model. more

Particular sounds are preferred or avoided in non-related languages far more often than previously assumed more

First complete reconstruction of the early medieval pathogen genome Yersinia pestis from Bavarian skeletons more

The famous World War II treasure probably never existed, but is simply a continuation of a long local tradition of folklore. more

Discovering new data on barley domestication - Oldest plant genome reconstructed to date more

An international team of researchers has developed a website at d-place.org to help answer long-standing questions about the forces that shaped human cultural diversity. more

New findings from the archaeological collections from the Troisième caverne of Goyet in Belgium excavated almost 150 years ago. more

A single strain of plague bacteria sparked multiple historical and modern pandemics. more

‘Pristine’ landscapes simply do not exist anywhere in the world today and, in most cases, have not existed for at least several thousand years, says a new study in the journal PNAS. more

By analyzing the remains of ancient crops an international research team has provided the first archaeological signature of the westward Austronesian expansion. more

Researchers paint a genetic portrait of Ice Age Europe more

How ritual human sacrifice helped create unequal societies more

Y-chromosomal lineages that are associated with southern African Bantu-speaking agriculturalists have a higher rate of evolution than those associated with traditional foraging groups, probably due to the higher average age at paternity of the agriculturalists. more

The first largescale study of ancient DNA from early American people has confirmed the devastating impact of European colonisation on the Indigenous American populations of the time. Wolfgang Haak, groupleader at MPI for the Science of Human History since summer 2015 is senior author on the study of an international research team. Press Release, The University of Adelaide, Australia more

Scientists explore the role of climate change and ancient human activity in the disappearance of Zanzibar’s large fauna more

Genetic analyses shed new light on early European population dynamics   more

Historical pathogens survived for more than four centuries in Europe more

For the first time, researchers have been able to directly estimate the Anglo-Saxon ancestry of the British population from ancient skeletons, showing how Anglo-Saxon immigrants mixed with the native population. Stephan Schiffels and Wolfgang Haak, groupleaders at MPI for the Science of Human History since summer 2015 are leading authors on the study. Press Release, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Cambridge, UK
more

Helicobacter pylori genome of the glacier mummy decoded - new questions about the early migration of people in Europe more