Paleontology & Deep Time
3 reportsPaleontology & Deep Time investigates ancient life and Earth history through fossils, rocks, geochemistry, and evolutionary comparison. Current understanding relies on mass extinctions, paleoecology, and ancient environments, with uncertainty tracked across measurement, classification, and reconstruction.
Fossil preservation and stratigraphy are considered together as the evidence changes. The resulting analysis addresses how extinction magnitude is measured and how fossils are dated, showing how sparse measurements or incomplete records limit certainty.
Fossil preservation and stratigraphy are considered together as the evidence changes. The resulting analysis addresses how extinction magnitude is measured and how fossils are dated, showing how sparse measurements or incomplete records limit certainty.
Ancient DNA Reveals Sex Bias in Ice Age Mammoth Hunting
Genomic analysis of over 500 woolly mammoth remains from Eurasia and North America suggests Upper Paleolithic hunter-gatherers may have disproportionately targeted female mammoths, raising new questions about prehistoric hunting strategies
Chicxulub Dust May Have Fueled Lethal Firestorms
A new model of the Chicxulub impact includes ultrafine silicate dust found at fossil sites, suggesting surface temperatures may have become lethal within hours before a prolonged impact winter began
Cut Marks on Homo antecessor Bones Reveal Early Cannibalism in Spain
Archaeologists have identified new evidence of cannibalism among Homo antecessor at Gran Dolina cave in Spain, with cut marks on adult and juvenile bones dating to around 850,000 years ago, expanding our understanding of early human behavior