A new study from the Nihewan basin of China has revealed that hominins who possessed advanced knapping abilities equivalent to Mode 2 technological features occupied East Asia as early as 1.1 million years ago (Ma), which is 0.3 Ma earlier than the date associated with the first handaxes found in East Asia. This suggests that Mode 2 hominins dispersed into East Asia much earlier than previously thought.The study, which was conducted by a joint team led by Prof. PEI Shuwen from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and Prof. Ignacio de la Torre from the Institute of History the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), was published in PNAS on Mar. 5 and provide insights into the early dispersals and adaptions of hominins in Eurasia. Contact to PEI Shuwen: peishuwen@ivpp.ac.cn

Writing a commentary in the 50th anniversary issue of Cell, Qiaomei FU and E. Andrew Bennett, both of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, explored the contribution of paleogenomics to our understanding of the evolution of modern humans. Contact to FU Qiaomei: fuqiaomei@ivpp.ac.cn

An international team led by Institute of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Palaeoanthropology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences unraveled the mystery about the evolution of human bipedalism. Contact to NI Xijun nixijun@ivpp.ac.cn Link:Paper DOI: 10.1016/j.xinn.2024.100580

A team of researchers from China, Australia, France, Spain, and Germany has revealed advanced material culture in East Asia by 45,000 years ago. The new study was published in Nature Ecology & Evolution on on 18 January 2024. The researchers examined a previously excavated archaeological collection from the Shiyu site, located in Shanxi Province.

An international team led by Institute of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Palaeoanthropology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences unraveled the mystery about when and how the largest ape on the Earth ever-known went extinct. Contact to ZHANG Yingqi zhangyingqi@ivpp.ac.cn Link:Paper DOI？10.1038/s41586-023-06900-0

The human population explosion, soaring from 1.6 billion to over 6 billion during the 20th century, has had a profound impact on global environments and biodiversity. However, large mammalian herbivores, including species such as elephants and deer that are sensitive to habitat changes, have experienced relatively little extinction in the face of this 20th century change. To investigate why this otherwise sensitive group of mammals has survived during this part of the Anthropocene, a research team of scientists examined the diets of the most common large-bodied herbivorous mammals weighing over 20 kg (44 lbs) across China over the past century.