Institute of Evolution in Africa

The importance of megafaunal consumption by early humans: https://theconversation.com/how-to-eat-an-elephant-fossil-find-in-tanzania-shows-oldest-signs-of-butchering-these-giant-mammals-276907

📢The final version of our article "Earliest Evidence of Elephant Butchery at Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania) Reveals the Evolutionary Impact of Early Human Megafaunal Exploitation" published in
, is now available!

https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.108298.4

➡️Intriguing beginning of megafaunal exploitation by early humans. Also, a cautionary note about bone "tools" made on elephant bones.



📸: Mauricio Antón.

Why has our understanding of early human behavior hit a plateau? Our new book challenges: The "scientific" status of current practices, non-systemic evolutionary theories, the integrity of the archaeological record and proposes a new ecological path forward.

Are we actually making progress in understanding early human behavior, or just refining our tools? In our new book, we critically examine why archaeological narratives have stalled despite technological leaps. It's time to ask: is archaeology truly scientific?

https://www.cambridge.org/fr/universitypress/subjects/archaeology/prehistory/traces-distant-human-past-understanding-archaeology-our-origins?format=HB&isbn=9781009670593



Rice University Universidad de Alcalá Área de Prehistoria-Universidad de Alcalá OTRI Universidad de Alcalá Comunidad de Madrid

📢New paper out!
The impact of megafaunal exploitation in early human evolution: https://elifesciences.org/reviewed-preprints/108298



Rice University Universidad de Alcalá Área de Prehistoria-Universidad de Alcalá Cultura UAH OTRI Universidad de Alcalá

📷: Domínguez-Rodrigo et al., 2025 https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.108298.1

Aquí compartimos este artículo de nuestro codirector Manuel Domínguez-Rodrigo en The Conversation:
https://doi.org/10.64628/AAI.75wtxxyp9

We’re pleased to share an article by our co-director Manuel Domínguez-Rodrigo published in The Conversation:
https://doi.org/10.64628/AAI.75wtxxyp9

Aquí compartimos la nota de prensa de la Universidad de Rice en la que entrevistan a nuestro codirector, Manuel Domínguez-Rodrigo, a raíz de la publicación del artículo "Early humans and the balance of power: Homo habilis as prey" en The New York Academy of Sciences

➡️ https://news.rice.edu/news/2025/rice-anthropologist-among-first-use-ai-uncover-new-clues-early-humans-were-prey-not

➡️Y el link al artículo en The New York Academy of Sciences: https://nyaspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nyas.15321

➡️Recent publication in Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences:
New AI analyses of bone surface modifications suggest Homo habilis may not have been the hunter we thought—but prey of big cats. This challenges the traditional view of their role in early human evolution.
https://nyaspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nyas.15321



➡️Publicación reciente en Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences:
Nuevos análisis con herramientas de IA sobre las modificaciones de la superficie ósea sugieren que Homo habilis quizá no fue el cazador que pensábamos, sino la presa de grandes félidos. Esto pone en cuestión la visión tradicional sobre su papel en la evolución humana.
https://nyaspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nyas.15321



Universidad de Alcalá Área de Prehistoria-Universidad de Alcalá Cultura UAH OTRI Universidad de Alcalá Cultura Comunidad de Madrid Rice University Rice University Anthropology

📷: Vegara-Riquelme et al., 2025.

Bones tell stories—but can AI read them? Our study shows deep learning can reliably spot cut marks & tooth marks, and deconstructs recent critiques. With better data & smarter training, AI is opening new doors in archaeology & human origins research.

https://academic.oup.com/biomethods/article/10/1/bpaf057/8198069?searchresult=1

Universidad de Alcalá Área de Prehistoria-Universidad de Alcalá OTRI Universidad de Alcalá Cultura UAH Rice University Rice University Anthropology Cultura Comunidad de Madrid



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The Ecology of an Elephant Kill: Lion Defleshing of an African Elephant in the Okavango Delta (Botswana), and Limited Kleptoparasitic Opportunities for Meat-Eating Scavengers

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/aje.70079?af=R

Universidad de Alcalá Rice University Cultura UAH Área de Prehistoria-Universidad de Alcalá OTRI Universidad de Alcalá