Milk may have fuelled a growth spurt in ancient Europeans
20 January 2023
An analysis of ancient human skeletons finds that an increase in size and weight in some regions coincided with the rise of lactose tolerance
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Farming and art arose in New Guinea at same time as Europe and Asia
25 March 2020
New archaeological finds show that New Guinea developed sophisticated cultural practices around the same time as they were emerging in Europe and Asia
Half of life on Earth has vanished since we arrived on the scene
21 May 2018
The biomass of living organisms on the planet has halved since human civilisation began, and humans now outweigh all wild mammals tenfold
Harsh: Europe's cannabis died just as the first farmers arrived
17 May 2018
Cannabis – the source of the drug marijuana – virtually disappeared from Europe just as farmers arrived, so they didn’t get the chance to grow it for another 4500 years
Lost villages from centuries ago found in the Amazon rainforest
27 March 2018
Even some of the more remote parts of the Amazon rainforest, far from major rivers, were once densely populated – centuries before the arrival of Europeans
Our lust for tastier chocolate has transformed the cocoa tree
27 December 2017
Ever since we domesticated the cocoa tree over 3000 years ago, we have been breeding them to make tastier chocolate – but in the process we have made them vulnerable
Early farmers may have polluted the sea 4000 years ago
4 October 2017
Heavy metals including cadmium and lead are unusually common in sediments from the South China Sea, hinting that run-off from farms was spilling into the ocean 4000 years ago
Grass-fed beef is bad for the planet and causes climate change
3 October 2017
Supporters like Prince Charles say raising cattle on pastures can be good for the environment, but the sums have been done and their claims don’t add up
