115 search results for “homo sapiens” in the Public website
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‘Homo sapiens is too arrogant: call us Homo faber, the toolmaker’
We need to dispel the arrogant and misguided idea that modern humans are superior to earlier human species. It is thanks in part to all our predecessors such as Neanderthals that we are who we are today. This is what Marie Soressi, Professor of Hominin Diversity Archaeology, will argue in her inaugural…
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Homo Mimeticus: A New Theory of Imitation
Imitation is, perhaps more than ever, constitutive of human originality.
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Les Cottés excavations reveals how Neandertals and Homo sapiens adapted to a changing climate 40,000 years ago
The transition from Middle to Upper Paleolithic is a major biological and cultural threshold in the construction of our common humanity. Technological and behavioral changes happened simultaneously to a major climatic cooling, forcing human populations to develop new strategies for the exploitation…
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Homo Mimeticus II Re-Turns to Mimesis
In this second installment of the Homo Mimeticus series (Leuven UP), international scholars further the field of mimetic studies from perspectives as diverse as philosophy, political theory, literary/media studies, and the neurosciences.
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Studying Homo erectus Lifestyle and Location (SHeLL)
An integrated geo-archaeological research of the hominin site Trinil on Java
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Archaeologists come up with a more precise estimate for how long modern humans and Neanderthals co-existed
Modern humans and Neanderthals may have co-existed in France and Northern Spain for up to 2,900 years until the Neanderthals disappeared. This is what archaeologists from Leiden University and Cambridge University write in a new publication in Scientific Reports.
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What Netflix Got Wrong About Indigenous Storytelling in Sapiens
Filipino anthropologists Andrea Malaya M. Ragragio and Myfel D. Paluga look back at the groundbreaking Netflix show Trese and what it missed about the stories of Indigenous peoples. They published the article 'What Netflix Got Wrong About Indigenous Storytelling' in the digital Anthropology magazine…
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La Grande Roche excavation (Quinçay, France)
La Grande Roche is one of the rare archaeological sites that preserved a long sequence of deposits formed at the time of contact between late Neandertals and early Homo sapiens.
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From Homo Economicus to Political Animal
Who is Economic Man? Every economic paradigm presupposes an anthropology, a theory of human nature. This project explores the anthropologies presupposed and produced by ancient Greek economic texts, and the specific knowledge forms that shape these anthropologies.
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Fires, Food and the Evolution of Human Detoxification Capabilities
A study by a Leiden-Wageningen group shows that present-day humans are biologically poorly equipped to deal with the toxins they are regularly exposed to in smoky environments: compared to earlier hominins, we modern humans are probably even worse off. The study appeared in Molecular Biology and Evolution.…
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Mimetic Posthumanism: Homo Mimeticus 2.0 in Arts, Philosophy, and Technics
In this latest contribution to mimetic studies, Nidesh Lawtoo joins forces with leading international theorists of the posthuman to broaden the reach of the mimetic turn beyond human imitation.
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Human Evolution
This multidisciplinary minor provides students with knowledge on how and why humans became the way they are. The minor focuses on the evolution of the species Homo sapiens from other hominin lineages and animal ancestors, and on the various factors shaping this process. Not only is human evolution of…
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Andrew Sorensen receives Veni for continuation of prehistoric fire-making research
In 2018, Sorensen’s research into the fire-making habits of the Neanderthals reached the headlines all over the world. Now, a Veni grant will enable him to continue his fire-related investigation, focusing more on our own distant ancestors.
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Integrating palaeoproteomics into the zooarchaeological analysis of Palaeolithic bone assemblages
Doctoral Thesis
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Case studies
The research that is united in the Liveable Planet programme, touches upon a wide range of aspects of human life. The goal is to deepen and expand the scope and to connect more researchers. The following case studies are examples of current research projects.
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cognition among Bornean orang-utans (Pongo pygmaeus) and humans (Homo sapiens)
PhD defence
- About this minor
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Belgian Middle Egypt Prehistoric Project
This research project of the Catholic University of Leuven was created in 1976 by Professor Dr Pierre Vermeersch, who assumed its direction until 2003. The present director is Professor Dr Philip Van Peer.
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Archaeological excavations in Romania show life of earliest modern humans in Europe
In a new article in the journal Scientific Reports, Leiden archaeologist Wei Chu and colleagues report on recent excavations in Western Romania at the site of Româneşti, one of the most important sites in southeastern Europe associated with the earliest Homo sapiens. The site gives an important glimpse…
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University of Chicago Press Journals Continue to Earn Top Impact Factor Rankings
According to Thomson Reuters’ 2014 Journal Citation Reports® (JCR) and the Washington & Lee University School of Law 2014 Journal Rankings, 22 journals published by the University of Chicago Press rank at the top of their subject categories.
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About the programme
In the master’s specialisation in Economic and Consumer Psychology, students will study the psychological mechanisms that underlie many of our choices and decisions concerning consumption and other economic behaviours.
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Neandertal Legacy Scientific Reports’ article in the top 100 most downloaded
With an off-the-charts number of downloads, outstanding media coverage, and more than 300 tweets, a small team behind the Scientific Reports article led by a Leiden PhD Igor Djakovic is living every researcher’s dream.
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The garden of Eden is Africa
Amazing discoveries by Jean Jacques Hublin of Early modern Humans in Morocco.
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Shift in scientific consensus about demise of Neanderthals
It is still unclear how the Neanderthals died out. For long, one theory seemed most likely: the emergence of the highly intelligent Homo sapiens, or modern humans. This competition hypothesis is no longer the dominant theory among scientists, research among archaeologists and anthropologists has shown.…
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Into the cold: The adaptive role of pyrotechnology among the earliest modern humans in Europe, ca. 45,000–20,000 years ago
The routine assumption that Upper Palaeolithic early modern humans in Europe were regular fire users who produced fire at will has never been tested against the archaeological record. Utilizing literature, database and microwear analytical approaches, this project seeks to establish the role and forms…
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Amanda Henry in Sapiens.org about microfossils in a Finnish skeletal collection
The Southwestern part of Finland isn’t exactly known as a great place for archeologists to go and find anything than the sturdiest of remains. The conditions in this part of Finland make artifacts crumble quickly over time. Therefore, two archeologists decided to look in an unexpected place: between…
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No humans needed: Neanderthals possibly responsible for their own extinction
Scientists remain puzzled by the sudden extinction of Neanderthals, some 40,000 years ago. New research by scientists from Eindhoven University of Technology, Leiden University and Wageningen University now suggests we might have been too quick in attributing the demise of Neanderthals to invasions…
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Faculty of Archaeology features in Archeologie Magazine Special
The Faculty of Archaeology is proud to present the special edition in honor of our 25th anniversary. In 15 pages, the Dutch-language special gives an overview of the wide variety of research, fieldwork projects, and laboratories the Faculty hosts. Aimed at the general public, the special will be handed…
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Archaeologist Marie Soressi joins the discussion about the early use of bow-and-arrow technology in Europe
Nature News reported on the use of bow-and-arrow for hunting based on the research made on small points found in a 54,000-year-old cave site in southern France.
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Bachelor programme structure
Study all aspects of human life in the past and take on a broad, historic perspective.
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Bachelor programme structure
Study all aspects of human life in the past and take on a broad, historic perspective in the specialisation World Archaeology. Or investigate the role of cultural heritage in society in the specialisation Heritage and Society.
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How touchscreens and eye trackers can tell us something about the dating life of orangutans
Aesthetic attraction plays a big role in orangutans’ mate choice, behavioural biologist and PhD candidate Tom Roth has observed. But to discover just how big that role is, more research is needed into the emotions of the great apes.
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Archaeology Inter-Section journal offers students the chance to publish: ‘Inter-Section is a great way to get your work in the spotlight’
The Faculty of Archaeology's own home-grown journal Inter-Section has released a new volume. Inter-Section offers students and PhD candidates the unique chance to publish in a peer-reviewed journal. Karel Kuipers and Tullio Abruzzese contributed to the new volume.
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eLaw hosts Panel Discussion 'Online Targeted Advertising and Human Dignity'
eLaw is thrilled to let you know that on 29 April (17:00-19:00), we will be hosting Prof. Luciano Floridi, Prof. Brett Frischmann and Prof. Shoshana Zuboff on the online (zoom) panel discussion with the question – Should online targeted advertisement be banned on the premise that it violates human d…
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Anatomically modern humans reached China well before settling in Europe
In Nature researchers at Leiden University and Utrecht University show how 47 teeth from Southern China indicate that anatomically modern humans where present at least 80,000 years ago in the region. This is 40,000 years earlier than in Europe.
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Economics is mainly about psychology
Many people in the Netherlands have difficulty managing on their income. Professor by special appointment Wilco van Dijk, affiliated to Leiden University and Nibud, is researching what we can do to gain a healthier approach to managing our finances. His inaugural lecture is on 1 April.
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Livestream Mercator Sapiens Stimulus Mariska Kret
Lecture, Award ceremony
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Archaeological fieldwork in corona times: professor Marie Soressi's story
From July 25th till August 7th, a team led by Professor Marie Soressi went to France and worked at La Grande Roche de Quinçay, a cave site located in a forested area close to the city of Poitiers. The corona outbreak triggered the need to rethink the organisation of the excavation.
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Archaeologist Everest Gromoll wins LUF Thesis Prize with groundbreaking research on human responses to climatic shifts
On Saturday, February 11, 2023, at the Dies for Alumni event, archaeology alumni Everest Gromoll was awarded the LUF Thesis Prize. His thesis, titled ‘Neolithizers by Nurture’, explores parallels between the only two comparable climatic shifts in the history of modern humans: that of the one 12,000…
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2008 Culture and cognition of Palaeolithic hominins
The Palaeolithic period extends from the earliest stone tools (and in Europe, earliest occupation) to the beginning of the current warm period.
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New method for extracting human DNA from archaeological objects yields success
An international team of researchers led by Leiden archaeology professor Marie Soressi and Leipzig senior geneticist Matthias Meyer has recovered the DNA of a woman belonging to an Ancient North Eurasian population from a 20,000-year-old pendant. This is the first time DNA analysis has been used to…
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Vici grants for three Leiden researchers
Three Leiden researchers will each receive a Vici grant of 1.5m euros. They are historian Cátia Antunes, cell biologist Dennis Claessen and archaeologist Marie Soressi. This grant from the Dutch Research Council (NWO) will give them the opportunity to form their own research group over the next five…
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Investigating palaeoclimate variability in the Iberian peninsula during the last glacial period and implications for Neanderthals
The Iberian Peninsula has been central to the discussion as it was considered to be a 'last refuge' for the species at a time when H. sapiens occupation spread throughout Europe. Much speculation has centred around the idea that extreme climate fluctuations during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 like Heinrich…
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Modern and Contemporary Studies (1800−Present)
This research cluster centres on regional, national, and global intersections between a variety of artistic and cultural expressions and their role in society from 1800 onwards.
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Centre for the Arts in Society (LUCAS)
Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society (LUCAS) is dedicated to ground-breaking and interdisciplinary research dealing with the relations between culture and society.
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Widespread cultural diffusion of knowledge started 400,000 years ago
Different groups of hominins probably learned from one another much earlier than was previously thought, and that knowledge was also distributed much further. A study by archaeologists at Leiden University on the use of fire shows that 400,000 years ago knowledge and skills must already have been exchanged…
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Pre-Neanderthalers could handle complex techniques
An international team of researchers including Leiden archaeologists has produced convincing evidence that 300,000 years ago pre-Neanderthal people had a high level of cognitive complexity. New insights into early human capabilities and behaviour.
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Schöningen field campaign 2016
As every year the Faculty of Archaeology bioarchaeology group has visited Schöningen Germany for field research.
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The skeleton as a source of information
Bones contain information about people’s lives such as where they came from, their age at death and which diseases they suffered from. Researchers can deduce a lot from them about a person’s life and about human evolution. This generates leads that could help solve present-day problems, such as how…
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Research
LUCAS members are experts in the fields of literary history and theory, film and media studies, and art, architectural, and book history.