Press releases (archive)

New computational tool detects up to second to third degree cousins using ancient genomes

Shanghai Archaeology Forum honors Christina Warinner with 2023 Research Award

An ERC Consolidator Grant was awarded to Benjamin Vernot, leader of the Max Planck Research Group for Ancient Environmental Genomics at the Max Planck…

Research on neighbouring chimpanzee communities in the forests of West Africa suggests a warfare tactic not previously seen beyond humans is regularly…

Maleen Thiele starts Minerva Fast Track group at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (MPI-EVA)

New study reveals that wild chimpanzees use vocal sequences to denote a wide range of co-occurring or sequential daily events

Limestone serves as a repository of microbial genetic information

DNA research from human populations thought to be uncontactable or extinct helps probe the deep genetic structure of Africa

Exhibit opens today at the Natural History Museum in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Researchers find that behavioral flexibility and persistence help species, like the great-tailed grackle, expand their range and adapt to new habitats

Jean-Jacques Hublin and Heino Falcke are among the four winners of the prestigious prize

On September 4, 2023, Minister-President Michael Kretschmer and Max Planck President Patrick Cramer co-hosted a ceremonial event at the Kulturpalast…

Macaca Nigra Project: Special issue of the International Journal of Primatology

A new study shows that changes in grammatical complexity are not shaped by social environments

Research team used advanced sequencing technology to analyze Ötzi’s genome to obtain a more accurate picture of the Iceman’s appearance and genetic…

Simulation model shows how groups can keep important information around within and across generations

Linguistics and genetics combine to suggest a new hybrid hypothesis for the origin of the Indo-European languages

Scientists gain insights into the social behaviour of a Neolithic community

New method brings breakthrough in the precise introduction of mutations in human genomes

Genetic study finds early evidence for contact between late farming groups and early pastoralists in the northwestern Black Sea region

To find the choicest menu options, migrant orangutans watch how the locals eat

Genetic analysis adds new perspectives on the (pre)history of South America - from the first settlement until today

Children choose a “mystery box” more often than apes, but after a glimpse of a larger reward from the uncertain option, great apes show more curiosity

Restoring the 'Sutherland Nine' to their community

Genetic analysis of Indigenous Taiwanese peoples sheds light on Austronesian expansion

Scientists are rebuilding microbial natural products up to 100,000 years old using dental calculus of humans and Neanderthals

Scientists recover an ancient woman’s DNA from a 20,000-year-old pendant

Geochemical analyses of stone artefacts reveal long-distance voyaging among Pacific Islands during the last millennium

An international team has created a new database that documents patterns of grammatical variation in over 2400 of the world’s languages

The Xiongnu dominated the Eurasian steppes two millennia ago and foreshadowed the rise of the Mongol Empire

International research project investigates diseases of modern life

Data from 124 societies shows that dogs’ functions predict their treatment, with closer bonds forming in societies where dogs have multiple roles

Scientists have sequenced the composer’s genome using five genetically matching hair locks

Researchers studied the vocal experiences of children growing up on Malakula Island in Vanuatu where multilingualism is the norm

Accidentally produced stone fragments made by macaques resemble some of the earliest hominin stone artifacts

Large-scale genomic analysis documents the migrations of Ice Age hunter-gatherers over a period of 30,000 years – they took shelter in Western Europe…

A human genome from the Ice Age refuge in southern Spain

Specialised foraging skills could have made the essential difference

Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, welcomes Tracy Kivell as new Director

New Great Ape Research Network unites expertise of European zoos with latest scientific insights

Genomic evidence from ancient and modern human DNA indicates a complex history for human migrations

New archaeogenetic data allow exciting insights into the social order of the Aegean Bronze Age