*Points at flint* I just think it's neat

~ aethetics, objects, and archaeology ~

[prehistoric-past]

Because I'm bored of constantly blocking people:

This is a left-wing blog. This is a pro-LGBT+ blog. This blog supports and celebrates the transgender community.

I check blogs when they follow. If I immediately see them posting anti-trans, right-wing talk, they get blocked.

So if you have that kind kind of energy, then this isn't the place for you.

[phytsera]

paleolithic yuri save me…

(ocs! the neanderthal is krsnós and the amh is dyēws :)

[flikkerij]

i will do ANYTHING but work on my essay apparently

[lleyksie]

more ancient horse mamaposting

[our-queer-experience]

helen “trans people are perpetuating gender steriotypes” joyce is now upset that the scientific american is writing about how women were hunters too back in the day, not just mothers and caretakers. feminist win!

[the-gummy-worms-have-me]

I think I found the article!

The Theory That Men Evolved to Hunt and Women Evolved to Gather Is Wrong

The influential idea that in the past men were hunters and women were not isn’t supported by the available evidence

Read it if you have the time, it's very interesting.

[mikkeneko]

Reading the article I see why TERFs are mad about it; it explicitly makes the distinction between gender as a social entity and sex as a biological category, and defines biological sex having multiple factors, both of which are anathema to TERF philosophy.

It also includes these fascinating paragraphs about the role of estrogen in different types of physical activity, directly debunking the widespread notion that estrogen is the weak human's hormone and only does weak human things:

Given the fitness world's persistent touting of the hormone testosterone for athletic success, you'd be forgiven for not knowing that estrogen, which females typically produce more of than males, plays an incredibly important role in athletic performance… The estrogen receptor—the protein that estrogen binds to in order to do its work—is deeply ancient. Joseph Thornton of the University of Chicago and his colleagues have estimated that it is around 1.2 billion to 600 million years old—roughly twice as old as the testosterone receptor. In addition to helping regulate the reproductive system, estrogen influences fine-motor control and memory, enhances the growth and development of neurons, and helps to prevent hardening of the arteries. Important for the purposes of this discussion, estrogen also improves fat metabolism. During exercise, estrogen seems to encourage the body to use stored fat for energy before stored carbohydrates. Fat contains more calories per gram than carbohydrates do, so it burns more slowly, which can delay fatigue during endurance activity. Not only does estrogen encourage fat burning, but it also promotes greater fat storage within muscles… which makes that fat's energy more readily available. Adiponectin, another hormone that is typically present in higher amounts in females than in males, further enhances fat metabolism while sparing carbohydrates for future use, and it protects muscle from breakdown. Anne Friedlander of Stanford University and her colleagues found that females use as much as 70 percent more fat for energy during exercise than males. Estrogen's ability to increase fat metabolism and regulate the body's response to the hormone insulin can help prevent muscle breakdown during intense exercise. Furthermore, estrogen appears to have a stabilizing effect on cell membranes that might otherwise rupture from acute stress brought on by heat and exercise. Ruptured cells release enzymes called creatine kinases, which can damage tissues… Linda Lamont of the University of Rhode Island and her colleagues, as well as Michael Riddell of York University in Canada and his colleagues, found that females experienced less muscle breakdown than males after the same bouts of exercise. Tellingly, in a separate study, Mazen J. Hamadeh of York University and his colleagues found that males supplemented with estrogen suffered less muscle breakdown during cycling than those who didn't receive estrogen supplements.

The article also talks about sexual dimorphism in different species, concluding that "Modern humans have low sexual dimorphism compared with the other great apes," and that overemphasis on averages obscures the wide dispersal of individual traits, which is what I keep saying.

[aethersea]

Anthropologists also look at damage on our ancestors' skeletons for clues to their behavior. Neandertals are the best-studied extinct members of the human family because we have a rich fossil record of their remains. Neandertal females and males do not differ in their trauma patterns, nor do they exhibit sex differences in pathology from repetitive actions. Their skeletons show the same patterns of wear and tear. This finding suggests that they were doing the same things, from ambush-hunting large game animals to processing hides for leather. Yes, Neandertal women were spearing woolly rhinoceroses, and Neandertal men were making clothing.

I also thought this part was cool :)

[genderqueerdykes]

PLEASE read this article, this information is incredible for everyone looking to unlearn bioessentialism

[pitbolshevik]

kennis brothers reconstructions make me a little bit emotional ngl

[pitbolshevik]

they just give them so much personality. it really brings them to life.

[szethsmom]

Raccoon premolars, ancient (Pleistocene Florida) and modern (2025, Midwestern United States)

[phytsera]

paleolithic yuri save me…

[rpmaniac]

Love Kennis & Kennis reconstructions of ancient humans. Love the life they give them.

australopithecus afarensis "Lucy", australopithecus sediba, homo erectus pithecantropus, homo ergaster "Turkana boy", homo floresiensis, homo neanderthalensis x2, early homo sapiens from Jebel Irhoud, "Ötzi the Iceman" and neolithic woman Lisar.

[riverwindphotography]

Absaroka Volcanics, northeast entrance, Yellowstone National Park

© riverwindphotography

[riverwindphotography]

Seasonal Beauties

(c) riverwindphotography

[riverwindphotography]

A Sliver of Light

(c) riverwindphotography, July 2025

[riverwindphotography]

Close Encounters

(c) gifs by riverwindphotography, July 2025

[jesusinstilettos]

“Oh I’m just not the creative ty-“

Wrong, all humans are inherently creative in some way when their needs are met and they are given the leisure time to pursue hobbies. It came free with your being a social species wired by evolution to love doing stuff with your hands. Don’t define art through a consumerist lens where it’s only worth existing if it’s something someone would buy. Connect with your inner monkey, create to create and let it just be.

[o-craven-canto]

[full picture]

The approximate location of known human species that were around between 300,000 and 200,000 years ago -- possibly the most diverse period in the history of genus Homo. Made as a trailer, I guess, of a much more complex diagram I've been working on.

Main source: Langdon J.H. (2023), Human Evolution: Bones, Cultures, and Genes, Springer Base map: https://www.naturalearthdata.com/ Skull sources: Irhoud 1 (H. sapiens), Harbin 1 (H. longi), Kabwe 1 ("H. rhodesiensis"), LB1 (H. floresiensis), LES1 (H. naledi), Narmada 1 (Narmada H.), NG6 (H. erectus), Petralona 1 (H. heidelbergensis), Tabun 1 (H. neanderthalensis)

[thepastisalreadywritten]

Rebuilding the Faces of Extinct Humans | Human | BBC Earth Science

15 July 2025

Journey back into prehistory using cutting-edge photogrammetry and CGI to explore what science reveals about Homo erectus, the tiny Homo floresiensis, and the often-misunderstood Neanderthals.

Why did they vanish? And what can their story teach us about our own survival?

[bolaneno]

Scientists Found 78,000-Year-Old Neanderthal Footprints That Tell a Story of Survival

A cliffside dune in Portugal has nearly 80,000-year-old evidence of a neanderthal family hunting a red deer.