High-elevation environments above 2500 metres above sea level (m.a.s.l.) were among the planet's last frontiers of human colonization. Research on the speed and tempo of this colonization process is active and holds implications for understanding rates of genetic, physiological and cultural adaptation in our species. Permanent occupation of high-elevation environments in the Andes Mountains of ...

The archaeological record of the Pleistocene/Holocene transition (PHT) demonstrates that the technology and mobility of Prearchaic hunter-gatherers differed dramatically from later Holocene foragers, suggesting a hunting-oriented subsistence. However, meager PHT faunal assemblages imply a generalized, broad-spectrum diet. Ethnographic analogy fails to provide a behavioral framework for understa...

We present an archaeological study of hunter-gatherer home ranges on the basis of two lines of evidence. Firstly, we discuss information related to the mobility of individuals, which was approached by stable isotope studies. Secondly, we present data related to the transport and discard of artefacts, since the distribution of these itemsmay be determined by the movement of people. Our main goal...

By means of a recently developed non-invasive ex vivo minimal model based on the interaction of the human enterocyte-like HT29 cell line and fecal slurries, we explored the enterocyte-associated microbiome of 21 Hadza hunter-gatherers and nine urban living Italians. Though reductionist, this model allows inferring the microbiota structural and functional arrangement as it interacts with enteroc...

When searching for food, many organisms adopt a superdiffusive, scale-free movement pattern called a Lévy walk, which is considered optimal when foraging for heterogeneously located resources with little prior knowledge of distribution patterns [Viswanathan GM, da Luz MGE, Raposo EP, Stanley HE (2011) The Physics of Foraging: An Introduction to Random Searches and Biological Encounters]. Althou...

Post-reproductive longevity is a robust feature of human life and not only a recent phenomenon caused by improvements in sanitation, public health and medical advances. We argue for an adaptive lifespan of 65-75 years for modern Homo sapiens based on our analysis of mortality profiles obtained from small-scale hunter-gatherer and horticultural populations from around the world. We compare patte...

The endowment effect, the tendency to value possessions more than non-possessions, is a well-known departure from rational choice and has been replicated in numerous settings. We investigate the universality of the endowment effect, its evolutionary significance, and its dependence on environmental factors. We experimentally test for the endowment effect in an isolated and evolutionarily releva...

The sharing economy will blur the distinctions between renting and owning a wide variety of durable products. The first great entrepreneurial (Neolithic) revolution transformed hunter-gatherers into fixed agriculturalists. The second (Industrial) revolution dramatically reduced the costs of owning products. The third (Transactions Costs) revolution will reduce the costs of exchange, fostering a...

Reconstructions of the vegetation of Europe during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) are an enigma. Pollen-based analyses have suggested that Europe was largely covered by steppe and tundra, and forests persisted only in small refugia. Climate-vegetation model simulations on the other hand have consistently suggested that broad areas of Europe would have been suitable for forest, even in the depth...

Introduction The Mesolithic has been regarded as the first major period of human occupation in Cornwall and covers the period from the end of the last Ice Age (c. 8000 bc) to the onset of the Neolithic (c. 3500 bc). Despite the length of time involved, surprisingly little information is available about the hunter-gatherers who lived in Cornwall during the Mesolithic. In this paper we review the...