Spencer Wells
@spwells.bsky.social
scientist • author • explorer
Lombok, Indonesia 🇮🇩
lombokdiaries.substack.com
Lombok, Indonesia 🇮🇩
lombokdiaries.substack.com
Siberia’s Last Shaman: DNA Study Uncovers a Woman Who Defied Empire and Time ⛏️🧬 arkeonews.net/siberias-las...
Siberia’s Last Shaman: DNA Study Uncovers a Woman Who Defied Empire and Time - Arkeonews
A DNA study of mummified remains in Siberia reveals the story of the last Yakut shaman, uncovering Indigenous resistance to Russian conquest
arkeonews.net
January 26, 2026 at 5:01 AM
Siberia’s Last Shaman: DNA Study Uncovers a Woman Who Defied Empire and Time ⛏️🧬 arkeonews.net/siberias-las...
Social networks spanned thousands of square kilometers during the Upper Paleolithic period ⛏️🇪🇸 phys.org/news/2026-01... V
Social networks spanned thousands of square kilometers during the Upper Paleolithic period, study finds
Researchers from several European institutions, led by scientists from the University of Barcelona and the University of Alcalá, have demonstrated that the hunter-gatherers who inhabited the interior ...
phys.org
January 22, 2026 at 9:42 PM
Social networks spanned thousands of square kilometers during the Upper Paleolithic period ⛏️🇪🇸 phys.org/news/2026-01... V
Humanity’s oldest known cave art has been discovered in Sulawesi 🎨🇮🇩 theconversation.com/humanitys-ol...
Humanity’s oldest known cave art has been discovered in Sulawesi
People were creating cave art in Indonesia 67,800 years ago – before modern humans reached Australia.
theconversation.com
January 22, 2026 at 6:55 AM
Humanity’s oldest known cave art has been discovered in Sulawesi 🎨🇮🇩 theconversation.com/humanitys-ol...
Rock art from at least 67,800 years ago in Sulawesi 🎨🇮🇩 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Rock art from at least 67,800 years ago in Sulawesi - Nature
A hand stencil painted on a cave wall on a small island off the coast of Sulawesi more than 67,800 years ago suggests a very early occupation of Wallacea.
www.nature.com
January 21, 2026 at 4:32 PM
Rock art from at least 67,800 years ago in Sulawesi 🎨🇮🇩 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Neanderthals took reusable toolkits with them on high-altitude treks through the Alps ⛏️🇮🇹 phys.org/news/2026-01...
Neanderthals took reusable toolkits with them on high-altitude treks through the Alps
When Neanderthals in Italy were crossing the Alps, it's likely they took refuge in high-altitude bear caves. A new study of stone tools in Caverna Generosa, a cave sitting 1,450 meters up in the mount...
phys.org
January 21, 2026 at 3:41 PM
Neanderthals took reusable toolkits with them on high-altitude treks through the Alps ⛏️🇮🇹 phys.org/news/2026-01...
Top 10 Discoveries of 2025: The First Indo-European Speakers ⛏️🧬 archaeology.org/issues/onlin...
Top 10 Discoveries of 2025 - The First Indo-European Speakers - Archaeology Magazine - January/February 2026
Eastern Ukraine and Southern Russia
archaeology.org
January 20, 2026 at 9:44 PM
Top 10 Discoveries of 2025: The First Indo-European Speakers ⛏️🧬 archaeology.org/issues/onlin...
One of Europe’s Most Mysterious Languages May Share Ancient Roots with Iberian 📜 arkeonews.net/one-of-europ...
One of Europe’s Most Mysterious Languages May Share Ancient Roots with Iberian - Arkeonews
New linguistic research suggests that Basque, one of Europe’s most mysterious languages, may share ancient roots with the undeciphered Iberian language.
arkeonews.net
January 20, 2026 at 1:17 AM
One of Europe’s Most Mysterious Languages May Share Ancient Roots with Iberian 📜 arkeonews.net/one-of-europ...
Home at last: ‘Java Man’ fossils anchor new National Museum exhibit 💀🏛️🇮🇩 www.thejakartapost.com/culture/2026...
(Gift Article)Home at last: ‘Java Man’ fossils anchor new National Museum exhibit - Art & Culture - The Jakarta Post
The return of the Dubois Collection from the Netherlands places Indonesia at the heart of human evolution studies, opening new ground for research and public education.
www.thejakartapost.com
January 15, 2026 at 12:04 PM
Home at last: ‘Java Man’ fossils anchor new National Museum exhibit 💀🏛️🇮🇩 www.thejakartapost.com/culture/2026...
“Unlike the harsh polar desert conditions of glacial Beringia, this coastal zone offered comparatively stable marine and terrestrial resources.” ⛏️🇯🇵🌎 arkeonews.net/the-first-am...
The First Americans May Not Have Crossed Beringia at All — Hokkaido Could Be the Starting Point - Arkeonews
New archaeological evidence suggests the First Americans may not have crossed Beringia, pointing instead to Hokkaido as a possible starting point for early coastal migration into the Americas.
arkeonews.net
January 15, 2026 at 4:38 AM
“Unlike the harsh polar desert conditions of glacial Beringia, this coastal zone offered comparatively stable marine and terrestrial resources.” ⛏️🇯🇵🌎 arkeonews.net/the-first-am...
The earliest Homo species did not look human, partial skeleton shows 💀 www.science.org/content/arti...
The earliest Homo species did not look human, partial skeleton shows
Homo habilis, 2 million years old, was known mainly from teeth and jaw bones
www.science.org
January 13, 2026 at 7:17 PM
The earliest Homo species did not look human, partial skeleton shows 💀 www.science.org/content/arti...
Scientists reveal what drives homosexual behavior in primates 🐒🦍 phys.org/news/2026-01...
Scientists reveal what drives homosexual behavior in primates
Homosexual behavior in primates has a deep evolutionary basis and is more likely to occur in species that live in harsh environments, are hunted by predators or live in more complex societies, scienti...
phys.org
January 13, 2026 at 3:05 AM
Scientists reveal what drives homosexual behavior in primates 🐒🦍 phys.org/news/2026-01...
“Taken together, researchers say, the findings suggest that as SARS-CoV-2 continues evolving in its preferred host (humans), successive variants may be losing their affinity for non-human animals.” 🦠 medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01...
SARS-CoV-2 is on the decline in animals, researchers find
During the first few years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the virus SARS-CoV-2 was detected in an increasing number of non-human animal species. This included many wild animal species as well as domestic a...
medicalxpress.com
January 10, 2026 at 2:21 AM
“Taken together, researchers say, the findings suggest that as SARS-CoV-2 continues evolving in its preferred host (humans), successive variants may be losing their affinity for non-human animals.” 🦠 medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01...
Deep Sulawesi cave dig could reveal overlap between extinct humans and us ⛏️🇮🇩 phys.org/news/2026-01...
Deep Sulawesi cave dig could reveal overlap between extinct humans and us
Could Homo sapiens and an archaic and now-extinct species of early human have lived alongside each other on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi more than 65,000 years ago?
phys.org
January 9, 2026 at 6:53 PM
Deep Sulawesi cave dig could reveal overlap between extinct humans and us ⛏️🇮🇩 phys.org/news/2026-01...
‘Extraordinary’ iron age war trumpet find in Britain may have Boudicca links ⛏️📯🇬🇧 www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
‘Extraordinary’ iron age war trumpet find in Britain may have Boudicca links
Bronze instrument or carnyx dug up in Norfolk in area inhabited by Celtic tribe led by warrior who fought Romans
www.theguardian.com
January 8, 2026 at 2:55 AM
‘Extraordinary’ iron age war trumpet find in Britain may have Boudicca links ⛏️📯🇬🇧 www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
"Our leading idea is that there's a particular kind of E. coli that lives in the bowels of young people today that wasn't there in the past." 🦠☠️ www.bbc.com/news/article...
Century-old tumours could reveal why more young people are getting bowel cancer
Bowel cancer in people under the age of 50 is increasing worldwide and scientists are striving to find out why.
www.bbc.com
January 7, 2026 at 12:16 PM
"Our leading idea is that there's a particular kind of E. coli that lives in the bowels of young people today that wasn't there in the past." 🦠☠️ www.bbc.com/news/article...
Eye-opening research: Greenland sharks maintain vision for centuries through DNA repair mechanism 🧬👁️🦈 phys.org/news/2026-01...
Eye-opening research: Greenland sharks maintain vision for centuries through DNA repair mechanism
Dorota Skowronska-Krawczyk sits in her office, eyes fixed on the computer monitor in front of her. "You see it move its eye," says the UC Irvine associate professor of physiology and biophysics, point...
phys.org
January 6, 2026 at 11:23 AM
Eye-opening research: Greenland sharks maintain vision for centuries through DNA repair mechanism 🧬👁️🦈 phys.org/news/2026-01...
Yes — Camels Really Lived in Basel During the Roman Era ⛏️🐪🇨🇭 arkeonews.net/yes-camels-r...
Yes — Camels Really Lived in Basel During the Roman Era! - Arkeonews
Evidence from recent archaeological research in Basel shows that hybrid camels really lived in the city during the Roman era.
arkeonews.net
January 5, 2026 at 3:29 AM
Yes — Camels Really Lived in Basel During the Roman Era ⛏️🐪🇨🇭 arkeonews.net/yes-camels-r...
Evidence of upright walking found in 7-million-year-old Sahelanthropus fossils ⛏️🦴🇹🇩 phys.org/news/2025-12...
Evidence of upright walking found in 7-million-year-old Sahelanthropus fossils
In recent decades, scientists have debated whether a seven-million-year-old fossil was bipedal—a trait that would make it the oldest human ancestor. A new analysis by a team of anthropologists offers ...
phys.org
January 2, 2026 at 11:42 PM
Evidence of upright walking found in 7-million-year-old Sahelanthropus fossils ⛏️🦴🇹🇩 phys.org/news/2025-12...
Genomic study reveals how people moved pigs across the Pacific 🐖⛵️🌏 phys.org/news/2025-12...
Genomic study reveals how people moved pigs across the Pacific
A new study, published in the journal Science, reveals how millennia of human migration across Pacific islands led to the introduction of invasive pig species all over the Asia-Pacific region.
phys.org
January 2, 2026 at 5:18 AM
Genomic study reveals how people moved pigs across the Pacific 🐖⛵️🌏 phys.org/news/2025-12...
All of our religions, stories, languages and norms were muddled and mixed through mobility and exchange throughout history 🌎🌍🌏 aeon.co/essays/there...
There are no pure cultures – we have always been global | Aeon Essays
All of our religions, stories, languages and norms were muddled and mixed through mobility and exchange throughout history
aeon.co
December 31, 2025 at 5:35 AM
All of our religions, stories, languages and norms were muddled and mixed through mobility and exchange throughout history 🌎🌍🌏 aeon.co/essays/there...
Anatolia’s First Phoenician Find: Human-Faced Glass Beads and Baby Jar Burials Unearthed ⛏️🇹🇷 arkeonews.net/anatolias-fi...
Anatolia’s First Phoenician Find: Human-Faced Glass Beads and Baby Jar Burials Unearthed - Arkeonews
Discover a historic first in Anatolia as archaeologists uncover Phoenician human-faced glass beads and rare baby jar burials at Oluz Höyük,
arkeonews.net
December 31, 2025 at 1:36 AM
Anatolia’s First Phoenician Find: Human-Faced Glass Beads and Baby Jar Burials Unearthed ⛏️🇹🇷 arkeonews.net/anatolias-fi...
There is still good science being posted on X, despite Ⓜ️elon’s efforts to make it a…well, you know. The bot-posted precious metal silliness is absolutely ridiculous, though. 🤖📱
December 30, 2025 at 11:49 AM
There is still good science being posted on X, despite Ⓜ️elon’s efforts to make it a…well, you know. The bot-posted precious metal silliness is absolutely ridiculous, though. 🤖📱
Ancient Puebloans kept macaws and parrots in great houses for ceremonial use ⛏️🦜🌎 phys.org/news/2025-12...
Ancient Puebloans kept macaws and parrots in great houses for ceremonial use
In a recent study, Dr. Katelyn Bishop conducted a zooarchaeological and archival data reanalysis of macaws and parrots recovered from Chaco Canyon to better understand their depositional contexts, mat...
phys.org
December 29, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Ancient Puebloans kept macaws and parrots in great houses for ceremonial use ⛏️🦜🌎 phys.org/news/2025-12...
“The bone skates would have allowed residents to travel efficiently across [the] frozen [Kerch Strait], likely for purposes related to trade, communication, seasonal movement, or economic activity.” ⛸️⛏️🇷🇺 arkeonews.net/archaeologis...
Archaeologists Discover Ancient Horse-Bone Skates - Arkeonews
Archaeologists have discovered ancient horse-bone skates in Russia’s Kuban region, revealing how early communities adapted to winter conditions
arkeonews.net
December 28, 2025 at 1:15 PM
“The bone skates would have allowed residents to travel efficiently across [the] frozen [Kerch Strait], likely for purposes related to trade, communication, seasonal movement, or economic activity.” ⛸️⛏️🇷🇺 arkeonews.net/archaeologis...
Humans and other hominins in Sulawesi 50,000 years ago: 'These two populations may have met and interacted with each other' 💀🇮🇩 www.bbc.com/indonesia/ar...
Manusia purba dan manusia modern kemungkinan bertemu di Sulawesi - BBC News Indonesia
Penelitian arkeologi di Sulawesi menemui babak baru dengan temuan krusial transisi antara masa hidup hominin atau manusia purba dan Homo sapiens puluhan ribu tahun lalu. Kedua spesies itu pernah hidup...
www.bbc.com
December 27, 2025 at 7:11 AM
Humans and other hominins in Sulawesi 50,000 years ago: 'These two populations may have met and interacted with each other' 💀🇮🇩 www.bbc.com/indonesia/ar...