ancestors

10 Stories

Lincoln Pardoned Ancestor of Biden, Records Show

Historian tells story of the Civil War conviction of the president's great-great-grandfather

(Newser) - Some presidential pardons are turkeys, sure. But a newly discovered one has echoed through the centuries to be particularly meaningful to the current president. On Sept. 1, 1864, an order from President Abraham Lincoln freed Moses Robinette from a military prison where he was incarcerated after being court-martialed over a...

Ancient Lucy Could've Walked Much Like Us
Ancient Lucy
Had Some Pretty
Powerful Legs
NEW STUDY
Jun 15, 2023 9:55 AM CDT

Ancient Lucy Had Some Pretty Powerful Legs

Knee extensor muscles were like modern humans', meaning she could have walked like us: researcher

(Newser) - Part of the reason the human ancestor known as Lucy is so famous is that her bones, discovered in Ethiopia in 1974, indicated her hominin species, Australopithecus afarensis, was among the first to walk on two legs more than 3 million years ago. But what would her long-vanished muscles tell...

This May Be 'Missing Link' in T. Rex Evolution
This May Be
'Missing Link'
in T. Rex Evolution
NEW STUDY
Nov 29, 2022 10:05 AM CST

This May Be 'Missing Link' in T. Rex Evolution

Ancestor 'Daspletosaurus wilsoni' offers further evidence of linear evolution

(Newser) - Paleontologists have uncovered a new species of tyrannosaur that they say serves as a "missing link" in the evolution of Tyrannosaurus rex. Experts from the Badlands Dinosaur Museum in North Dakota were digging at the Judith River Formation in Montana in 2017 when paleontologist Jack Wilson spotted a flat...

Descendant of Slaves Loses Photo Fight With Harvard

Mass. judge rules university is rightful owner of photos of slaves taken for racist project

(Newser) - Photos of an enslaved father and daughter taken for a racist project at Harvard belong to the school, not the slaves' direct descendant, a Massachusetts judge has ruled. Tamara Lanier, who grew up hearing about great-great-great grandfather Renty, only learned about the 1850 daguerreotypes of himself and daughter Delia in...

Finding Your Mayflower Ancestors Just Got Easier
Check If You Were Related
to a Pilgrim, the Easy Way
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Jun 17, 2018 10:00 AM CDT

Check If You Were Related to a Pilgrim, the Easy Way

500K names included in new online database

(Newser) - Discovering if you're descended from the Pilgrims is "easier than ever." A new database offers for the first time online records on more than 59,450 fifth-generation descendants of the small group who sailed to the New World aboard the Mayflower in 1620. Of the roughly 132...

Meghan Markle's Ancestor Beheaded by Harry's Kin

And family tree reveals a great-great-great-grandfather was a slave in Georgia

(Newser) - Meghan Markle's family tree has shown that beau Prince Harry is a distant cousin (they share an ancestor dating back to the 15th century), but there's a darker revelation: One of her ancestors was beheaded on the orders of Henry VIII. Lord John Hussey was born around 1465,...

This Thing Is Your Ancestor
This Thing Is
Your Ancestor
new study
Jan 30, 2017 1:23 PM CST

This Thing Is Your Ancestor

Scientists announce discovery of Saccorhytus coronaries

(Newser) - Our very primitive beginnings look to have been very primitive indeed. It turns out the earliest known ancestor of humans was a sea creature a millimeter in size that likely lacked an anus. In a study published in Nature on Monday, scientists named Saccorhytus coronaries as a 540 million-year-old member—...

Infant's DNA Pinpoints Origins of First Americans

The Clovis people descended from Asians, not Europeans

(Newser) - The DNA from a single infant is shining a light on the true origins of the first Americans. The headline-generating research relies on the DNA of a child buried roughly 12,600 years ago, and establishes that the first North Americans were born to humans who came to the New...

Turtle Shells Predate Dinosaurs
 Turtle Shells Predate Dinosaurs 
study says
May 31, 2013 1:32 PM CDT

Turtle Shells Predate Dinosaurs

Research claims shell is 40 million years older than previously known

(Newser) - Turtles were crawling around in their body armor long before the time of the dinosaurs, or at least their ancestors were, according to new research found in Current Biology . Though it was previously believed the turtle shell began forming 220 million years ago, the study of an older ancestor—a...

Ancient Relatives of Humans Ate Wood

Scientists analyzed dental tartar in fossils

(Newser) - Did our ancestors eat trees? New fossil evidence shows that a 2 million-year-old relative of humans nibbled on bark and leaves, reports BBC . Scientists analyzed the teeth of two members of the "southern ape" species, or Australopithecus sediba, and found evidence that they included wood in their diet.

10 Stories