Monday, October 28, 2024

In today’s newsletter, we uncover a strain of tiny human ancestors, examine the murky desth of Rome’s golden boy, search for the orphaned cub of Yellowstone’s Grizzly 399 ... and pour  beer’s secret superpower.

PHOTOGRAPH BY IRA BLOCK, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION 

Were early human relatives like J.R.R. Tolkien’s hobbits? The discovery of a 3-foot-tall skeleton in Indonesia 20 years ago sparked study in the strange, small-statured humans who dwelled among giant storks and shrunken elephants. 

No, they didn’t have big feet and munch on seed cakes like Lord of the Rings hobbits, but we know much more about this unique lineage. And plenty more still puzzles scientists. 

Related: A mysterious early human species may have been the first to bury their dead

Also: These humans lived 300,000 years ago—but had modern faces 

HERVÉ LEWANDOWSKI/RMN-GRAND PALAIS  

PHOTOGRAPH VIA LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

Last week, President Biden apologized for the trauma created in U.S. boarding schools for Native Americans. Over a century, these schools forced hundreds of thousands of kids to assimilate to white American society. How?

A. Punished them for speaking their languages
B. Forced them to take new names
C. Coerced them to convert to Christianity
D. All of the above 

Related: See the trailer for Sugarcane, the upcoming National Geographic Documentary film on these schools, to be streamed on Disney+ and Hulu 

 Also: They were taken from their families as children. Can that trauma be healed? 

Today’s Soundtrack: Petite Fleur, Jill Barber

Thanks for reading today’s newsletter, and--if you missed it—here is yesterday’s Photo of the Week. Don’t miss our adventures in the future; sign up here. David Beard edited and curated this issue; Amanda Williams-Bryant produced it.