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MAYBE HUMANS WEREN’T THE SMARTEST AFTER ALL

Friday, February 10, 2023

In today’s newsletter, we learn who first used stone tools (hint: it wasn't us), discover a giant phantom jellyfish, listen in on the first voicemails, see nearly endangered animals being sold online ... and nap with a peaceful polar bear.

A picture of stone tools on a black background

PHOTOGRAPH BY T.W. PLUMMER, J.S. OLIVER, AND E. M. FINESTONE, HOMA PENINSULA PALEOANTHROPOLOGY PROJECT

It was a startling surprise.

Researchers announced Thursday that the oldest known stone tools have been found, but—get this—they may not have been made by a human ancestor.

They were found alongside fossils from the hominin Paranthropus, reinforcing a theory that human ancestors were not the first to use such tools.

Previous researchers thought hominins in the genus Homo—who definitely used stone tools—were smarter, but perhaps other factors put human ancestors ahead in the evolutionary lottery. It’s a humbling moment—and questions many suppositions about human dominance.

Read the full story here.

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A picture of a dig site in Kenya

PHOTOGRAPH BY T.W. PLUMMER, HOMA PENINSULA PALEOANTHROPOLOGY PROJECT

Unsettling discovery: More than 300 stone tools have been unearthed at this site (pictured above) in southwestern Kenya. They date back some 3 million years and are raising questions about human origins and dominance. Read more

STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

A black and white picture of two women in a booth holding a record

PHOTOGRAPH BY SULZER, RDB/ULLSTEIN BILD VIA GETTY IMAGES

Beep! It’s the world’s first voicemail—and it came sooner than you think (Above, a Voice-o-Graph booth in 1958)

COVID can trigger tinnitus. Could the vaccines do the same?

What you don’t know about menopause, hot flashes, and depression

Discovered: A rare giant jellyfish, deep in the Antarctic

For decades, secretive China hid the discovery of an 800-year-old shipwreck

The pleasure palace that coddled and enabled ‘the world’s greatest lover’

Code-maker extraordinaire: Mary, Queen of Scots

Hike the first backpacking trail in the U.S.’s only tropical rainforest

What your lips reveal about your health

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

A picture of a bat specimen at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

PHOTOGRAPH BY BECKY HALE

Etsy sells just about everything: Including dead, near threatened species, apparently. During last October alone, researchers monitoring international wildlife trade found more than 500 ads on Etsy and 71 on eBay for products made from bats, including hats and barrettes decorated with the flying mammals. (Etsy declined to comment.) Now the challenge is to discover the scale and impact of the trade, Nat Geo's Wildlife Watch reports. (Online shoppers bought painted woolly bats, like the one above.)

Related: Bats are being killed so people can suck their blood

THE LATEST ACCESSORY?

PHOTO OF THE DAY

A picture of a polar bear slumbering in a field of bright purple flowers

PHOTOGRAPH BY MARTIN GREGUS

The people have spoken: Out of nearly 39,000 images from 93 countries, 25 images have been shortlisted for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 58 People’s Choice Awards. Among the honorees is Nat Geo photographer Martin Gregus for an image of a polar bear among fireweed in the Canadian Arctic. It is similar to the one above, featured in our story on the softer side of polar bears.

Related: How snow leopards are finally coming into view—the 'ghost' featured in this year's winning image

BEAR DAYS OF SUMMER

WHAT IN THE WORLD?

A picture of a blue crystal-like structure fanning out across the image

PHOTOGRAPH BY PETER WOITSCHIKOWSKI

What is this? A peacock’s feather? Blades of wheat? Expert micro-photographer Peter Woitschikowski can find the exotic in every day objects, even one (above) that you may swallow every morning. What is it? Click here to find out.

MICROSCOPIC WONDERS

Today’s soundtrack: The Magic Number, De La Soul (h/t Vernon Reid)

This newsletter has been curated and edited by Jen Tse, Sydney Combs, and David Beard. Have feedback? Email [email protected]. Note: Our Wildlife Watch investigative unit is supported by the National Geographic Society. Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!

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