- Neanderthals: beyond the brute
For the general public, Neanderthals are probably the best-known of all our human relatives. Yet they have long been burdened by an unflattering stereotype. Being called a “Neanderthal” is rarely meant as a compliment. Years ago, I had the opportunity to examine original Neanderthal skulls at the Musée de l’Homme in Paris. Among them was… - Is Our Flat Face a Sign of Self-Domestication?
Humans have remarkably flat faces compared with the other living apes. As early as 1945, the anthropologist Franz Weidenreich noted in his book “Apes, Giants, and Man” striking similarities between the evolution of human skulls and the changes seen in domesticated dogs. In both cases, evolutionary change appeared to involve a relative enlargement of the… - Dmanisi skulls illustrate Darwin’s idea of gradual evolution
During the Darwin Year in 2009, a sensational skull from Dmanisi (Georgia) was on display at Naturalis in Leiden, the Netherlands. Not a replica like the ones we often encounter in museums, but the original itself! The finds from Dmanisi are among the oldest known remains of the genus Homo outside Africa (about 1.77 million…
On this website, Paul Storm shares his passion for seeking to understand human evolution within a broader natural history context. He studied zoology, cultural anthropology, and prehistoric archaeology, and received his PhD in biological anthropology in 1995 with a dissertation titled “The Evolutionary Significance of the Wajak Skulls”. For many years, his research focused on human evolution in Indonesia. His current work centres on prehistoric human remains recovered from the North Sea region known as Doggerland.
In addition to his research, Paul taught biology for many years. Through this website, he shares his publications on prehistory and snakes of the family Natricidae. In blog posts, he reflects on topics related to natural history and the place of humanity within the natural world.
Media
Radio interview Spraakmakers
Zijn er nog vragen… over de oorsprong van de mens?
Contribution to video of Big History MOOC, University of Amsterdam
Can we understand the evolution of our species without the aid of sexual selection?
Contribution to documentary about Eugene Dubois by Omroep 3ML
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