Original version

BBC World Service Online

Science in Action

Science In Action

Factual: Science & Nature

Factual: Science & Nature: Science & Technology

The BBC brings you all the week's science news.

BBC World Service schedule for American satellite radio and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Australasia

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa Schedule

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa

BBC World Service East Asia

BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East

BBC World Service South Asia

BBC World Service

BBC World Service West and Central Africa Schedule

BBC World Service West and Central Africa

Science In Action: The Earliest North Americans

Magazines & Reviews

The Earliest North Americans

27/04/2017 GMT

BBC World Service - Science In Action, The Earliest North Americans

Can a few broken bones and some rocks be evidence of North Americans 130,000 years ago?

Evidence of hominins in North America 130,000 years ago. Also caterpillars that eat plastic and South African hominin, Homo naledi, could be much younger than originally thought.

Evidence of human inhabitation of North America is quite sparse and quite contentious. So far the oldest indigenous Americans are thought to have migrated to the continent via the Beringia land bridge between Siberia and Alaska 40,000 – 17,000 years ago. But new analysis of Mastodon bones, tusks and teeth, as well as large stones, found in California, could be revealing hominin activity 130,000 years ago. The discovery of what looks like man-made breaks in the bones, and stones being brought in to be used as hammers and anvils, tied in with new dating techniques is intriguing paleoanthropologists around the world.

Plastic-Eating Caterpillars
Polythene from plastic bags and bottles is polluting every corner of the Earth, from the deepest deep sea trenches to the tops of mountains. This non-biodegradable substance is a growing environmental problem. So when scientists discovered a moth caterpillar can ‘eat’ plastic, they wanted to find out more. The wax moth larvae like to live in bee hives, where they’re known to eat beeswax. Beeswax has a chemical structure similar to polythene. So when a researcher noticed that the plastic bags she’d stored her beeswax in overwinter, had been chewed by wax moth caterpillars, she and a team of scientists investigated. It’s still not known whether it's the bacteria in the guts of the larvae, or enzymes produced by the larva itself, that breakdown plastic.  But whatever it is, it could be a useful tool in dealing with the growing problem of plastic pollution. 

Homo naledi
The recent discovery and naming of a new human species, Homo naledi, found in deep caves in South Africa was very exciting. At the time, it was thought that this strange creature was 1-2 million years old. Homo naledi walked upright, was about 5ft tall, with some features – notably the hands and feet – more like human species, and some, the head and upper body more like earlier ape-like people. But news has broken this week that naledi is much, much younger, a contemporary of our own recent ancestors, living only 200-300,000 years ago. 

Picture: A view of two mastodon femur balls, one faced up and once faced down. Neural spine of a vertebra exposed (lower right) and a broken rib (lower left).  Credit: San Diego Natural History Museum

Presenter:	Adam Hart
Producer: 	Fiona Roberts

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Science In Action

The Earliest North Americans

Genres

Formats

Brand

BBC World Service Online

About BBC World Service