Editor's Note: This piece was originally published online in the UNM BioBlog on Sept. 27, written by Amelia Villaseñor. This is part of our new project to help connect the Daily Lobo audience to more members of our community.
During the late Pleistocene, around 70,000 years ago, fossil and genetic evidence tell us that there were at least four species of hominins (human ancestors) inhabiting the planet. However, rather than elves and orcs, there were Denisovans, Neanderthals and, in both Middle Earth and the real one, humans and hobbits. UNM Biology postdoctoral researcher Amelia Villaseñor discusses these near-human creatures that our direct ancestors encountered in the UNM BioBlog.
The full article can also be accessed in the print version of the Oct. 2 issue of the Daily Lobo.
Amelia Villaseñor is a guest columnist at the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted at amelia.villasenor23@gmail.com.
