MPI GEA in the Media: 2025

Around 1,000 CE, plant diversity reached its peak. 

Article from Archaeologie Online on the study “Cultural innovation can increase and maintain biodiversity: A case study from medieval Europe” (in German) more

Article in phys.org on the study “Cultural innovation can increase and maintain biodiversity: A case study from medieval Europe” more

Some eat everything, others are highly specialized. A new study by Max Planck researchers shows how the lifestyles and diets of mammals influence their chances of survival. In it, they analyzed fossil teeth and drew conclusions about the adaptability of species to climatic changes.

Article from Labor Praxis on the study “Faunal persistence and ecological flexibility in Pleistocene Southeast Asia revealed through multi-isotope analysis” (in German) more

A new study tested a simple idea with hard evidence from ancient teeth. Over 141 fossil teeth from Vietnam and Laos, spanning roughly 150,000 to 13,000 years, show that mammals with flexible diets and habitats tended to persist as climates swung.

Article from earth.com on the study “Faunal persistence and ecological flexibility in Pleistocene Southeast Asia revealed through multi-isotope analysis” more

This can be achieved if we avoid repeating old mistakes. A guest article in DIE ZEIT by Aljoscha Burchardt and Jochen Büttner. 

Aljoscha Burchardt conducts research at the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence and is co-host of the ARD podcast “KI – und jetzt?” (AI – and now?). Jochen Büttner conducts research at the Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, where he also develops AI applications. more

Agriculture originated in the Fertile Crescent. However, findings from a cave in Uzbekistan show that early forms of agriculture had also emerged in Central Asia—and provide the earliest evidence of the use of wild apples and pistachios.

Article form Spektrum.de on the study “9,000-year-old barley consumption from hill flank of Central Asia” (in German) more

New evidence of farming discovered far outside the Fertile Crescent.

Article in Popular Science on the study “9,000-year-old barley consumption from hill flank of Central Asia” more

News about the spread of Homo sapiens across the Earth: its triumphant advance was already underway in Africa—and it actually arrived in North America much earlier than previously thought.

Article in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on the study “Major expansion in the human niche preceded out of Africa dispersal” (in German) more

Article in the Associated Press on the study “Major expansion in the human niche preceded out of Africa dispersal” more

It started with a single clay device found at an old settlement in northwestern Saudi Arabia that contained a small residue – hinting at a plant that might reveal medical or sensory secrets.

Article from earth.com on the study “Metabolic profiling reveals first evidence of fumigating drug plant Peganum harmala in Iron Age Arabia” more

People have been using plants with medicinal and psychoactive effects for thousands of years. In Saudi Arabia, archaeologists have now discovered the world's oldest evidence of the use of rue (Peganum harmala) as a smoking substance...

Article from BILD DER WISSENSCHAFT on the study “Metabolic profiling reveals first evidence of fumigating drug plant Peganum harmala in Iron Age Arabia” more

Domestication—the process by which humans shaped plants and animals to better serve their needs—has long been considered a cornerstone of human civilization. However, recent research is shaking up traditional views and prompting scholars from various fields to reconsider how and why domestication occurred...

Article from Antiquity Archive on the study “Seeking consensus on the domestication concept” more

A new special edition of the Proceedings of the Royal Society B takes a bold step toward redefining the most hotly debated concept in biology and social sciences: domestication.

Article by archaeologie42.com on the study “Seeking consensus on the domestication concept” (in German) more

Article from archaeologie42.com on the study "Unbalanced social-ecological acceleration led to state formation failure in early medieval Poland" (in German) more

Article from scienmag.com on the study “Unbalanced social-ecological acceleration led to state formation failure in early medieval Poland” more

More than 1,000 years before the first settled farmers reached Malta, hunters and gatherers ventured across the open sea and “settled” the island. They must have traveled more than 100 kilometers in simple boats.

Article from mdr WISSEN on the study “Hunter-gatherer sea voyages extended to remotest Mediterranean islands” (in German) more

New discoveries on Malta show people settled remote islands before the rise of farming.

Article from Science Magazine on the study “Hunter-gatherer sea voyages extended to remotest Mediterranean islands” more

In an interview with Expresso on April 8, 2025, Prof. Jürgen Renn, Director of the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, describes the alarming changes in climate, oceans and biodiversity: “We are facing an unprecedented situation in human history.” At the “SOS Ocean” event in Paris on March 30, Renn called for more courage from the scientific community and reminded us that protecting the oceans should have started 50 years ago. In this interview, he talks about missed opportunities, the need for radical change and why there is no more time to lose. Renn emphasizes that science and politics must act in a coordinated manner in order to overcome environmental crises.
     
The preparatory conference “SOS Ocean”, which brings together policy makers, researchers and activists, underlines the urgency of action in view of the upcoming 3rd United Nations World Ocean Conference (UNOC-3), which will take place in Nice from June 9-13, 2025. Concrete solutions to save the oceans and protect biodiversity are to be presented there.
     
Interview (in Portuguese) with Jürgen Renn. Text by Carla Tomás. Originally published in Expresso on 8.04.2025. more

The presence of inequality in urban spaces throughout time and across cultures raises an important question: Is urban inequality coincidentally common or is it an inevitable part of how cities function? 

Article from Architecture and Design on the study “Parallel scaling of elite wealth in ancient Roman and modern cities with implications for understanding urban inequality”  more

There is no place where more people come together than in cities. At the same time, there is no other place where social differences are so apparent. Researchers at the Max Planck Society show why such an enormous gap arises in cities in particular.

Article from Epoch Times on the study “Parallel scaling of elite wealth in ancient Roman and modern cities with implications for understanding urban inequality” (in German) more

The discovery clashes with the traditional image of humans evolving on the savannas of East Africa.

Article in the New York Times on the study “Humans in Africa’s wet tropical forests 150 thousand years ago” more

Poisonous plants, snakes and predators - there are countless dangers lurking in the rainforest. Nevertheless, humans developed it as a habitat. And much earlier than previously assumed, according to the results of a new study.

Article in Tagesschau on the study “Humans in Africa’s wet tropical forests 150 thousand years ago” (in German) more

Learn how a West African excavation shows that early humans lived in multiple ecosystems simultaneously, challenging our understanding of human history. 

Article from Discover Magazine covering the study “Humans in Africa’s wet tropical forests 150 thousand years ago”  more

The Ogallala aquifer that sustains parts of western Kansas has been declining rapidly, and some farmers say the solution is an aqueduct running across the state. But critics of the idea say it isn’t practical and is a distraction from real solutions to water issues. Interview with Georg Schaefer in NPR affiliate KMUW Wichita more

Article covering the study “Megafauna and human influence on demography and genetic diversity of a hyperdominant tree in the Amazon Basin” from bioengineer.org  more

Das Ende der Petromoderne: Kulturwissenschaftler Benjamin Steininger im GEO-Interview (The end of Petromodernity: Cultural scientist Benjamin Steininger in GEO interview. Text in German) more

Interview with Patrick Roberts in Tagesspiegel (in German). First published on 5 January 2025. more