blog posts Human ancestors nearly went extinct 900,000 years ago Sep 1, 2023 12:00 pm by NatureIllinois in the News Share on Facebook Tweet Email Images Nature (Aug. 30) A new DNA analysis technique found the population was reduced to just 1,280 and 'put the spotlight on the period 800,000 to one million years ago – for which there is much unknown,' says U of I's Stanley Ambrose. Share on Facebook Tweet Email