evolution, human evolution

Africa’s sparse fossil record alone cannot reveal our species’ evolutionary history.

Modern human genomes and bones left behind from ancient hominins in Africa tell a complex story about the origins of our species.

A tooth and six bone fragments are the oldest confirmed Homo sapiens fossils in Europe.

Researchers discover a fragment of cord between 41,000 and 52,000 years old that points to Neanderthals’ complex cognitive abilities.

Watch Reading Frames author Peter Rhys-Evans and documentarian Sir David Attenborough discuss the book The Waterside Ape and the impact it may have on our understanding of human evolution.

A study points to the existence of an ancient human relative that interbred with Homo sapiens.

Researchers’ simulations suggest that small population sizes and inbreeding made Neanderthal populations vulnerable to chance fluctuations in population size.

The 12-million-year-old bones of a previously unknown species named Danuvius guggenmosi challenge the prevailing view about when and where our ancestors first started walking upright.

From skin color to immunity, human biology is linked to our archaic ancestry.

See when and where our ancestors may have interbred with Neanderthals and Denisovans.

Researchers say the skull belongs to an Australopithecus species once thought to be a predecessor to “Lucy,” but now that relationship is murky.

Mutating a gene called CMAH in mice so it’s nonfunctional, as in humans, upped the animals’ chances of developing heart disease, a study finds.

Bonobos eat their aquatic greens, perhaps to get their daily dose of iodine.

Sequences from dozens of ancient remains from Siberia reveal the closest ancient relative of Native Americans found outside of North America.

In long-distance, physically taxing events, the amount of energy athletes can expend appears to peak at about 2.5 times their metabolic resting rate—a maximum likely dictated by how many calories they can digest.

Fossil records show that the most recent shared ancestor with modern humans may have lived at least 800,000 years ago.

A mandible dating to 160,000 years ago is the first evidence of Denisovan hominins outside the Russian cave where they were first discovered in 2010.

The fabella disappeared from our lineage millions of years ago, but over the last century, its presence in people’s knees has become more common.

When compared to teeth from Homo erectus and orangutans, the remains from an ancient ape appear to belong to a new genus.

New studies suggest forebears’ age and physical proximity matter when it comes to their grandkids’ survival.