An analysis of organic material from 500-million-year-old fossils upholds the theory that the mysterious creatures were early forms of animal life.

A 99-million-year-old beetle preserved in amber alongside grains of pollen likely pollinated prehistoric plants.

The function of early hominins’ enlarged brow ridges, and their reduction in size in Homo sapiens, have puzzled paleoanthropologists for decades.

Authors of a new study suggest that 520-million-year-old structures, previously identified as the brains of ancient arthropods, are instead preserved microbial biofilms.

Researchers are looking to proteins to explore the biology of ancient organisms, from medieval humans all the way back to dinosaurs.

How to analyze ancient proteins

The ancient human may have lived around 200,000 to 300,000 years ago—much more recently than previously estimated.

This ancient relative of the Ginkgo biloba (Umaltolepis mongoliensis) dates back 100 million years, to the early Cretaceous Period.

Overlooked for half a century, a skull in the Smithsonian collection points to a dolphin species that lived 25 million years ago, according to a study.