Hominids | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/hominids/RSS feed for HominidsenThu, 13 Aug 2026 20:27:39 +0000Meat Wasn't the Only Food That Drove Early Humans to Evolve Bigger Brains. Sugar May Have Fueled the Organ's Enlargement, Toohttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/meat-wasnt-the-only-food-that-drove-early-humans-to-evolve-bigger-brains-sugar-may-have-fueled-the-organs-enlargement-too-180989335/Scientists examined four million years of hominin diets. They found that natural sugars may have supplied energy—in the form of glucose—to growing brains before cooking made starchy foods easier to digestThu, 13 Aug 2026 20:27:39 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/meat-wasnt-the-only-food-that-drove-early-humans-to-evolve-bigger-brains-sugar-may-have-fueled-the-organs-enlargement-too-180989335/Traces of Two Extinct 'Ghost' Ancestors Were Found Hiding in Modern Human DNA, Hinting at Our Extremely Complex Family Treehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/traces-of-two-extinct-ghost-ancestors-were-found-hiding-in-modern-human-dna-hinting-at-our-extremely-complex-family-tree-180989250/Researchers used a new method to investigate past interbreeding with Homo sapiens that doesn't require ancient DNA. The technique identified areas of living humans' genomes that came from unknown hominins, including one from a 1.8-million-year-old lineageFri, 07 Aug 2026 15:34:44 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/traces-of-two-extinct-ghost-ancestors-were-found-hiding-in-modern-human-dna-hinting-at-our-extremely-complex-family-tree-180989250/This Is What Our Thumbs Say About Our Brains, in a Pattern That Holds True for Other Primateshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-is-what-our-thumbs-say-about-our-brains-in-a-pattern-that-holds-true-for-other-primates-180987250/Researchers have found a link between long thumbs and big brains, suggesting the two features evolved togetherThu, 28 Aug 2025 13:39:15 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-is-what-our-thumbs-say-about-our-brains-in-a-pattern-that-holds-true-for-other-primates-180987250/Human Ancestors Were Making Bone Tools One Million Years Earlier Than Previously Thoughthttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/human-ancestors-were-making-bone-tools-one-million-years-earlier-than-previously-thought-180986175/Archaeologists have discovered a collection of prehistoric animal bones in Tanzania that suggests early humans figured out how to transfer tool-making techniques "from stone to bone" 1.5 million years agoThu, 06 Mar 2025 22:16:23 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/human-ancestors-were-making-bone-tools-one-million-years-earlier-than-previously-thought-180986175/The Search to Find the Remains of Homo Erectus in a Vanishing Landscapehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-search-to-find-homo-erectus-remains-in-a-vanishing-landscape-180985969/A paleontologist journeys through Indonesia’s Riau Archipelago in search of our earliest ancestors, and uncovers how environmental devastation has erased much of the region’s historyFri, 07 Feb 2025 13:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-search-to-find-homo-erectus-remains-in-a-vanishing-landscape-180985969/A 65,000-Year-Old Hearth Reveals Evidence That Neanderthals Produced Tar for Stone Tools in Iberiahttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-65000-year-old-hearth-reveals-evidence-that-neanderthals-produced-tar-for-stone-tools-in-iberia-180985536/While Neanderthals have been found to create glue-like substances with other materials, this finding, if confirmed, would be the first sign of Neanderthals burning the rockrose plant to make tarMon, 02 Dec 2024 18:48:07 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-65000-year-old-hearth-reveals-evidence-that-neanderthals-produced-tar-for-stone-tools-in-iberia-180985536/One Million Years Ago, Our Human Relatives May Have Challenged Giant Hyenas for Carcasseshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/one-million-years-ago-our-human-relatives-may-have-challenged-giant-hyenas-for-carcasses-180982979/Groups of hominins might have successfully scavenged large kills, new modeling findsThu, 28 Sep 2023 15:04:53 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/one-million-years-ago-our-human-relatives-may-have-challenged-giant-hyenas-for-carcasses-180982979/Stone Flakes Made by Monkeys Raise Questions About Early Human Toolshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/stone-flakes-made-by-monkeys-raise-questions-about-early-human-tools-180981785/The flakes accidentally produced by long-tailed macaques resemble those thought to have been made by early humansMon, 13 Mar 2023 18:45:18 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/stone-flakes-made-by-monkeys-raise-questions-about-early-human-tools-180981785/Archery May Have Arrived in Europe Thousands of Years Earlier Than Thoughthttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archery-may-have-arrived-in-europe-thousands-of-years-earlier-than-thought-180981690/New archaeological research suggests Homo sapiens used bows and arrows 54,000 years ago in present-day FranceThu, 23 Feb 2023 21:55:17 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archery-may-have-arrived-in-europe-thousands-of-years-earlier-than-thought-180981690/Seven Million Years Ago, the Oldest Known Early Human Was Already Walkinghttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-oldest-known-early-human-walked-upright-7-million-years-ago-180980628/Analysis of a femur fossil indicates that a key species could already move somewhat like usWed, 24 Aug 2022 15:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-oldest-known-early-human-walked-upright-7-million-years-ago-180980628/