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/