https://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/human-origins/RSS feed for Human OriginsenThu, 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/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/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/from-armpits-to-feet-our-ticklish-hot-spots-are-surprisingly-universal-the-finding-offers-clues-about-the-sensations-evolutionary-origins-180989324/A new study probes the basics of gargalesis, a poorly understood type of tickling caused by firm, repetitive touches that typically elicits laughter and squirmingThu, 13 Aug 2026 14:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/from-armpits-to-feet-our-ticklish-hot-spots-are-surprisingly-universal-the-finding-offers-clues-about-the-sensations-evolutionary-origins-180989324/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/thousands-of-years-ago-denisovans-might-have-been-huge-especially-compared-to-their-archaic-human-neighbors-180989327/New research offers rare insight into our extinct cousins who lived in Asia and who may have towered over petite "Homo erectus"Wed, 12 Aug 2026 22:14:27 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/thousands-of-years-ago-denisovans-might-have-been-huge-especially-compared-to-their-archaic-human-neighbors-180989327/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/got-a-brawny-build-you-might-be-able-to-thank-your-neanderthal-ancestors-according-to-a-new-study-180989306/New research hints that some living people inherited a gene variant from Neanderthals that has made them slightly taller and more muscular than their peersTue, 11 Aug 2026 14:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/got-a-brawny-build-you-might-be-able-to-thank-your-neanderthal-ancestors-according-to-a-new-study-180989306/https://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/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-discover-two-thumbnail-sized-bird-sculptures-carved-from-mammoth-ivory-40000-years-ago-180989239/Measuring less than an inch long, the figurines were buried beneath Germany's Hohle Fels Cave, where some of the world's oldest known figurative artworks have been foundFri, 31 Jul 2026 18:01:04 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-discover-two-thumbnail-sized-bird-sculptures-carved-from-mammoth-ivory-40000-years-ago-180989239/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/ancient-fossil-footsteps-found-in-kenya-may-hint-that-an-early-human-relative-was-larger-than-previously-thought-180989206/The trackway sheds light on how some hominins moved around their environments and with one anotherMon, 27 Jul 2026 19:08:12 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/ancient-fossil-footsteps-found-in-kenya-may-hint-that-an-early-human-relative-was-larger-than-previously-thought-180989206/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/chimpanzees-and-bonobos-use-hugs-kisses-and-pats-to-keep-the-peace-just-like-humans-a-new-study-suggests-180989192/Since all three ape species diverged from a common ancestor that lived roughly six million to eight million years ago, the findings hint that friendly touching to diffuse tension has deep evolutionary originsMon, 27 Jul 2026 14:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/chimpanzees-and-bonobos-use-hugs-kisses-and-pats-to-keep-the-peace-just-like-humans-a-new-study-suggests-180989192/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/our-ancestors-loved-shell-trinkets-just-like-neanderthals-new-research-suggests-its-a-sign-of-shared-culture-across-species-180989085/Based on artifacts found in a limestone cave on the Mediterranean coast, scientists think the two species might have shared similar survival strategies, stone tool technologies and symbolic traditionsWed, 08 Jul 2026 14:26:56 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/our-ancestors-loved-shell-trinkets-just-like-neanderthals-new-research-suggests-its-a-sign-of-shared-culture-across-species-180989085/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-a-hungry-komodo-dragod-led-scientists-to-determine-our-small-hobbit-like-cousins-probably-werent-that-smart-after-all-180989078/New research indicates "Homo floresiensis" probably wasn't hunting big game or using fire on Flores Island, suggesting the small-brained species wasn't quite as "behaviorally advanced" as once hypothesizedMon, 06 Jul 2026 15:31:58 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-a-hungry-komodo-dragod-led-scientists-to-determine-our-small-hobbit-like-cousins-probably-werent-that-smart-after-all-180989078/