Human Origins | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/human-origins/RSS feed for Human OriginsenTue, 02 Jun 2026 15:36:17 +0000Did Human Ancestors Walk on Their Knuckles Like Today's Chimpanzees? New Research Adds More Evidence to the Debatehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/did-human-ancestors-walk-on-their-knuckles-like-todays-chimpanzees-new-research-adds-more-evidence-to-the-debate-180988876/After investigating thousands of wrist bones, scientists suspect the last common ancestor species of humans and chimpanzees may have navigated the world on its knucklesTue, 02 Jun 2026 15:36:17 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/did-human-ancestors-walk-on-their-knuckles-like-todays-chimpanzees-new-research-adds-more-evidence-to-the-debate-180988876/Why Is Nearly Every Person Right-Handed—but Not Every Ape and Monkey? New Research Explores the Evolutionary Origins of Human Handednesshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/why-is-nearly-every-person-right-handed-but-not-every-ape-and-monkey-new-research-explores-the-evolutionary-origins-of-human-handedness-180988776/Brain size and bipedalism are the most likely drivers of our species’ right-hand dominance, according to new researchThu, 21 May 2026 16:28:25 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/why-is-nearly-every-person-right-handed-but-not-every-ape-and-monkey-new-research-explores-the-evolutionary-origins-of-human-handedness-180988776/Mysterious Green Rocks Discovered in a Remote Cave in Spain Might Be Signs of Prehistoric People Working With Copperhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/mysterious-green-rocks-discovered-in-a-remote-cave-in-spain-might-be-signs-of-prehistoric-people-working-with-copper-180988706/The find challenges assumptions that people in the region thousands of years ago did not spend much time at high altitudesFri, 08 May 2026 17:42:41 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/mysterious-green-rocks-discovered-in-a-remote-cave-in-spain-might-be-signs-of-prehistoric-people-working-with-copper-180988706/Did Neanderthals Have Language? New Research Suggests They Had the Genetic Hardware for It, Like Humanshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/did-neanderthals-have-language-new-research-suggests-they-had-the-genetic-hardware-for-it-like-humans-180988620/Specific genomic regions that seem to play a role in human language development evolved hundreds of thousands of years ago, before humans and Neanderthals diverged from a common ancestor, a new study findsMon, 27 Apr 2026 10:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/did-neanderthals-have-language-new-research-suggests-they-had-the-genetic-hardware-for-it-like-humans-180988620/These Wild Chimps Have Been Fighting in a 'Civil War' for Nearly a Decade. It's the Bloodiest Split Ever Seen Among Their Kindhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-wild-chimps-have-been-fighting-in-a-civil-war-for-nearly-a-decade-its-the-bloodiest-split-ever-seen-among-their-kind-180988527/The Ngogo chimpanzees in Uganda have divided themselves into two main factions, and dozens of deaths have been recorded since the split in 2018. A new study details the unprecedented violence, which could shed light on the evolutionary underpinnings of human warfareFri, 10 Apr 2026 20:12:47 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-wild-chimps-have-been-fighting-in-a-civil-war-for-nearly-a-decade-its-the-bloodiest-split-ever-seen-among-their-kind-180988527/After Nearly 80 Years of Doubt, Scientists Say a Spear Lodged Between Elephant Ribs Offers Evidence That Neanderthals Hunted Big Gamehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/after-nearly-80-years-of-doubt-scientists-say-a-spear-lodged-between-elephant-ribs-offers-evidence-that-neanderthals-hunted-big-game-180988522/In 1948, amateur archaeologists unearthed the remains, which should have shifted researchers' views of Neanderthals. But poor documentation sowed skepticism in the scientific communityFri, 10 Apr 2026 16:05:15 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/after-nearly-80-years-of-doubt-scientists-say-a-spear-lodged-between-elephant-ribs-offers-evidence-that-neanderthals-hunted-big-game-180988522/