Human Origins | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/human-origins/RSS feed for Human OriginsenTue, 13 Oct 2026 13:00:00 +0000Did Industrialization Gut Our Microbiomes? A New Study on Rural Foraging Communities in South America and Africa Hints the Answer Is Yeshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/did-industrialization-gut-our-microbiomes-a-new-study-on-rural-foraging-communities-in-south-america-and-africa-hints-the-answer-is-yes-180989658/Two groups—the Tsimane forager-horticulturists in Bolivia and the Hadza hunter-gatherers in Tanzania—remarkably share more than 1,200 gut microbe species. However, around 60 percent of them are rare or absent in people living in industrialized places, according to researchersTue, 13 Oct 2026 13:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/did-industrialization-gut-our-microbiomes-a-new-study-on-rural-foraging-communities-in-south-america-and-africa-hints-the-answer-is-yes-180989658/Archaeologists Are Reconstructing the 'Invisible' Technologies of the Stone Age, From Rope to Thread and Twinehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/archaeologists-are-reconstructing-the-invisible-technologies-of-the-stone-age-from-rope-to-thread-and-twine-180989534/Largely missing from the archaeological record, fiber innovations played a huge role in the lives of early humans. Researchers are weaving together new insights from the traces they left behindMon, 21 Sep 2026 18:24:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/archaeologists-are-reconstructing-the-invisible-technologies-of-the-stone-age-from-rope-to-thread-and-twine-180989534/Scientists Find a Trove of Denisovan Fossils and Tools in Southwest China, Giving an Unprecedented Glimpse Into Our Extinct Cousins' Liveshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-find-a-trove-of-denisovan-fossils-and-tools-in-southwest-china-giving-an-unprecendented-glimpse-into-our-extinct-cousins-lives-180989483/Relatively few fossils belonging to the enigmatic early human have been unearthed in the past. Two new studies describe seven Denisovan fossils and more than 1,300 stone and bone toolsMon, 14 Sep 2026 13:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-find-a-trove-of-denisovan-fossils-and-tools-in-southwest-china-giving-an-unprecendented-glimpse-into-our-extinct-cousins-lives-180989483/Archaeologists Discover the World's Oldest Evidence of Habitual Drug Use in the Teeth of a Hunter-Gatherer Who Lived Up to 25,000 Years Agohttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-discover-the-worlds-oldest-evidence-of-habitual-drug-use-in-the-teeth-of-a-hunter-gatherer-who-lived-up-to-25000-years-ago-180989485/This individual may have regularly sucked on betel nuts, known for their mind-altering properties, leading to worsening dental disease. Researchers say the discovery sheds light on addiction in prehistoric environmentsFri, 11 Sep 2026 15:12:39 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-discover-the-worlds-oldest-evidence-of-habitual-drug-use-in-the-teeth-of-a-hunter-gatherer-who-lived-up-to-25000-years-ago-180989485/Archaeologists Uncover a Neolithic Sculpture of a Human Riding a Leopard That's 'Unlike Anything We Have Encountered Before'https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-uncover-a-neolithic-sculpture-of-a-human-riding-a-leopard-thats-unlike-anything-we-have-encountered-before-180989477/The artifact was found during excavations at Karahan Tepe, an 11,000-year-old site in southeastern Turkey. Created long before the invention of writing, the 2.3-foot-tall sculpture's purpose is a mysteryThu, 10 Sep 2026 14:09:55 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-uncover-a-neolithic-sculpture-of-a-human-riding-a-leopard-thats-unlike-anything-we-have-encountered-before-180989477/