Nearly Half of the Protected Land Around the Nazca Lines of Peru Is Now Open to Miners
Some environmentalists are concerned about mining operations drawing closer to the ancient landmarks
Scientists Investigate 2.2-Million-Year-Old Tooth Enamel to Unravel the Mysteries of Ancient Human Relatives
By studying proteins preserved in teeth, researchers determined the sex of four Paranthropus robustus individuals that lived in southern Africa
Capuchin Monkeys Caught on Camera ‘Abducting’ Baby Howler Monkeys in a Strange Tradition Seen for the First Time
Scientists on Panama’s Jicarón Island were mystified by photos and videos of young male capuchins carrying howler monkeys on their backs for days at a time
Egyptologist Reveals Mysterious Messages Hidden in the Hieroglyphics on a 3,000-Year-Old Obelisk
Jean-Guillaume Olette-Pelletier says he has identified seven sets of crypto-hieroglyphs on the 75-foot-tall structure, which France received as a gift in 1836
Sunscreen, Clothing and Caves May Have Given Modern Humans an Edge Over Neanderthals When Earth’s Magnetic Field Wandered
A new study suggests the extinction of Neanderthals nearly coincided with a shift in Earth’s magnetic field that let more radiation reach the ground. Our species might have adapted more easily
There Might Be Something Human in the Way Bonobos Communicate—Their Calls Share a Key Trait With Our Language, Study Suggests
Researchers attempted to decode bonobo calls by recording their social context, then analyzed how the primates string together these vocalizations
Researchers Unearth Oldest Known Human Facial Bones Ever Found in Western Europe
The upper jawbone and partial cheek bone represent a mysterious unknown species that lived in present-day Spain between 1.1 million and 1.4 million years ago, according to a new study
Researchers Thought It Was Just a Fortress. It Turned Out to Be a Lost Zapotec City
Lidar scans have revealed a 600-year-old fortified city in southern Mexico that boasted ball courts, roads, neighborhoods and temples
Why Does Laughter Have Such a Strange Power Over Us?
An anthropologist explores why the phenomenon has the ability to delight, disturb and disrupt
When Bonobos Know What You Don’t, They’ll Tell You. It’s a Sign of a Cognitive Ability Called ‘Theory of Mind’
A first-of-its-kind study suggests bonobos, like humans, can understand someone else’s lack of knowledge—and adjust their actions accordingly
Researchers Have Deciphered a Nearly 2,000-Year-Old True Crime Papyrus
The Greek document details a court case in ancient Palestine involving tax fraud and provides insight into trial preparations in the Roman Empire
From Chimps Eating Medicinal Plants to Footprints Tracking Our Early Relatives, Here Are the Most Significant Human Evolution Discoveries of 2024
Smithsonian paleoanthropologists explore how the year brought us closer to understanding ancient human relatives and origins
A Mysterious Boulder Carved to Look Like a Tortoise Shell May Offer Evidence of the Middle East’s Earliest Ritual Ceremonies
The 35,000-year-old rock was found in Manot Cave, which was inhabited by both prehistoric humans and Neanderthals
Humans Fed Salmon to Canines 12,000 Years Ago, Study Suggests, Hinting at the Origin of Our Relationship With Dogs
New research indicates early humans and canines were interacting in the Americas 2,000 years earlier than previously thought
A Little Boy Found a Strange Stone on the Beach. Archaeologists Told Him It Was a Neanderthal’s Hand Ax
The artifact is now on display at a museum in southern England. Experts say the find is “so rare that most qualified archaeologists would never find one themselves”
Footprints Reveal Two Early Human Species Walked the Same Lakeshore in Kenya 1.5 Million Years Ago
A new, “mind-blowing” discovery reveals evidence that Homo erectus and Paranthropus boisei stepped at the same site within days—or hours—of each other
What ‘Lucy,’ One of the World’s Most Important Fossils, Has Taught Scientists in the 50 Years Since Her Discovery
The famous early human is still providing lessons to anthropologists about prehistoric Earth and its inhabitants
The World’s Oldest Cheese Was Buried in a Chinese Tomb 3,600 Years Ago. Now, Scientists Have Sequenced Its DNA
New research has revealed that the mysterious white substance found alongside three ancient mummies was once a soft cheese called kefir
How Did Ice Age Humans Kill Huge Animals Like Mammoths? Probably Not by Throwing Spears, Study Finds
New research theorizes that hunters used pikes planted in the ground—with their sharp tips pointing upward—to impale approaching wildlife using the creature’s own weight and momentum
Did Prehistoric Children Make Figurines Out of Clay?
Fingerprints and scratch marks found in artifacts in the Czech Republic suggest youngsters of the Upper Paleolithic used the soil like Play-Doh, according to a pending new study
Page 1 of 15