Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Anthropology

Left: a burial mound in Kazakhstan. Right: the Golden Man's head ornaments.

Kazakhstan’s Iron Age ‘Golden Man’ and Other Elite Scythians of Eurasia Inherited Their High Social Status, Ancient DNA Suggests

Researchers have long wondered whether upper-class members of the ancient nomadic warriors earned their social status through individual achievements or birthright

Homo floresiensis (center) had a skull about the size of a grapefruit and stood a little more than three feet tall.

How a Hungry Komodo Dragon Led Scientists to Determine Our Small, Hobbit-Like Cousins Probably Weren’t That Smart After All

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 hypothesized

Modern humans and our relatives have occupied Wonderwork Cave in South Africa for around two million years.

Early Humans May Have Used Fire 1.8 Million Years Ago, Nearly Doubling the Age of the Oldest Known Evidence for the Feat

In Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa, burned bones were found in a dirt layer associated with Homo erectus. The inhabitants probably hadn’t mastered fire-making, but researchers say they may have moved and maintained flames from a natural fire

A fossilized Homo naledi skull

New Research

Did These Prehistoric Primates Really Bury Just Their Female Dead Deep in a Cave?

Researchers say that the fossilized bones of “Homo naledi,” so far found exclusively underground in South Africa, lack a key genetic male marker

The painted wall in 2024, enhanced on the right by a DStretch filter

Cool Finds

A Century After Causing Controversy, Red Cave Markings in Wales Are Classified Again as Britain’s Oldest Rock Art

The team of scientists used modern dating methods to confirm an old hypothesis by the rock art’s initial discoverers

The exterior of the reconstructed chapel in Historic St. Mary's City, Maryland

Groundbreaking DNA Analysis Identifies 1.3 Million Living Relatives of Colonial Maryland’s Earliest Settlers

Experts compared DNA from 49 skeletons buried in a cemetery in St. Mary’s City to genetic data shared by 11.5 million 23andMe users. They also identified what may be the remains of the colony’s second governor

The procedure was likely extremely painful. But, afterward, the Neanderthal continued chewing with the tooth, which suggests they felt some relief.

New Research

Neanderthals Got Cavities, Too—and New Research Suggests They Drilled Into Their Teeth to Treat Them, Just Like Modern Dentists

Researchers unearthed a 59,000-year-old Neanderthal molar that shows signs of dental surgery, a discovery that pushes back the earliest evidence of dental work by roughly 45,000 years

Kenya's Great Rift Valley

East Africa Might Break Off From the Continent Sooner Than Scientists Thought—and a New Ocean May Fill the Gap

A new study suggests that a rift in Kenya and Ethiopia has reached a critical stage in the split-up process, and that water may flood it in a few million years

A full-scale reconstruction of the 1738 Fort Mose was built in 2025 after decades of planning and archaeological research.

The Little-Known Story of the Enslaved Africans Who Found Freedom in the European Fight Over North America

Long before the famous Underground Railroad, those seeking freedom from slavery traveled on foot, by boat and under cover of darkness to Fort Mose in Spanish-controlled Florida

Chins are a uniquely human feature.

Why Do Humans Have Chins? They Might Be an Evolutionary Accident, New Research Suggests

The bony facial protrusion might be an evolutionary byproduct that resulted from changes to other parts of the skull, according to a new study

The sewn hide, pictured from the front and the back, alongside another hide artifact from Cougar Mountain Cave

New Research

These 12,000-Year-Old Scraps of Elk Hide May Be the World’s Oldest Known Examples of Sewing

Indigenous groups in present-day Oregon stitched the fragments together using cord made from plant fiber and animal hair. Experts think they may have been part of a garment, bag, container or portable shelter

Treponema pallidum is a spiral-shaped bacterium that currently exists in three closely related forms, one of which causes syphilis. 

Anthropologists Recover DNA of Syphilis-Causing Bacterium Relative From 5,500-Year-Old Human Remains, the Earliest Ever Found

The findings represent the oldest complete set of genetic information from this bacterial group and shed light on its evolutionary history

Paranthropus boisei composite hand

The Top Human Evolution Discoveries of 2025, From the Intriguing Neanderthal Diet to the Oldest Western European Face Fossil

Smithsonian paleoanthropologists examine the year’s most fascinating revelations

A new study hints that Australia's first people arrived via a major northern route and a smaller southern route. 

Modern Humans Reached Australia Around 60,000 Years Ago via Two Routes, Genetic Analysis Suggests

The study bolsters one hypothesis of when people arrived at the landmass that became Australia and other islands, and presents some of the earliest evidence of seafaring

The Burtele foot, discovered in 2009

The Human Relative Who Owned This 3.4-Million-Year-Old Foot May Have Belonged to a Species That Lived Alongside Lucy

Newfound fossils in modern-day Ethiopia suggest that the mysterious foot belonged to a recently named species, Australopithecus deyiremeda. The finding could alter the story of human evolution

The Altamura Man was discovered in a cave in southern Italy in 1993.

Stunningly Well-Preserved Neanderthal Skull Suggests the Species’ Large Noses Weren’t Adapted for the Cold

A new study analyzes the nasal cavity of the “Altamura Man,” a Neanderthal who died between 130,000 and 172,000 years ago

A 3D model of the skull likely belonging to Béla, Duke of Macsó

New Research

Forensic Analysis Identifies Skeleton as a Medieval Hungarian Duke Who Was Brutally Murdered 750 Years Ago

Based on DNA evidence and numerous cut marks on the bones, scientists think that multiple assailants attacked Béla, Duke of Macsó, in 1272. The victim was likely unarmed and unprotected by armor

Hyper-realistic reconstructions of Australopithecus afarensis (Lucy foreground, Selam background) by Élisabeth Daynès in the National Museum’s “People and Their Ancestors” exhibition, Prague

Meeting Lucy: How a World-First European Exhibition Brought Visitors Face to Face With the Fossil That ‘Shrinks Time’

Two Australopithecus fossils named Lucy and Selam made a rare trip out of Ethiopia for a 60-day display at the National Museum in Prague

An ancient ochre fragment that shows signs of re-use 

Remarkable New Research on Ochre ‘Crayons’ Colors in Scientists’ Understanding of How Neanderthals Made Art

A recently published study suggests humans’ creative inclinations go back much further than previously thought

New research suggests a genetic dynamic that may have contributed to Neanderthals' extinction.

A Single Gene Could Have Contributed to Neanderthals’ Extinction, Study Suggests

New research posits that a genetic incompatibility between female offspring of humans and Neanderthals and their children could have led to pregnancy complications and the eventual end of the species

Page 1 of 17