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Fossils

Ongoing studies of Neanderthal skeletons unearthed in Iraq during the 1950s suggest the existence of a more complex social structure than previously thought.

The Skeletons of Shanidar Cave

A rare cache of hominid fossils from the Kurdistan area of northern Iraq offers a window on Neanderthal culture

Ardi (right) lived in a forest in Africa.  Her fossil skeleton shows that she walked upright and yet had an opposable toe, good for climbing trees.

The Human Family’s Earliest Ancestors

Studies of hominid fossils, like 4.4-million-year-old “Ardi,” are changing ideas about human origins

"Paleo-artist" John Gurche recreates the faces of our earliest ancestors, some of who have been extinct for millions of years.

A Closer Look at Evolutionary Faces

John Gurche, a “paleo-artist,” has recreated strikingly realistic heads of our earliest human ancestors for a new exhibit

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Swimming Spinosaurs

Bone vs. Stone: How to Tell the Difference

There is no single hard-and-fast rule for distinguishing rock from bone, but there are a few principles that can definitely help you tell the difference

Dinosaurs near Washington, D.C. (long-necked Astrodon johnstoni) left behind a trove of fossils overseen by Matthew Carrano.

A Dinosaur Graveyard in the Smithsonian’s Backyard

At a new dinosaur park in Maryland, children and paleontologists alike have found fossils for a new Smithsonian exhibit

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