Human Evolution
Dentist Discovers Human-Like Jawbone and Teeth in a Floor Tile at His Parents' Home
Scientists are planning to study the specimen, embedded in travertine from western Turkey, in hopes of dating and identifying it
Extensive Desert 'Lava Tubes' Sheltered Humans for 7,000 Years, Archaeologists Find
Formed after volcanic activity, the underground caves periodically hosted early humans and their livestock in Saudi Arabia, facilitating cultural exchange
Modern Indian People Have a Wide Range of Neanderthal DNA, Study Finds
Genomes of Indian people today reveal links to a prehistoric migration and a group of Iranian farmers, as well as several new sequences from the Neanderthal genome
The Dirty Secret About How Our Hands Spread Disease
The human hand is an incredible tool—and a deadly threat
Why Don’t Humans Have Tails? An Old Genetic Mutation Could Explain Why Monkeys, but Not Apes, Have the Extra Appendage
Scientists have pinpointed a genetic change that might have led the ancestors of humans to lose their tails
How Did Humans Evolve to Use Everyday Tools?
An anthropologist explains why we experience many objects, from tennis rackets to cars, as extensions of our bodies
ADHD Traits Might Have Helped Hunter-Gatherers Collect More Food While Foraging, Study Suggests
Participants who self-reported ADHD behaviors were better at an online berry-picking game than those who did not report such traits
Great Apes Love to Tease, Poke and Pester, Suggesting the Urge to Annoy Is Millions of Years Old
The desire to get a rise out of others is a 13-million-year-old trait humans and great apes share with a common ancestor, new research suggests
Stone Age Wall Discovered Beneath the Baltic Sea Helped Early Hunters Trap Reindeer
Made up of some 1,600 stones, the submerged “Blinkerwall” might be Europe's oldest known megastructure
Humans and Neanderthals Lived Side by Side in Northern Europe 45,000 Years Ago, Study Finds
Archaeologists identified bone fragments of prehistoric modern humans in Germany, suggesting several millennia of coexistence with Neanderthals before the species disappeared
Ancient DNA From Eurasian Herders Sheds Light on the Origins of Multiple Sclerosis
Genetic variants linked to the risk of MS were brought to Europe during a migration around 5,000 years ago, a new study finds—and they might have helped herders survive
What Caused the Mysterious Extinction of 'Giganto,' the World's Largest Ape?
The massive primates were unable to shift their diet to keep pace with a changing climate, according to a new study, forcing them to eat less nutritious bark and twigs
Early Primates May Have Feasted on Soft, Sweet Fruits
An analysis of more than 400 fossilized teeth suggests the creatures weren't eating many seeds, nuts or other hard foods
Thirteen Discoveries Made About Human Evolution in 2023
Smithsonian paleoanthropologists reveal some of the year’s most fascinating findings about human origins
Chimpanzees and Bonobos May Remember Faces for More Than 20 Years
The great apes, which are humans' closest living relatives, appeared to recognize photos of their former acquaintances in a study, even decades later
Neanderthal DNA May Help Explain Why Some People Are Early Risers
A new study finds a link between Neanderthal DNA and modern human genes related to the internal body clock, or circadian rhythm
Here's What We Know About Neanderthals So Far
Today, thanks to new artifacts and technologies, findings about our closest relatives are coming thick and fast
Like Humans, Some Bonobos Cooperate With Outsiders
We might not be the only primates to display helpful behavior toward members of a different social group, a new study suggests
Wild Female Chimpanzees Go Through Menopause, Study Finds
Until now, menopause had not been documented in wild, non-human animals, except for a few species of toothed whales
Two Million Years Ago, This Homo Erectus Lived the High Life
Dating of a child's fossilized jaw and teeth suggest our relatives lived at altitude earlier than once thought
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