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Evolution & Human Origins

We bring you all the latest news and discoveries relating to human origins and evolution. The more fossils that are unearthed, the more researchers admit that there is much that is still unknown about the evolution of humans.

Alleged Mummy found at Nazca, clearly has three fingers and toes
20 June, 2017 - 19:10 Alicia McDermott

Paradigm Shift Required? 3-Fingered Mummified Humanoid Found in Peru May Change the Story of Human Origins

A remarkable mummified body has been discovered in Nazca, Peru. While mummies can draw attention, this particular find may alter the story of human origins. The crouched mummified body of a humanoid...
An almost complete adult mandible found at Jebel Irhoud, Morocco. New discoveries at the site date the earliest Homo sapiens to 300,000 years ago.
7 June, 2017 - 22:58 Alicia McDermott

Breaking News! 300,000-Year-Old Remains Place Oldest Homo Sapiens in Morocco

A re-evaluation of early human remains and artifacts from Morocco has pushed back the advent of Homo sapiens by 100,000 years. Two new papers suggest the oldest of the fossils comes from 300,000 to...
Image of reconstructed faces of three early humans in profile view.
16 May, 2017 - 19:01 Mark Miller

Sorry European racial “purists,” it turns out your ancestors were African and Middle Eastern

People throughout history have taken pride in their ancestral roots, but new studies of migrations of people into Europe and elsewhere are showing that no one’s heritage is “pure.” Or if humanity’s...
A reconstruction of Homo naledi’s head by paleoartist John Gurche, who spent some 700 hours recreating the head from bone scans.
10 May, 2017 - 23:02 Theodoros Karasavvas

New Stash of Mysterious Homo Naledi Bones Shows They Coexisted with Homo Sapiens

A significant amount of ancient human remains has been found in a very important cave site in South Africa. Scientists now suggest that Homo naledi was alive between 236,000 and 335,000 years ago, a...
Vindija Cave in Croatia where Neanderthal DNA was found in cave sediment
30 April, 2017 - 18:51 dhwty

DNA Can Now be Extracted from Dirt! New Tech May Solve Many Mysteries of Human Origins

An amazing technological innovation in the study of DNA has been called a ‘game changer’ in the research into ancient humans and hominids. It may solve many of the mysteries that exist in relation to...
A reconstruction of Homo naledi’s head by paleoartist John Gurche, who spent some 700 hours recreating the head from bone scans.
25 April, 2017 - 22:55 Mark Miller

Pre-human Species with Orange-Sized Brains May Have Used Teamwork and Buried Their Dead

Which came first in pre-human species’ communication and teamwork—larger brains or the folds and ridges of the brain that fostered language and empathy? Some scientists studying a possible human...
Artist's impression of Homo floresiensis.
22 April, 2017 - 01:56 ancient-origins

Origins of Indonesian Hobbits Finally Revealed

The most comprehensive study on the bones of Homo floresiensis, a species of tiny human discovered on the Indonesian island of Flores in 2003, has found that they most likely evolved from an ancestor...
The archaeologists used a different method that incorporates facial data from around the world instead of data with a heavily European influence in creating the image of the woman from the Tham Lod rockshelter.
6 April, 2017 - 23:03 Mark Miller

Researchers Reveal the Pretty Face of a Woman Who Lived 13600 Years Ago

Near the end of the last great ice age, the remains of a descendant of the first people to move into Southeast Asia were found in the Tham Lod rock shelter of Thailand’s northwestern highlands. Now...
Virtual reconstruction of the Aroeira 3 cranium in frontal (A), posterior (B), superior (C), and endocranial (D) views. The frontal sinus in D is exposed in a parasagittal section located 4 mm to the right of the sagittal plane.
14 March, 2017 - 21:58 Theodoros Karasavvas

At Nearly Half a Million-Years-Old, the Fossil of a Human Cranium Discovered in Portugal is a Shock Find

Archaeologists unearthed a 400,000-year-old skull of a mysterious human ancestor with Neanderthal traits in Portugal. It is considered to be the oldest fossil of a human ancestor discovered in the...
Ancient Skulls Found in China Could Belong to an Unidentified Human Species
6 March, 2017 - 13:46 Theodoros Karasavvas

Ancient Skulls Found in China Could Belong to an Unidentified Human Species

A team of scientists has discovered two partial human skulls in central China that could possibly belong to an unspecified archaic human species. The skulls are 105,000 to 125,000 years old, and they...
Devil's Gate Cave in far east Russia. (Yuriy Chernyavskiy/Creative Commons) Insert: A human skull found at Devil’s Gate Cave from 7,700 years ago. (Ulsan Institute of Science and Technology)
2 February, 2017 - 23:03 Theodoros Karasavvas

Study Reveals Stone Age Women Have Modern Relatives Living Nearby

A group of researchers studying 7700-year-old DNA found in a remote cave in Far East Russia suggest that the two women were related to people who live in this distant and bitterly cold corner of Asia...
Baboon Sounds May Hold the Key to Understanding the Formation of Human Language
13 January, 2017 - 03:44 Theodoros Karasavvas

Baboon Sounds May Hold the Key to Understanding the Formation of Human Language

A new study proposes that baboon grunts and barks might have more in common with human speech than most people believe. Researchers have noted that these monkeys routinely produce five of the...
Are you a Righty or Lefty? Ancient Teeth and Tools May Explain the Evolution of Handedness
12 January, 2017 - 14:48 ancient-origins

Are you a Righty or Lefty? Ancient Teeth and Tools May Explain the Evolution of Handedness

Caroline Spry/ The Conversation Roughly 90% of humans are right-handed and this is one of the traits that separates us from most other primates who don’t really show any overall preference for left...
Ancient Human Ancestors Ate Raw Meat and Insects, But They Cleaned Their Teeth
17 December, 2016 - 04:01 ancient-origins

Ancient Human Ancestors Ate Raw Meat and Insects, But They Cleaned Their Teeth

New research conducted by scientists at the University of York and the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona reveals for the first time that Europe’s earliest humans did not use fire for cooking, but had...
3.6-Million-Year-Old Footprints Imply That an Ancient Hominin Was a Tall, Dominant, and Polygamous Male
16 December, 2016 - 14:51 Theodoros Karasavvas

3.6-Million-Year-Old Footprints Imply That an Ancient Hominin Was a Tall, Dominant, and Polygamous Male

Footprints belonging to a group of early hominins who lived 3.6 million years ago were recently uncovered in Tanzania. The footprints indicate Australopithecus afarensis probably had a gorilla-like...
Jersey was a Must-See Tourist Destination for Neanderthals for Over 100,000 Years
16 December, 2016 - 03:40 ancient-origins

Jersey was a Must-See Tourist Destination for Neanderthals for Over 100,000 Years

New research led by the University of Southampton shows Neanderthals kept coming back to a coastal cave site in Jersey from at least 180,000 years ago until around 40,000 years ago. As part of a re-...
How (Most) Humans Lost Their Tails - From Fish to Tetrapods to Apes to Homo Sapiens
14 December, 2016 - 21:48 Mark Miller

How (Most) Humans Lost Their Tails - From Fish to Tetrapods to Apes to Homo Sapiens

Did you know that human embryos early in development have tails that later fail to grow for a lack of signaling from the genes? We end up with the coccyx at the end of our spines that protrudes a bit...
Evidence of Unknown Extinct Human Relative Found in DNA Study of Melanesians
30 October, 2016 - 21:04 ancient-origins

Evidence of Unknown Extinct Human Relative Found in DNA Study of Melanesians

Traces of long-lost human cousins may be hiding in modern people’s DNA, a new computer analysis suggests. People from Melanesia, a region in the South Pacific encompassing Papua New Guinea and...
Neanderthal
25 October, 2016 - 03:48 ancient-origins

Ancient Human History More Complex Than Previously Thought, Researchers Say

Relationships between the ancestors of modern humans and other archaic populations such as Neanderthals and Denisovans were likely more complex than previously thought, involving interbreeding within...
DNA Study Unravels Mystery Behind Origins of First Pacific Islanders
5 October, 2016 - 00:40 ancient-origins

DNA Study Unravels Mystery Behind Origins of First Pacific Islanders

More than 3,000 years ago, a group of people set out from the Solomon Island chain in the southwestern edge of the Pacific Ocean and steered their outrigger canoes toward the horizon, with no land as...
How Breeding with an Ancient Human Species gave Tibetans their Head for Heights
2 October, 2016 - 21:53 ancient-origins

How Breeding with an Ancient Human Species gave Tibetans their Head for Heights

A recent study of the DNA of Tibetans has looked at the gene underlying their ability to live in the low-oxygen conditions at high altitudes. It found that this gene has come from an unexpected...
DNA Study Finds Aboriginal Australians are Oldest Civilization in the World
26 September, 2016 - 00:55 ancient-origins

DNA Study Finds Aboriginal Australians are Oldest Civilization in the World

Australia has one of the longest histories of continuous human occupation outside Africa. But who exactly were the first people to settle there? Such a question has obvious political implications and...
Ancient Jewelers: Scientists Confirm Body Ornamentation Belonged to Neanderthals
24 September, 2016 - 03:40 ancient-origins

Ancient Jewelers: Scientists Confirm Body Ornamentation Belonged to Neanderthals

Researchers from the University of York have helped to solve an archaeological dispute -- confirming that Neanderthals were responsible for producing tools and artifacts previously argued by some to...
Humans Wiped Out the Hobbit: New Study Suggests Homo Sapiens Caused Extinction of Tiny Homo Floresiensis Species
23 September, 2016 - 21:46 aprilholloway

Humans Wiped Out the Hobbit: New Study Suggests Homo Sapiens Caused Extinction of Tiny Homo Floresiensis Species

In October 2004, excavation of fragmentary skeletal remains from the island of Flores in Indonesia yielded what was called "the most important find in human evolution for 100 years." Its discoverers...

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