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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.

A new study suggests three key phases in human ancestry for scientists to focus future research
13 February, 2021 - 17:50 Alicia McDermott

Modern Human Ancestry Won’t Be Traced to a Single Point

While we may be attracted by the headlines of “Oldest Human Fossil Discovered” and “New Human Ancestor Found”, the idea that we’re on the route to unearthing an actual, single point in time and space...
Researchers used 3D modeling software to reconstruct ancient hands and then added the critical human thumb muscle to the model.
29 January, 2021 - 18:01 ashley cowie

The Human Thumb Just Got 500,000 Years Older

Researchers studying the fossilized hands of 2-million-year-old hominins have concluded that human thumbs back then had the same movement ranges as our thumbs have today. It was the “dexterity” in...
New Evidence Suggests Early Humans HIBERNATED In Caves, Like Bears
21 December, 2020 - 17:56 Nathan Falde

New Evidence Suggests Early Humans HIBERNATED In Caves, Like Bears

Did Stone Age Neanderthals wait out the coldest days of winter snuggled up safely beneath furs deep inside caves, in a state of suspended animation for months while the winds raged, and the snow...
Monkeys Genetically Engineered with Human Brains!
22 November, 2020 - 22:02 ashley cowie

Monkeys Genetically Engineered with Human Brains!

A human gene injected into monkey brains not only made them larger, but it increased neuron function, making the animals more human. Marmoset brains are much smaller and smoother than human brains...
The newly discovered Paranthropus skull. Source: Jesse Martin and David Strait
11 November, 2020 - 03:19 Alicia McDermott

Paranthropus Skull Find Suggests Distant Human Cousins Evolved Quickly

Researchers have long believed that the distant human ancestor species called Paranthropus robustus were somewhat like modern gorillas, orangutans, and baboons because they thought the males of this...
Study Unravels the Mysterious Origins of Nomadic Mongolian Empires
7 November, 2020 - 04:19 Alicia McDermott

Study Unravels the Mysterious Origins of Nomadic Mongolian Empires

The Xiongnu, the first nomadic empire in Asia, left no known written records to explain their origins, making this an intriguing ancient genetic mystery. But a new study has cast light on how the...
Just Like Us, Neanderthal Babies Ate Solid Food at 6 Months Old
4 November, 2020 - 14:15 ashley cowie

Just Like Us, Neanderthal Babies Ate Solid Food at 6 Months Old

A new study proves that just like modern humans, Neanderthal babies were also weaned at six months old. This fascinating new discovery comes after a team of researchers studied three Neanderthal milk...
Denisovan DNA in Tibetan Cave Changes History of Early Humans in Asia
3 November, 2020 - 02:29 Ed Whelan

Denisovan DNA in Tibetan Cave Changes History of Early Humans in Asia

An international team has found evidence that could change our understanding of a mysterious species of early humans, the Denisovans . They have found DNA from these humans in a Buddhist cave on the...
Several past human species went extinct due to climate change. Source: regis allouet /Adobe Stock
17 October, 2020 - 13:44 Ed Whelan

Scientists Warn That What Killed Past Human Species Could End Us Too

One of the greatest mysteries in science is why there is only one species of humans in the world today. In the past, there were several and they often co-existed for considerable periods. These past...
Early humans took detours to pleasant environments on their prehistoric route to Europe. Source: Kovalenko I / Adobe Stock
16 October, 2020 - 00:43 Alicia McDermott

Humans Took Pleasant Detours on the Prehistoric Route to Europe

New research shows that the environment is a key factor in mapping the prehistoric routes that humans took when they headed out of Africa towards Europe. More favorable climates enticed Homo sapiens...
Bronze Age skull in situ in the Tollense valley Source: ©: Stefan Sauer / Tollense Valley Project
4 September, 2020 - 23:23 Ed Whelan

Ancient Warriors Show Europeans Were Late Adopters of Dairy Produce

Research undertaken on Bronze Age warriors who died in a battle in Germany has revealed something remarkable about the evolution of human digestion. It established that it is only in the past few...
The question of when humans discovered how to make fire is an issue of hot debate in archaeology. The most recent answer may have been found at Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa. Source: Gorodenkoff / Adobe Stock
24 August, 2020 - 13:56 ashley cowie

First Human Fire Starter Was 1.6 Million Years Ago, Scientist Says

Fire, and learning how to control it, greatly altered the course of human evolution allowing our ancestors to cook food, fight off predators and explore colder climates. Defining when humans first...
Male and female Neanderthals were one of our ancestors, but recent DNA research suggests we also have a mysterious archaic human ancestor. Credit: Gorodenkoff / Adobe Stock
7 August, 2020 - 17:33 Ed Whelan

DNA Study Reveals We Have a Mystery Human Ancestor

A new method for analyzing modern and archaic human DNA has thrown up some fascinating results. It appears that modern humans ( Homo Sapiens ) mated earlier and more frequently with an archaic human...
A man stands in what appears to be a giant footprint in bedrock in Pingyin China
6 June, 2020 - 14:02 Veronica Parkes

The Giant Footprint of Pingyan: Giant Made or Man Made?

Stories and tales about gigantic beings inhabiting the Earth occur in almost all ancient cultures and civilizations. From the Indo-Europeans, to the Greeks, to the Christian Bible, tales of giants...
The first waves of Caribbean inhabitants were diverse. Source: pxfuel / Public Domain.
5 June, 2020 - 18:55 ashley cowie

DNA Studies Reveals True Origins of First Inhabitants of the Caribbean

Archaeologists and anthropologists know that the Caribbean was one of the last parts of the Americas settled by humans, but a new study of DNA has revealed when, how, and where the original Caribbean...
Humans and Neanderthals Have More in Common than Polar and Brown Bears
4 June, 2020 - 00:48 ancient-origins

Humans and Neanderthals Have More in Common than Polar and Brown Bears

Ancient humans and Neanderthals, and Denisovans, were genetically closer than polar bears and brown bears, and so, like the bears, were able to easily produce healthy, fertile hybrids according to a...
Human-Neanderthal fertility gene discovered in recent study. Source: Dimid / Adobe Stock.
1 June, 2020 - 18:47 ashley cowie

Neanderthal Gene Makes Women More Fertile

Are you in the “one in three” group of European women with the special Neanderthal gene required for fewer pregnancy issues? The revelatory new DNA study by researchers at the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft...
Scientists have found the evolutionary reason for beards. Source: be free / Adobe Stock
23 May, 2020 - 05:06 ashley cowie

The Evolutionary Reason for Beards – a Hairy Shock Absorber

A new study has provided an evolutionary reason for beards - to reduce the impact of punches. This explains why men grow facial hair while most women do not. But before we begin, if the findings of...
A. Sebida hand bones show this human ancestor’s grip was similar to a modern human’s. Source: Peter Schmid, courtesy of Tracy Kivell/University of Kent
21 May, 2020 - 22:52 ashley cowie

2 Million-Year-Old Human Ancestor Had A Grip Just Like Us

Inhabiting what is now modern-day South Africa, an ancient human ancestor, Australopithecus sediba, that lived two million years ago had hands that might have enabled it to carry out some movements...
Landscape at the Baikal lake in Siberia, origins of the first Americans? Source: serge-b / Adobe Stock
21 May, 2020 - 05:53 ancient-origins

Found! The Deepest Link Between Siberians and the First Americans

Using human population genetics, ancient pathogen genomics, and isotope analysis, a team of researchers assessed the population history of the Lake Baikal region, finding the deepest connection to...
Beautiful panorama with a rainbow over the sea and the coast. The amazing nature of the Arctic. Picturesque northern landscape. Providence Bay, Bering Sea, Pacific Ocean. Chukotka, Far East of Russia Source: Andrei Stepanov / Adobe Stock
15 May, 2020 - 18:51 ancient-origins

Study Points at Hidden Human History Submerged On ‘Aquaterra’

Today, sea-level rise is a great concern of humanity as climate change warms the planet and melts ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica . Indeed, great coastal cities around the world like Miami and...
Scientists studying 55-million-year-old fossils using groundbreaking tech have revealed that after the extinction of dinosaurs, giant anchovies roamed the sea. Pictured: Artist’s impression of saber-toothed anchovy being caught by an early whale. Source: © Joschua Knüppe
13 May, 2020 - 19:00 Ed Whelan

55-Million-Year-Old Fossils Reveal Giant Anchovies With Monstrous Fangs

Scientists have made an amazing discovery about the humble anchovy. These small fish are usually found as a topping on a pizza. However, millions of years ago, they were saber-toothed predators who...
The researchers found surprising examples of genetic continuity of ancient Andean genes to some modern groups. Source: SL-Photography /Adobe Stock
8 May, 2020 - 14:38 ancient-origins

Ancient Andean Genes Reveal DNA Continuity Amid Cultural Clashes

An international research team has conducted the first in-depth, wide-scale study of ancient Andean genes before European contact. The findings, published online May 7 in Cell , reveal early genetic...
This illustration depicts NASA's Perseverance rover operating on the surface of Mars. Source: NASA / JPL-Caltech
6 May, 2020 - 17:47 ancient-origins

Promising Signs For Perseverance Rover’s Quest for Martian Life

New research indicates river delta deposits within Mars' Jezero crater - the destination of NASA's Perseverance rover on the Red Planet - formed over time scales that promoted habitability and...

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