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Human evolution

A Crash Course In Human Evolution (Video)

Human evolution spans millions of years, shaping our species into what we are today. Our closest relatives, chimpanzees, share similarities with us, yet distinct differences exist. Around seven...
3D computer generated illustration of male Australopithecus afarensis. Source: SciePro/Adobe Stock

Human Ancestor ‘Lucy’ Was Athletic and Walked Fully Upright, Finds New Study

In a groundbreaking discovery that rewrites our understanding of human evolution, a new study utilizing advanced 3D muscle reconstruction has revealed that Lucy, the 3.2-million-year-old fossil of an...
Cave where the remains of Homo floresiensis were discovered in 2003, Lian Bua, Flores, Indonesia (CC BY-SA 2.0)

The Homo Floresiensis Controversy: The Hunt For The Modern Hobbit A Hoax?

Has the search for the modern relatives of Flores Island’s Homo floresiensis turned into a hoax-hunt? Everything that scientists thought about human evolution changed in 1856 after the first fossil...
The Top 10 Human Evolution Discoveries in 2021. Source: Ancient Origins

The Top 10 Revelations in Human Evolution in 2021

The year 2021 was filled with all kinds of human evolution discoveries and scientific progress. From the 250,000-year-old skeletal remains of a Homo naledi child in South Africa, to the smiley face...
Mysterious Bigfoot figure in the forest. Source: Dave / Adobe Stock

Bigfoot: Giant Hoax or Giant Hominid?

Fact or fiction, Bigfoot has captured the world’s imagination after a road construction crew spotted giant 16-inch-long human footprints near Bluff Creek in northern California in 1958. The discovery...
Artist rendering of the so-called “new human ancestor”, Homo bodoensis. Source: Ettore Mazza / University of Winnipeg

Homo bodoensis: Has A New Human Ancestor Just Been Discovered?

A team of scientists claim that they have identified a new “ancient human ancestor” in Africa, which is causing quite a stir. The so-called Homo bodoensis lived in Africa during the Middle...
The Dolmens of Antequera, remnants of prehistoric Iberia. Source: goyoconde / Adobe Stock

The Hominids of Hiberia: Neanderthals, Dolmens and Myths Entwined

At the southwestern tip of Eurasia, the geological cul-de-sac known as the Iberian Peninsula resides. With the majestic Pyrenees Mountains to the north, and the Pillars of Herakles at the Strait of...
It Really Was a Planet of the Apes Two Million Years Ago

It Really Was a Planet of the Apes Two Million Years Ago

New genetic research shows early humans’ brains were “much more ape-like” than what is measured in modern humans. What this means is that the first waves of human ancestors to migrate out of Africa...
Prehistoric hominid species (Andrea Izzotti / Adobe Stock).

New Human Ancestor Species Discovered… And it had a Tail!

A multi-disciplinary and multi-national team of archaeologists, anthropologists and geneticists in Siberia have announced the sensational discovery of a new hominid species that interbred with our...
Evidence for a Great Evolutionary Leap Finally Found?

Evidence for a Great Evolutionary Leap Finally Found?

Humans, chimpanzees, and gorillas all move similarly, and they share common anatomies. However, until now, it’s remained unknown how exactly humans were related to these other primates. That mystery...
Thanks to fossil DNA, geneticists now know that different lineages of our ancestors interbred with one another, creating new genetic lines and ensuring the modern human race is genetically diverse. Pictured: Representation of our prehistoric ancestors.      Source: Kovalenko I / Adobe stock

How Ancient Fossil DNA Reveals the Secrets of Our Human Origins

When the human genome was first discovered, it revealed some amazing genetic secrets – modern humans are way more complicated than we originally thought. During a long evolution , humankind picked up...
Little Foot’s skull, with the arrow on the right-hand image indicating the specimen’s atlas.      Source: R.J. Clarke/Author supplied

Little Foot’s Skeleton Adds To Human Evolution Story

Amélie Beaudet / The Conversation In his book Wonderful Life , Professor Stephen Jay Gould – an evolutionary biologist, paleontologist and widely-read popular science author – described the evolution...
Individual XVIII teeth from la Sima de los Huesos, Atapuerca. Source: M. Modesto-Mata / CENIEH

Atapuerca Hominids Grew Much Quicker Than Modern Humans

Scientists have proven that tooth enamel developed much quicker in ‘other’ hominids groups. Fossilized bones and teeth tell scientists when organisms lived, and morphological differences provide...
Teeth of OH1 (John C Willman) and the proposed facial piercings. (Lou-Octavia Mørch)

Giant Facial Piercings Found On 12,000-year-old Face

The earliest evidence of facial piercing may have been found on the skeleton of a man who lived in East Africa towards the end of the Late Pleistocene (20,000 to 12,000 years ago). The key to the new...
Devil footprints’ on the Ciampate del Diavolo.          Source: Edmondo Gnerre / CC BY 2.0

Walking Into Danger? Italian Devil’s Footprints Mystery Revealed

An ancient set of footprints commonly known as the ‘ devil footprints ’ on the side of an extinct volcano have long frightened and intrigued people in southern Italy . In reality, it was thought that...
Representation of Homo Erectus. Source: crimson

New Study Reveals Where Homo erectus Took Their Final Stand

Between 117,000 and 108,000 years the end was nigh for the hominins we call Homo erectus . They were the first of our ancestors to stand tall and walk upright, but even this ancient human species...
Mythological, demonic Rakshasa (V.R.Murralinath / Adobe Stock)

Genetic Study Suggests Denisovans Were the Mythological Rakshasas

A new genetic study of 1739 Asian individuals from 219 populations has found that on the Indian sub-continent today Denisovan DNA exists mostly among isolated, tribal communities. It also found that...
Representation of a Neanderthal, one of the five archaic human groups. Source: regis allouet /Adobe Stock

Modern Humans Interbred With At Least Five Archaic Human Groups

Genetic analysis has revealed that the ancestors of modern humans interbred with at least five different archaic human groups as they moved out of Africa and across Eurasia. While two of the archaic...
Representation of the bipedal hominins Homo erectus, one of Homo sapiens’ ancestors. Source: ratpack223 /Adobe Stock

Did Supernovae Inspire Our Hominin Ancestors to Walk Upright?

Did ancient supernovae induce proto-humans to walk on two legs, eventually resulting in Homo sapiens with hands free to build cathedrals, design rockets and snap iPhone selfies? A paper published...
Skull of Malapa hominid 1 (MH1) from South Africa, named "Karabo". The combined fossil remains of this juvenile male is designated as the holotype for Australopithecus sediba.  Source: CC BY-SA 4.0

Statistical Date Analysis Concludes That 'Ancient Human' Was Not Our Ancestor

One of the great issues in all of science is the search for the direct ancestor of modern humans. Many species of hominin have been put forward down the years and a recently uncovered species...
Baishiya Karst Cave in Xiahe,China. Source: (Dongju Zhang, Lanzhou University) Insert: The Xiahe mandible, only represented by its right half, was found in 1980 in Baishiya Karst Cave. (Dongju Zhang, Lanzhou University)

Denisovan Jaw: The First Physical Evidence for the Mysterious Hominins Outside Their Original Cave!

Research into the Denisovan story is always fascinating. This group of ancient hominins has been something of a mystery ever since they were first discovered in 2010 as an extinct sister group to the...
Man walking in a sea cave at sunset, illustration painting. New research on the Denisovans provides more insight on their lives and population spread.

A Trove of New Denisovan Discoveries Revealed At A Recent Anthropological Conference

The annual meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists held at the end of March in Cleveland, Ohio, was eagerly awaited by those with an interest in human origins as it would be...
Neanderthal vs human skull.

Artificial Intelligence Has Identified Previously Undetected Hominid in the Human Family Tree

By combining deep learning algorithms and statistical methods, investigators from the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (IBE), the Centro Nacional de Análisis Genómico (CNAG-CRG) of the Centre for...
A piece of hematite found in Denisova cave was used as a crayon for art work in the cave.

Ancient Colored ‘Pencil’ Up To 50,000-Years-Old Found in Siberia

Cave-dwellers used hematite crayon for art work in Altai Mountains, say archeologists investigating a latest find in Siberia. The pre-historic artists were not Homo sapiens but Denisovans - a long-...

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