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A reconstruction of Homo naledi’s head by paleoartist John Gurche, who spent some 700 hours recreating the head from bone scans.

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...
A fictional animal based on the glyptodon and a palaeoburrow (ichnofossil) found in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Scientists say that this mega-tunnel was created by a long extinct species.

What Giant Beasts Carved Out these South American Mega-Tunnels?

Immense tunnels found in the heart of the jungle in Brazil are thought to have been the den of a gruesome wild animal. Experts doubt that huge burrows were created by a natural geologic process and...
Ancient Skulls Found in China Could Belong to an Unidentified Human Species

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

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...
A model of the face of an adult female Homo erectus. Reconstruction by John Gurche, Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

Scientists Say A Mystery Species Bred with Ancient Humans in Distant Past

A new study of the genomes of Australasians has revealed sections of DNA that do not match any known hominin species. The dramatic findings mean that a mystery species bred with ancient humans in the...
The new study says that Neanderthal DNA influences many physical traits in people of European and Asian heritage.

Study Casts New Light on Diseases We Inherited from Neanderthals

Feeling depressed? Can’t kick the tobacco habit? Sun causing skin lesions? Allergies bothering you? Some people of today may blame their Neanderthal ancestry in part for some of these health problems...
Top 10 Human Origins Discoveries in 2015

Top 10 Human Origins Discoveries in 2015

In 2015, DNA analysis provided deeper insight into the lives of our ancient ancestors. Studies of their appearance, diet, living conditions, and the human family tree, were all hot topics. Research...
The squash in this photo had not been grown for hundreds of years. Native Americans revived it after finding seeds in a pot 800 years old.

Native Americans Revived Squash From 800-Year-Old Seeds

Some Native Americans found squash seeds in a pot about 800 years old and revived the plant for the first time in centuries. The seeds from the large, bright orange squash have been distributed to...
An Ichthyosaur fossilized skeleton at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

Ancient Sea Monsters: Misidentified Fossilized Skeletons Now Revealing Hidden History of Ichthyosaur

The fossilized skeletons of strange creatures—odd, beaked fish with teeth and ‘feet’—were uncovered by quarry workers in southwestern England in the early 1800’s. Dubbed “fish lizards” (or...
: Deriv; Skull of a modern human (left) and a Neanderthal (right). Museum of Natural History in Cleveland.

Scientific Breakthrough: Oldest partial genome sequenced, reveals Neanderthals twice as old as thought

New research is challenging what we thought we knew about our prehistoric cousins, the now extinct Neanderthals. DNA from fossils from a cave in Spain show that Neanderthals are almost twice as old...
A reconstruction of Homo naledi’s head by paleoartist John Gurche, who spent some 700 hours recreating the head from bone scans.

Astonishing new species of ancient human ancestor found in burial chamber

A major discovery out of South Africa is set to change our whole understanding of ancient human ancestors and evolution claim scientists. The bones of new species of human relative have reportedly...
The Oase 1 jawbone from a 40,000-year-old modern human

Jawbone shows Modern Human 40,000 years ago had Neanderthal Great-Great-Grandfather

The mysterious history of Neanderthals, and their relationship with the first modern humans eludes scientists, but current research is quickly filling in gaps, showing that Neanderthals were, and...
Casts of the jaws of Australopithecus deyiremeda

Fossil Find Reveals New Species of Early Human - Origins of Modern Man Gets Crowded

Make room, Lucy! A fossil of a 3.4 million-year-old hominin has been found by researchers who say this could be an entirely new species of early human, previously unknown to history. This new and...
Neanderthals were NOT a sub-species of modern humans

Researchers claim Neanderthals were NOT a sub-species of modern humans

Researchers have identified new evidence supporting the growing belief that Neanderthals were a distinct species separate from modern humans (Homo sapiens), and not a subspecies of modern humans. The...
Thomas Sutikna of the Indonesian Centre for Archeology holds the skull of Hobbit

Fierce scientific debate has erupted over identity of Hobbit species

A heated international dispute has erupted over the publication of a paper earlier this month claiming that the tiny skeleton of an adult from Indonesia’s Flores island was a modern human with Down’s...
Homo floresiensis

Researchers claim Flores bones do not represent new species of 'Hobbit' human

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...
Ancient human skull of Neanderthal

Ancient human skull discovered with Neanderthal characteristics

A new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has revealed that a 100,000-year-old human-like skull found in China bears resemblance to a Neanderthal, providing...
Ancient extinct species

Could we see the return of ancient extinct species?

As gene technology develops, scientists move ever closer to the possibility of bringing extinct species back to life . The Long New Foundation in California is on the front line of research...
Sasquatch - Bigfoot

Another Human Hybrid? The Controversy Continues One Year Later

Last year, we reported on the results of genetic research which revealed that the genome of one of our ancient ancestors, the Denisovans, contains a segment of DNA that seems to have come from...
One million-year-old settlement in Britain

One million-year-old settlement uncovered in Britain

Archaeologists believe they have found the birthplace of British civilisation , and it is underneath a £15-a-night caravan park in Norfolk, England. Discoveries at the site include one million-year-...
The best on human origins 2013

What we discovered about ancient human origins this year… and what is still a mystery

This year, huge strides were made in unravelling some of the mysteries of our ancient ancestors. For example, in the first ever analysis of a virtually complete Neanderthal genome, scientists were...
Neanderthal

Entire Neanderthal genome finally mapped – with amazing results

The results of an extensive analysis of a 50,000-year-old toe bone belonging to a Neanderthal woman, which was unearthed in a cave in 2010, have been long awaited. Now, after much anticipation, the...
Oldest Humans - Mysterious Branch of Humanity

Oldest Human DNA Reveals Mysterious Branch of Humanity

A new landmark study has revealed the oldest known human DNA ever to be found, dating back approximately 400,000 years – substantially older than the previous earliest human DNA from a 100,000-year-...
Denisova Cave

Ancient Humans Bred with Completely Unknown Species

A new study presented to the Royal Society meeting on ancient DNA in London last week has revealed a dramatic finding – the genome of one of our ancient ancestors, the Denisovans, contains a segment...

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