Neanderthal Genes Could Explain Why Some of Us Are Morning People
If you’re irritated by the morning people in your life, you might have Neanderthals to blame for their existence, at least a little bit. New research suggests that our hominin…
New Study Explores Why Some People Have So Much Neanderthal DNA
A sweeping analysis of European and Asian genomes over the last 40,000 years reveals when and how some genetic exchange occurred between Homo sapiens and our closest cousins, Homo neanderthalensis.…
Scientists Reconstruct 12-Million-Year-Old Ape Skull
A team of paleoanthropologists has assembled the only known cranium of the extinct ape Pierolapithecus catalaunicus, revealing how the ape’s face looked. The reconstruction allows them to place Pierolapithecus on…
Oldest Human Footprints in North America Really Are That Old, New Dating Confirms
Fossilized human footprints at White Sands National Park in New Mexico are every bit as old as the 23,000 years-and-change they were dated at in 2021, according to new analysis…
Virgin Galactic Flight Carries Precious Hominin Fossils to Space’s Edge, Sparking Controversy
In a move that is garnering considerable criticism from the scientific community, a recent Virgin Galactic mission transported two ancient hominin fossils to the edge of space. Did Elon Musk…
Only 1,280 Reproductive Human Ancestors Once Roamed Earth, Gene Study Suggests
Humankind struggled to survive during a 100,000 year period during the early Pleistocene, according to researchers who used a computer model to discover a severe population bottleneck in our species’…
This May Be the Earliest Evidence of Hominin Cannibalism
In 1970, the renowned paleoanthropologist Mary Leakey found an ancient, nondescript leg bone sitting on the ground in Ileret, Kenya. Now, 53 years on, a research team has found marks…
57,000-Year-Old Cave Engravings Were the Work of Neanderthals, Researchers Say
It’s now consensus that Neanderthals were complex, social cousins of Homo sapiens that disappeared from the Earth around 40,000 years ago. But our lost relatives just became more complex, with…