Ape family tree suggests human ancestors weren’t particularly violent
30 June 2023
An evolutionary analysis of behavioural traits across primate species may shed light on the question of whether humans are violent by nature
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Premium
Utopia: The ancient discoveries that point to the ideal human society
27 June 2023
Anthropology and archaeology are revealing that a human society can take myriad forms, which can teach us how to build a modern society that is more equal, resilient and stable
The archaeologists recreating the secrets of prehistoric technology
14 March 2023
It has long been unclear how ancient people built a city of wood in the New Mexico desert far from any forests. By trying prehistoric building techniques themselves, archaeologists are working it out
Curly hair may have evolved to protect early humans from the sun
14 February 2023
In the first study to look at the evolution of hair types, researchers found tightly coiled hair provides a trade-off of shielding the head from the sun while minimising unwanted insulating
Life As Told By a Sapiens to a Neanderthal review: Joyful curiosity
27 July 2022
This evolution bestseller is full of ironic humour, sharp insights and affectionate acknowledgement of human flaws – and ends up as a celebration of curiosity
How fossil footprints are revealing the joy and fear of Stone Age life
6 April 2022
A new wave of archaeological investigations is reconstructing intimate details of our ancestors' lives from fossilised footprints. They give us glimpses of everything from parent-child relationships to the thrill of a giant sloth hunt
Ancient Britons rapidly evolved to cope with lack of sunlight
29 March 2022
The DNA of people who lived in Great Britain thousands of years ago has markers of natural selection at work – and the driving force seems to have been a shortage of vitamin D
Family tree of extinct apes reveals our early evolutionary history
16 March 2022
A new family tree of apes that lived in the Miocene between 23 and 5.3 million years ago reveals which are our close relatives and which are only distant cousins
Ancient humans may have started hunting 2 million years ago
11 January 2022
Cut marks on animal bones suggest ancient hominins butchered them for their meat, and that they were first on the scene instead of having to scavenge from carnivores like big cats
Humans have been relatively short for thousands of years
2 December 2021
Until around 150 years ago, humans were relatively short – but our recent growth spurt may have more to do with social factors than dietary ones
