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3D models of the femur and ulnae of Sahelanthropus tchadensis

Human ancestors may have walked on two legs 7 million years ago

24 August 2022

An analysis of thigh and forearm bones from Sahelanthropus tchadensis suggests the early hominin was mainly bipedal, but the claim is controversial

Homo erectus used two different kinds of stone tools

5 March 2020

Skull fragments from Homo erectus found alongside stone tools in Ethiopia suggest the ancient hominin used more tool technology than we thought

A skull suggests humans have been getting piercings for 12,000 years

27 January 2020

The teeth of a man who lived in prehistoric Africa are worn in a way that suggests he had three facial piercings, the second oldest such find in the world

Ruth Mace on human evolution and surviving the apocalypse with yaks

19 June 2019

Anthropologist Ruth Mace talks about what motivates us, and how the Tibetan plateau is the best place to be if the apocalypse comes

Did the ancestor of all humans evolve in Europe not Africa?

16 April 2019

A study of some 8-million-year-old teeth found in Greece suggests a controversial idea: that hominins arose in Europe and then moved into Africa later

Stone tools hint that our first human ancestors lived all over Africa

29 November 2018

We thought the first Homo species evolved in East Africa 2.8 million years ago, but stone tools from Algeria suggest our origins may have spanned the continent

Asia’s mysterious role in the early origins of humanity

4 July 2018

Bizarre fossils from China are revealing our species' Asian origins and rewriting the story of human evolution

Stem cells may reveal how Neanderthal DNA works in modern humans

11 May 2018

Many of us carry DNA inherited from Neanderthals, but we can’t be sure how it affects us. Stem cells with Neanderthal DNA could tell us

Neanderthals ambushed cave bears as they awoke from hibernation

26 March 2018

Our extinct cousins the Neanderthals seem to have targeted cave bears, which were normally intimidating foes, while they were sleepy and weak from hibernating through the winter