Hominids

Using a geologist’s magnifying glass, Erin DiMaggio carefully scans a piece of volcanic ash in search of tiny minerals that hold the key to determining the age of nearby fossils.

How Do Scientists Date Fossils?

Geologists Erin DiMaggio and Alka Tripathy-Lang explain techniques for targeting the age of a fossil find

The arrestingly modern hominin at the Neanderthal Museum, near Dusseldorf, is the work of renowned paleo-artists Adrie and Alfons Kennis.

What Do We Really Know About Neanderthals?

Revolutionary discoveries in archaeology show that the species long maligned as knuckle-dragging brutes deserve a new place in the human story

Homo neanderthalensis, the earlier relatives of Homo sapiens, also evolved to shed most of their body hair.

Why Did Humans Lose Their Fur?

We are the naked apes of the world, having shed most of our body hair long ago

The surface of mastodon bone showing half impact notch on a segment of femur.

Remarkable New Evidence for Human Activity in North America 130,000 Years Ago

Researchers say prehistoric mastodon bones bear human-made markings

In a reconstruction, by artist John Gurche, the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum displays what the Hobbit would have looked like in the Hall of Human Origins.

“Hobbits” Disappeared Much Earlier Than Previously Thought

If the tiny hominins ever coexisted with modern humans, the arrangement apparently didn't last long

Comparison of a Neanderthal skull (left) and a human skull (right) with a 55,000-year-old fragment from a possible human-Neanderthal hybrid.

Humans May Have Had Romantic Rendezvous With Neanderthals 100,000 Years Ago

New DNA evidence suggests that ancient humans got busy with our stocky Neanderthal cousins much earlier than previously thought

A replica of Piltdown Man

How to Solve Human Evolution’s Greatest Hoax

The "discovery" turned out to be the biggest hoax in the history of paleoanthropology

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Tree Climbers, Wood Eaters, and More: The Top 10 Human Evolution Discoveries of 2012

This year's hominid finds illuminate the great diversity and adaptability of our ancient relatives

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Top 7 Human Evolution Discoveries From South Africa

The search for humans' most ancient ancestors began in South Africa, where some of paleoanthropology's most iconic fossils have been found

In 1921, a miner found Kabwe 1, also called the Broken Hill Skull.

Four Species of Homo You’ve Never Heard Of, Part II

The history of anthropology is littered with many now-defunct hominid species that no longer have a place on the human family tree

A reconstruction of Homo erectus, the first hominid to reach a modern height.

How Death Played a Role in the Evolution of Human Height

A longer life expectancy might have allowed members of the genus Homo to grow taller than earlier australopithecines, researchers propose

Even Legos can be a gift for human evolution enthusiasts.

A Holiday Gift Guide for the Whole Human Family

An offering of books, bumper stickers, artwork and other knickknacks for the hominid enthusiast on your gift list

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Primate Origins Tied to Rise of Flowering Plants

Scientists argue that grasping hands and feet, good vision and other primate adaptations emerged because the mammals plucked fruits from the ends of tree branches

A partial Homo antecessor skull that was unearthed at the Gran Dolina cave site in the Atapuerca Mountains of Spain.

Homo antecessor: Common Ancestor of Humans and Neanderthals?

A hominid that lived in Europe more than a million years ago might have given rise to Neanderthals and Homo sapiens, some anthropologists say

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The Top Seven Human Evolution Discoveries From Tanzania

Fossil finds from Tanzania in the mid-20th century kicked off East African hominid hunting

The 3.5-million-year-old Australopithecus bahrelghazali from Chad probably ate grass, just like the modern baboons seen here do.

Early Hominids Had a Taste for Grass

Unlike earlier hominids, the 3.5-million-year-old Australopithecus bahrelghazali ate grassland foods

Small stone blades from South Africa dating to 71,000 years ago may be the earliest evidence of bow and arrows.

Early Bow and Arrows Offer Insight Into Origins of Human Intellect

Tiny blades discovered in South Africa suggest early humans had advanced intelligence and modern culture 71,000 years ago

A reconstruction of Lucy, an Australopithecus afarensis. Lucy probably walked much slower than taller members of her species.

Did Lucy Walk Too Slow for Her Taller Group Mates?

Huge variability in Australopithecus afarensis height may have made it difficult for group members to walk together at the same speed

An artist’s reconstruction of Purgatorius, a probable primate ancestor.

Five Early Primates You Should Know

Scientists have identified dozens of early primates, based on teeth, but still have a hard time assessing how these mammals relate to modern primates

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Why Are Humans Primates?

People may seem very different from lemurs, monkeys and apes, but all primates share a few key physical and behavioral characteristics

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