Human evolution: Facts, news, features and articles about the past 300,000 years of Homo sapiens
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Neanderthals were more susceptible to lead poisoning than humans — which helped us gain an advantage over our cousins, scientists say
By James Price published
Humans and our ancestors have been exposed to lead for 2 million years, but the toxic metal may have actually helped our species to develop language — giving us a key advantage over our Neanderthal cousins, scientists claim.

Neanderthals could be brought back within 20 years — but is it a good idea?
By Kristina Killgrove published
With today's technology, we cannot bring back Neanderthals. But even if future advances allow it, should we?

1 million-year-old skull from China holds clues to the origins of Neanderthals, Denisovans and humans
By Kristina Killgrove published
Reconstruction of a 1 million-year-old skull shows that early human groups split and diversified quickly.

'We certainly weren't exceptional, but now we're the only ones left': In new PBS series 'Human,' anthropologist Ella Al-Shamahi explores how humans came to dominate Earth
By Ben Turner published
Interview In her new show, Ella Al-Shamahi charts humanity's evolutionary odyssey. We sat down with her to discuss the path of our species out of Africa to global hegemony.

Homo erectus: Facts about the first human lineage to leave Africa
By Kristina Killgrove, Joseph Castro last updated
Homo erectus is associated with a number of firsts in its 2 million years of existence, including being the first hominin to travel out of Africa.

1.8 million-year-old human jawbone discovered in Republic of Georgia — and it may be earliest evidence yet of Homo erectus
By Kristina Killgrove published
A new fossil find in the Republic of Georgia is expanding our understanding of the earliest humans to leave Africa.

80,000-year-old stones in Uzbekistan may be the world's oldest arrowheads — and they might have been made by Neanderthals
By Charles Q. Choi published
Small stone points discovered in Uzbekistan may be the earliest evidence of arrowhead technology.

Mysterious 300,000-year-old Greek cave skull was neither human nor Neanderthal, study finds
By Patrick Pester published
Researchers have dated the mysterious skull from Petralona Cave in Greece to 300,000 years ago and concluded that the fossil belonged to an ancient human group that lived alongside Neanderthals.

The first Americans had Denisovan DNA. And it may have helped them survive.
By Sophie Berdugo published
People with Indigenous American ancestry carry Denisovan genes that Neanderthals passed on when they mated with modern humans.

Gene that differs between humans and Neanderthals could shed light on the species' disappearance, mouse study suggests
By Charles Q. Choi published
A gene called ADSL, which helps synthesize DNA, differs between modern humans and our extinct human relatives. The findings could shed light on why Neanderthals vanished.
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