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Latest about Human Evolution

A braided stream, not a family tree: How new evidence upends our understanding of how humans evolved
By Kristina Killgrove published
Evidence is mounting that the evolution of our species is more convoluted than we imagined — more like a braided stream than a branching tree.

'It makes no sense to say there was only one origin of Homo sapiens': How the evolutionary record of Asia is complicating what we know about our species
By Kristina Killgrove published
As experts study the human fossil record of Asia, many have come to see it as telling a different story than what happened in Europe and Africa.

DNA has an expiration date. But proteins are revealing secrets about our ancient ancestors we never thought possible.
By Kristina Killgrove published
Analysis of ancient proteins may fill in the gaps of human evolution left by the decomposition of DNA.

Never-before-seen cousin of Lucy might have lived at the same site as the oldest known human species, new study suggests
By Olivia Ferrari published
An unidentified early hominin fossil that might be a new species confirms that Australopithecus and Homo species lived in the same region of Africa in the same time frame.

1.5 million-year-old stone tools from mystery human relative discovered in Indonesia — they reached the region before our species even existed
By Kristina Killgrove published
A handful of stone tools found on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi has pushed back the date that human relatives arrived in the region.

300,000-year-old teeth from China may be evidence that humans and Homo erectus interbred, according to new study
By Kristina Killgrove published
A study of a handful of 300,000-year-old teeth revealed an ancient human group had a mix of archaic and modern tooth features.

Ancient human relative cannibalized toddlers, 850,000-year-old neck bone reveals
By Kristina Killgrove published
Cut marks on a child's cervical vertebra found at Atapuerca in Spain suggests Homo antecessor was indiscriminate about cannibalism victims.

Neanderthal genes may explain disorder where brain bulges out of the skull
By Charles Q. Choi published
Neanderthal genes may explain why some people have Chiari malformation type I, a condition in which the brain bulges out of the back of the skull.
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