Human Origins

Humans are unique creatures on the planet, though it wasn't always this way. Long ago, some bizarre human relatives, such as Nutcracker Man and a Homo species whose miniature bodies resembled the hobbits on Lord of the Rings, roamed Earth. Scientists are even finding evidence that modern humans crossed paths with some of our relatives, with fossils suggesting Homo sapiens may have had sex with Neanderthals and even a newly discovered species called the Denisovans. In news and features, we will cover human evolution and origins, revealing the mysteries of humanity, details on human ancestors and the evolutionary steps that led to modern humans.

Related Topics: DNA and Genes, Evolution, Fossils

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The artistic rendering of the head and face of a 13-year-old girl from the prehistoric human species, the Denisovans, based on technology developed by Hebrew University professor Liran Carmel and his team. The bust was revealed at a news conference in Jerusalem on Sept. 19, 2019.

Who were the Denisovans?

By Charles Q. Choi published

Here are Denisovan facts about their discovery, where and when they lived and what we know about their appearance, genetics and culture.

An ancient tooth (specifically a molar) being displayed in the center of a person's palm.

Ancient tooth of mysterious Denisovan girl possibly found

By Charles Q. Choi published

Researchers in Laos have uncovered an ancient molar that may have belonged to a Denisovan girl who lived up to 164,000 years ago.

Archaeologists are shown here excavating the well-preserved surface at an archaeological site called Xiamabei in northern China, revealing stone tools, fossils, ochre and red pigments.

Old Stone Age culture discovered in China

By Nicoletta Lanese published

Modern humans and now-extinct human relatives may have mingled at the site.

diagram of the earth with inferred movements of human ancestors traced over it

Largest human family tree ever created retraces the history of our species

By Nicoletta Lanese published

The tree shows how modern and ancient humans are related.

A crowd of people cheering.

Top 10 things that make humans special

By Laura Geggel published

Here are 10 things that make humans special when compared with the rest of the animal kingdom.

A reconstruction of the Omo I skull discovered in 1967.

Modern humans lived in eastern Africa 38,000 years earlier than thought

By Ben Turner published

The new date estimate makes the remains the oldest uncontested Homo sapiens in Africa.

This model of Laetoli Site A shows five hominin footprints (a), along with the corresponding contour map (b) of the site in Tanzania.

Unknown human ancestor may have walked a bit like a bear on its hind legs

By Charles Q. Choi published

Ancient footprints reveal a mysterious relative of humans may have lived at the same time and in the same area as the famous human ancestor "Lucy" in Tanzania.

The hominin wall at the Natural History Museum of Utah in Salt Lake City.

What is Darwin's Theory of Evolution?

By Ker Than, Ashley P. Taylor, Tom Garner published

Reference In 1859, Charles Darwin published his ideas that humans and animals change over time. But what is the Theory of Evolution?

Here, one of the Denisovan bones found in Denisova Cave in Siberia.

Oldest-known fossils of mysterious human lineage uncovered in Siberian cave

By Charles Q. Choi published

Scientists have unearthed the oldest fossils to date of the mysterious human lineage known as the Denisovans.

Rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) and other types of monkeys retain the tails that apes and humans lack.

Why don't people have tails?

By Mindy Weisberger published

Scientists recently found that a so-called jumping gene may have jumped ship millions of years ago, and taken our tails with it.

The reconstructed skull of "Leti," a young Homo naledi. The skull was found inside a tiny passageway deep within a South African cave, and probably dates back more than 241,000 years.

240,000-year-old 'Child of Darkness' human ancestor discovered in narrow cave passageway

By Stephanie Pappas published

This illustration shows what "Dragon man" may have looked like during his lifetime at least 146,000 years ago.

New human species 'Dragon man' may be our closest relative

By Laura Geggel published

A newly described skull from China may belong to an extinct sister species of Homo sapiens.

The remains of this hominin suggest that compared with modern humans, it had a different skull structure, no chin and very large teeth.

Unknown human ancestor unearthed in Israel. It had large teeth but no chin.

By Charles Q. Choi published

Mysterious human may have been the ancestor of Neanderthals.

Homo sapiens hand prints dating to between 11,000 BC and 7,000 BC in the Cave of Hands in Patagonia, Argentina.

What are Homo sapiens?

By Sarah Wild published

All living humans are Homo sapiens. Here's what scientists know about the origin of our species.

An artist's image representing the soundwaves in human speech.

Scientists find 'missing link' behind first human languages

By Harry Baker published

"Iconic vocalizations" may have been the missing link that allowed the first human languages to develop, a new study suggests.

An illustration of the steppe mammoths that preceded the woolly mammoth, based on the genetic knowledge from the Adycha mammoth.

Were the first humans superpredators?

By Stephanie Pappas published

A new hypothesis suggests that humans were hypercarnivores more than 2 million years ago, specializing in taking down the largest prey.

The remains of an individual Homo floresiensis were discovered in 2003 in the Liang Bua cave on the island of Flores.

Identity of mysterious 'Hobbits' possibly found

By Charles Q. Choi published

The new facial reconstructions, made from pigmented silicon casts, of Lucy (left) and the Taung child (right).

Human ancestor 'Lucy' gets a new face in stunning reconstruction

By Laura Geggel published

New depictions of Lucy and the Taung child are shedding light on the tricky task of facial reconstruction.

The excavation of a 0.9-mile (1.5 kilometers) trackway showing an out-and-back journey by a Paleolithic caregiver and child more than 10,000 years ago. At the time, the playa abutted a now-dry lake and would have been muddy and pocked with puddles.

10,000-year-old footprints show journey of squirmy toddler and caregiver

By Stephanie Pappas published

A nearly mile-long set of tracks across the playa of the desert Southwest reveals the journey of a caregiver and a toddler more than 10,000 years ago.

One of the distinctive stone tools, made with an ancient flint-knapping technology known as Nubian Levallois, found at the archaeological site in the Negev Desert.

Ancient stone 'breadcrumbs' reveal early human migration out of Africa

By Tom Metcalfe published