Human Origins

The skeleton of a child who lived 100,000 years ago shows signs of severe brain damage from a head trauma, new research suggests.

Humans are getting taller; they're also fatter than ever and live longer than at any time in history. And all of these changes have occurred in the past 100 years, scientists say.

People unsuspectingly choose friends who share parts of the same DNA, a new genetic analysis finds.

The remains of an ancient human in China not thought to be Neanderthal unexpectedly possesses an inner ear much like that of humans' closest extinct relatives, according to a new study.

Traces of 50,000-year-old poop found at a Neanderthal campground in Spain suggest that modern humans' prehistoric cousins may have had a healthy dose of plants in their diet, researchers say.

Hominin skulls discovered in a Spanish cave showed a mix of traits from Neanderthals and more primitive human lineages, suggesting Neanderthal features evolved separately at different times.

The gene that's partly responsible for the fair-hair of Northern Europeans has been identified, and it subtly turns up or down the level of pigmentation in the hair follicle.

Is human evolution over? That’s the question Briana Pobiner, an anthropologist at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, asked an audience at the Future is Here festival.

The ancient skeleton of a teenage girl found in an underwater cave in Mexico may be the missing link that solves the long-standing mystery behind the identity of the first Americans, researchers say.

Neanderthals were remarkably less genetically diverse than modern humans, with Neanderthal populations typically smaller and more isolated, researchers say.

Why do humans seek out alcohol even though it can lead to destructive behavior? One biologist looked to evolution for an answer, and came up with The Drunken Monkey Hypothesis.

Humans, unlike chimpanzees, show their determination with a facial expression, perhaps one that evolved as part of humanity's extreme sociality.