Human Origins

A single gene that is found only in Homo species may partly explain why the human neocortex, the seat of higher cognitive functions, is so large.

A partial skull found at a site called Lukenya Hill in Kenya suggests that early populations of modern humans in Africa had greater diversity than previously thought.

In addition to good looks, charm and intelligence, there's a more surprising reason two people may choose to spend Valentine's Day together: having similar microbes.

Discovery of partial skull in Israel may provide insights on humans' migration out of Africa and when they first interbred with Neanderthals.

An ancient human fossil discovered from the seafloor near Taiwan reveals that a primitive group of humans, potentially an unknown species, once lived in Asia, researchers say.

The ancestors of humans may have evolved powerful, precise humanlike hands enough to use stone tools long before such tools were even developed, researchers say.

Our human ancestors began tasting food differently sometime after the human family tree branched off from the ancestors of chimpanzees, researchers say.

The ancient, big-bodied relatives of modern-day humans not only ate freshwater shellfish, but engraved their shells and used them as tools, a new study finds.

A second look at a century-old shell collection uncovered remarkable engravings made on a freshwater shellfish shell in Java, Indonesia.

The ancestors of modern humans began evolving the ability to digest alcohol about 10 million years ago, new research finds.

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