Anthropology
- Humans
New ancestor grasped at walking
By 3.4 million years ago, two human relatives built differently for upright movement inhabited East Africa.
By Bruce Bower - Anthropology
Measure Your Giant Carefully And His Size Will Shrink
Ongoing controversy over a hobbitlike hominid.
- Humans
Evolution takes Asian refuge
Multiple humanlike species may have arisen in cold-weather retreats and then interbred with ancient people.
By Bruce Bower - Anthropology
Frozen mummy’s genetic blueprints unveiled
DNA study reveals the 5,300-year-old Iceman had brown eyes, Lyme disease and links to modern-day Corsicans and Sardinians.
- Humans
Shelters date to Stone Age
Middle Eastern foragers inhabited dwellings for months at a time around 20,000 years ago.
By Bruce Bower - Archaeology
Archaeoacoustics: Tantalizing, but fantastical
While compelling, findings lack scientific rigor.
By Nadia Drake - Humans
DNA highlights Native American die-off
A genetic analysis points to widespread New World deaths after Europeans arrived.
By Bruce Bower - Humans
Humans’ entry into Europe pushed earlier
Homo sapiens fossils from Italy and England point to an early arrival and a longer time living alongside Neandertals.
By Bruce Bower - Humans
Early farmers’ fishy menu
Northern Europeans retained a taste for aquatic foods after farmers arrived 6,000 years ago.
By Bruce Bower - Humans
Stone Age paint shop unearthed
The discovery of tools for making a substance possibly used in body decoration suggests humans could invent and plan by 100,000 years ago.
By Bruce Bower - Humans
Inca takeovers not usually hostile
Skeletal evidence suggests that war was not the answer for Inca imperialists.
By Bruce Bower - Humans
Humans reached Asia in two waves
New genetic data show that some early migrants interbred with a mysterious Neandertal sister group.
By Bruce Bower