50,000 years before they met humans, climate change nearly killed off Neanderthals. The problem? The weather was getting too nice.
Animal archaeology: 3 sites made by animals
Archaeology studies past behaviour through ancient artefacts. Now we’re doing the same with the tools of other species, creating animal archaeology.
Cerutti Mastodon: 130,000 BC American site disputed
The Cerutti Mastodon site is potentially 130,000 year old evidence of humans in America, predating known occupations by 100,000 years. Is it right?
What your air conditioning reveals about our evolution
Many homes are fitted with air conditioning, but it turns out the settings you have it dialed into are influenced by evolution.
When was the chimp-human last common ancestor?
Chimps are our closest living relatives. When did our lineages split? To find out we have to pinpoint when was chimp-human last common ancestor.
Most meat in Neanderthal diet came from mammoths
Stable isotope analysis reveals most meat in the Neanderthal diet came from mammoths, similar to the proportions of mammoth contemporary humans consumed.
Hominins were walking upright before it was cool
The classic “March of Progress” shows our ancestors used to knuckle-walk before walking upright. How accurate is this order of evolution?
Chin up: why did humans evolve unique chins?
We are the only human species to have a chin. What’s up with that? We don’t really know, but we have a bunch of interesting hypotheses. Here we explore 3.
Why did prehistoric people make cave art?
Humans have been painting caves around the world for tens of thousands of years. But what drove them to make all this cave art in the first place?
Little Foot fossil had a little brain
The Little Foot fossil is extremely well preserved, including a brain cast that still has the brain’s wrinkles, helping us understand its evolution.