Long before humans became master hunters, our ancestors were already thriving by making the most of what nature left behind. New research suggests that scavenging animal carcasses wasn’t a desperate ...

A large comparative study of primate teeth shows that grooves once linked to ancient human tooth-picking can form naturally, while some common modern dental problems appear uniquely human.

This has been quite the wild year in human evolution stories. Our relatives, living and extinct, got a lot of attention—from new developments in ape cognition to an expanded perspective of a ...

Fifty years ago, a remarkable fossil was unearthed in the Afar Rift Valley of Ethiopia, forever transforming our understanding of human evolution. Uncovered by a young paleoanthropologist, Donald ...

An international study changes the view that exposure to the toxic metal lead is largely a post-industrial phenomenon. The research reveals that our human ancestors were periodically exposed to lead ...

Human behavior is a tapestry woven from culture, environment, and biology. Among the most intriguing aspects of this tapestry is risk-taking—those bold, sometimes reckless decisions that can lead to ...

Same-sex behavior is widespread in primates and may help strengthen social bonds and improve survival under challenging ...

Food processing has been a part of human adaptation since deep in the past. The softening and breaking down of food left its testimony on the human body. For example, the massive teeth of our early ...