A single ancient jawbone is rewriting what scientists thought they knew about humanity’s forgotten relatives.

Little Foot is a nearly complete ancient skeleton found in the Sterkfontein caves in South Africa that could change how scientists think about human evolution. For a long time, researchers thought it ...

In a paper published in Nature, a team led by University of Chicago paleoanthropologist Professor Zeresenay Alemseged reports the discovery of the first Paranthropus specimen from the Afar region of ...

Skull, Australopithecus prometheus, South Africa(Courtesy the University of the Witwatersrand) A new dating technique is making it easier for paleoanthropologists to study the human evolutionary ...

In the arid landscapes of the Afar region in Ethiopia, a series of bones dating back 3.4 million years could shake up what we know about our origins. Recent discoveries, the result of over a decade of ...

Homo habilis has long been considered the earliest member of the human genus, known for its association with early stone tools. This episode explores the fossil evidence from East Africa, the debate ...

Here’s what you’ll learn when you read this story: Lucy might be one of the most iconic human ancestors, but she had a neighboring species that has gone unidentified—until now. The foot from this ...

"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Here’s what you’ll learn when you read this story: Lucy might be one of the most iconic human ancestors, ...

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Manuel Domínguez-Rodrigo, Rice University (THE CONVERSATION) Almost 2 million years ...

The human family tree is looking more and more like an unruly bush. Paleontologists have now uncovered the teeth of two different ancient human lineages at the same site in northeastern Ethiopia. The ...