Understanding human evolution often involves looking closely at our DNA. Yet obtaining ancient DNA from fossils older than 300,000 years—especially from Africa—is incredibly challenging.

This article examines the fossil evidence of our 6 million year evolution. Darwin's great insight ... The fossil record, along with studies of human and ape DNA, indicate that humans shared ...

who says that human populations in both Africa and Eurasia contributed to the evolution of anatomically modern humans (Figure 1; Wolpoff et al., 2000). Just as scientists have used mtDNA to ...

For the past 150 years, scientists and laypeople alike have accepted a “savanna” scenario of human evolution. The theory, primarily based on fossil evidence, suggests that because our ancestral ape ...

What was the crucial change that set us on the path to becoming human? Our big brains ... reflecting an adaptation to a relatively low-quality, high-bulk diet. The thick waist this gave her ...

Comprehensive reference genomes have now been assembled for six ape species: siamang (a Southeast Asian gibbon), Sumatran ...