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LATEST ARTICLES ( 510 )

• Did Our Ancestors Knuckle-walk?

  The classic "ascent of man" image has our lineage progressing upwards. First, we used to knuckle-walk like modern chimps. Over time we gradually became more... Read more

  Posted on 03 November 2017 BIOLOGY, SCIENCE

• Chimps Can Reinvent Their Culture

  One of the top 125 questions of our time, as outlined by Science (2005), is understanding the origins of human culture. Our culture is one of the most defining... Read more

  Posted on 02 November 2017 BIOLOGY, SCIENCE

• Halloween Stories from Human Evolution

  When studying our ancestors it's easy to forget the fossils we find were once real people. They aren't just data points in a research article, but living... Read more

  Posted on 31 October 2017 BIOLOGY, SCIENCE

• Knowing Neighbours Was Key to Human Evolution

  

  Do you know your neighbours? If not you might be at an evolutionary disadvantage. It turns out socialising with those around us is a key part of our evolutionar... Read more

  Posted on 26 October 2017 BIOLOGY, SCIENCE

• Soot Reveals Neanderthals Lived Lonely Lives

  Neanderthals were similar to us in many ways, but they went extinct whilst we flourished. So obviously everyone has been digging into our differences to try... Read more

  Posted on 24 October 2017 BIOLOGY, SCIENCE

• 130,000 Year Old “first Americans” Disproven

  Our species evolved in Africa but as you may have noticed, we didn't stay there. Over the past 100,000 years, we've been expanding around the globe. One of the... Read more

  Posted on 19 October 2017 BIOLOGY, SCIENCE

• Young Primates Show Becoming Bipedal Was Easy

  Humans are primates, but we differ from our close relatives in many ways. One of the most obvious is how we move. Humans are bipedal, whilst our cousins are... Read more

  Posted on 17 October 2017 BIOLOGY, SCIENCE

• Study Claims Chimps Lack Culture

  Humans learn behaviour, tools, and techniques from each other. This shared body of knowledge is culture and we all have it. Don't let judgy snobs tell you... Read more

  Posted on 10 October 2017 BIOLOGY, SCIENCE

• Cannibal Neanderthals Used Their Bones as Tools

  Neanderthals have a bit of a bad reputation. This is unfair, as it turns out they were a smart, sophisticated species. But don't let that fool you. They... Read more

  Posted on 03 October 2017 BIOLOGY, SCIENCE

• 1% of Scientists Get Evolution Wrong

  Evolution is a profound idea. It's a simple theory that explains all of life's diversity. But just because it's simple doesn't make it easy to understand. Many... Read more

  Posted on 28 September 2017 BIOLOGY, SCIENCE

• How Quickly Did Neanderthals Grow Up?

  Humans take quite a while to grow up. Part of this is biological, as it takes an extra few years for our big brain to mature. Our fancy behaviour is also... Read more

  Posted on 26 September 2017 BIOLOGY, SCIENCE

• Tool Using Monkeys Driving Prey Extinct

  There's this classic image of the hunter-gatherer living in balance with their environment. It's a romantic idea for sure, but it's also wrong. As we learn... Read more

  Posted on 22 September 2017 BIOLOGY, SCIENCE

• Natural Selection is Purifying the Human Genome

  It's easy to think that evolution doesn't really influence humans anymore. After all, natural selection is all about "survival of the fittest". The biggest... Read more

  Posted on 19 September 2017 BIOLOGY, SCIENCE

• Did Fire Keep Our Ancestors Awake?

  Our species' success stems from our awesome technology. From fire to farming, we've been inventing cool stuff since at least 3.3 million years ago. Although thi... Read more

  Posted on 14 September 2017 BIOLOGY, SCIENCE

• Humans Drive Macaques to Invent New Tools

  Humans suck. We've been changing the environment for our own benefit for tens of thousands of years. Often, our primate cousins suffer as a result. One of... Read more

  Posted on 12 September 2017 BIOLOGY, SCIENCE

• Human Evolution Weekly Update #8

  Another week, another bunch of cool discoveries about our ancestors. Here are the highlights. Remmeber, you can get these live by following me on twitter or... Read more

  Posted on 02 September 2017 BIOLOGY, SCIENCE

• Rotten Food Was a Key Part of the Paleo Diet

  

  Meat has been a crucial part of our diet for millions of years. However, feeding a meat-heavy Paleo diet is far from easy. Even modern hunter-gatherers only... Read more

  Posted on 31 August 2017 BIOLOGY, SCIENCE

• Why Do Chimps Have a Family?

  Chimps are our closest living relatives. So it should come as no surprise that they're similar to us in many ways. However, they differ in one key regard: they... Read more

  Posted on 29 August 2017 BIOLOGY, SCIENCE

• Homo Naledi More Human Than Expected

  Homo naledi is the newest member of the human family we've discovered. And it really is quite new, living around 300,000 years ago. That might not seem... Read more

  Posted on 22 August 2017 BIOLOGY, SCIENCE

• What Was a Stone Age Cave Like?

  The classic image of a stone age cave is quite bare bones (fossil pun in the first sentence, go me). Apart from a fire and perhaps some cave art, there's... Read more

  Posted on 17 August 2017 BIOLOGY, SCIENCE