Evolution

An aerial laser scan of more than 800 square miles of Guatemalan jungle revealed Maya buildings, canals, roads and bridges. Christopher Intagliata reports.

Breweries, warehouses and waste facilities sometimes turn to cats for rat control—but do they really help?

Half-billion-year-old fossils reveal new details about one of the most mysterious chapters in Earth’s history

Five-toed tracks found in Argentina revise what paleontologists thought about a strange group of animals called dicynodonts.

The marine mammals have extraordinarily sensitive touch—which helps them nab prey in the absence of other sensory cues. Christopher Intagliata reports.

A mutation in a key gene may have endowed humans with superior endurance—allowing them to compete better with other animals on the savanna. Christopher Intagliata reports.

Bitten bones offer insights into the feeding behavior of large megatooth sharks

A silica flake from Blombos Cave contains the oldest example of prehistoric abstract art, and it looks like one of the most used symbols online

An ancient Arctic site suggests a complex relationship between humans and canines

Fossil teeth of marine reptiles reveal a connection between ancient oceans and our own

The hammerhead relatives consume copious amounts of sea grass, and have the digestive machinery to process it—making them true omnivores. Christopher Intagliata reports.

The history of modern humans is deeply embedded with the history of other hominid groups. Our understanding of these connections is only just beginning to unfold