Lucy's Baby
An ancient infant skeleton yields new insight into how humans evolved to walk upright
Features
First of Our Kind
Sensational fossils from South Africa spark a debate over the origins of Homo
The Naked Truth
Our nearly hairless skin was a key factor in the emergence of other human traits
What Makes Us Different?
Comparisons of the genomes of humans and chimpanzees are revealing those rare stretches of DNA that are ours alone
Cooking Up Bigger Brains
Our hominid ancestors probably could not have eaten enough raw food to support large, calorie-hungry brains. The key to our evolution may have been the invention of the kitchen
The Evolution of Grandparents
The rise of senior citizens may have played a big role in the success of our species
Four Fallacies of Pop Evolutionary Psychology
Some evolutionary psychologists have trumpeted claims about how the human mind evolved that other scholars take issue with. Here is how the evidence shapes up
When the Sea Saved Humanity
Shortly after Homo sapiens arose, harsh climate conditions nearly extinguished our species. The small population that gave rise to all humans alive today may have survived by exploiting a unique combination of resources along the southern coast of Africa...
Traces of a Distant Past
DNA furnishes an ever clearer picture of the multimillennial trek from Africa all the way to the tip of South America
The First Americans
Humans colonized the New World earlier than previously thought—a revelation that is forcing scientists to rethink long-standing ideas about these trailblazers
Twilight of the Neandertals
Paleoanthropologists know more about Neandertals than any other extinct human. But their demise remains a mystery, one that gets curiouser and curiouser
Our Inner Neandertal
Genome analysis indicates Neandertals and modern humans interbred
Rethinking the Hobbits of Indonesia
The mini human species found in Indonesia turns out to be even stranger than previously thought and complicates the story of our ancient past
Why We Help
Far from being a nagging exception to the rule of evolution, cooperation has been one of its primary architects
How We are evolving
Analyses of our DNA suggest that recent human evolution has occurred more slowly than biologists would have expected
What May Become of Homo sapiens
Conditions of modern life could be driving changes in the makeup of our genes. Our bodies and our brains may not be the same as those of our descendants
Departments
- From the Editor
The Sprawling Story of Human Evolution
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