Ancient volcanic eruptions may hold the key to pin down a timeline of early human evolution. Volcanic ash layers in Kenya’s Turkana Basin help date early human fossils more precisely High-precision ...

How did humans become human? Understanding when, where and in what environmental conditions our early ancestors lived is central to solving the puzzle of human evolution. Unfortunately, pinning down a ...

In 1758, Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus gave humans a scientific name: Homo sapiens, which means "wise human" in Latin. Although Linnaeus grouped humans with other apes, it was English biologist ...

Two of the traits that set modern humans apart from non-human primates are taller stature and a higher basal metabolic rate. Researchers have identified a genetic variant that contributed to the ...

Learn how early humans evolved at a much faster rate than other apes, adapting larger brains as they developed new ways to socialize. Skull diversity across great apes (orange) and gibbons (blue).