Human Evolution

Mysterious ‘Ghost’ Populations Had Multiple Trysts With Human Ancestors

Genomic studies show interbreeding goes back at least half a million years.

Science

Neanderthal Genes Hint at Much Earlier Human Migration From Africa

Modern humans may have left the continent as long 200,000 years ago, a new analysis suggests.

The New York Times

DNA From Child Burials Reveals ‘Profoundly Different’ Human Landscape in Ancient Africa

The Bantus made pottery and forged iron, and their burgeoning populations rapidly displaced hunter-gatherers across Africa. Analyzing DNA from a time before this expansion offers “a glimpse of a human landscape that is profoundly different than today,” David Reich says.

Science

Ancient DNA from West Africa Adds to Picture of Humans’ Rise

From a burial site in Cameroon, archaeologists recovered human genetic material dating as far back as 8,000 years.

The New York Times

Mythical Beings May Be Earliest Imaginative Cave Art by Humans

The paintings on an Indonesian island are at least 43,900 years old and depict humanoid figures with animal-like features in a hunting scene.

The New York Times

Early Humans Domesticated Themselves, New Genetic Evidence Suggests

Humans may lack the large, pronounced facial features of our primate ancestors like Neanderthals because we have “self-domesticated.”

Science

Has Humanity’s Homeland Been Found?

A contentious new paper traces the origins of modern humans to ancient wetlands in Africa, a claim other researchers have called far-fetched.

The Atlantic

Ancient DNA Puts a Face on the Mysterious Denisovans, Extinct Cousins of Neanderthals

Until now, even scientists could only guess at the features of the extinct Denisovans, who once thrived across Asia.

Science

A Burst of Clues to South Asians’ Genetic Ancestry

A tiny ear bone from more than 4,000 years ago is shaping the story of migration and heritage in India.

The Atlantic

Has Humanity Reached ‘Peak Intelligence’?

Are our IQs set to increase forever, or are we on the cusp of decline? David Robson explores the past, present, and future of intelligence.

BBC Future

A Skull Bone Discovered in Greece May Alter the Story of Human Prehistory

The bone, found in a cave, is the oldest modern human fossil ever discovered in Europe. It hints that humans began leaving Africa far earlier than once thought.

The New York Times

Move Over, DNA: Ancient Proteins Are Starting to Reveal Humanity’s History

Proteins dating back more than one million years have been extracted from some fossils, and could help to answer some difficult questions about archaic humans.

Nature

A Genetic Ghost Hunt: What Ancient Humans Live on in Our DNA?

DNA from other human groups resides within us.

The Crux, Discover

The Dancing Species: How Moving Together in Time Helped Make Us Human

Dancing is a human universal, but why?

Aeon

What the World’s Most Sociable People Reveal About Friendliness

Researchers are turning to a rare genetic condition to explore the mysterious origins of human cooperation.

The Atlantic

Making the Social Leap: A Conversation on How Our Psychology Evolved

How we conceive of behaviors like self-control, overconfidence, and happiness today bears little resemblance to their evolutionary origins, argues psychologist William von Hippel.

Behavioral Scientist

Group Selection in Every Way Except Using the Words: A Critique of “The Goodness Paradox” by Richard Wrangham

Richard Wrangham’s new book on the evolution of cooperation gets many things right. But he errs in thinking that he can develop his thesis without invoking group selection.

This View of Life

The Social Secret That Humans Share With Ants

Building giant communities of strangers requires ‘markers’ that let members know who does and doesn’t belong.

The Wall Street Journal

The Hominins We’ve Been Calling Denisovans Are More Diverse Than Previously Thought

Researchers have identified three distinct Denisovan lineages, including one that could constitute an entirely separate species.

Smithsonian

An Ancient Human Species Lived in This Island Cave

Archaeologists in the Philippines have turned up the bones of a previously unknown species, Homo luzonensis, further expanding our family tree.

The New York Times

Evolving Society: Why Humanity Coheres

Agustín Fuentes compares three books on the origins, trajectory, and implications of our group behavior.

Nature