Humans

A cave on the Turkish Mediterranean coast was inhabited first by Neanderthals and then Homo sapiens, but the continuity of tools and personal objects suggests there was some sharing of culture between the two species More

Our brains are large compared with other animals, so it is tempting to assume there was an evolutionary advantage to them – but that may not be true at all More

An experiment that involved feeding a dead goat to a Komodo dragon as well as an analysis of thousands of ancient bones suggests that Homo floresiensis was neither a skilled hunter of big game nor a master of fire More

Homo sapiens are far from the most successful human on Earth – this smaller-brained predecessor was even more prosperous More

Sleep is essential, yet humans have evolved to need so little of it. When evolutionary anthropologist David Samson delved into our ancient past to find the reasons why, he discovered surprising ways to get a better night’s rest More

DNA from ancient humans has been found on a prehistoric cave painting and on cave walls, demonstrating the potential to one day identify individual artists and resolve the debate over Neanderthals’ artistic abilities More

Scrolls from the Roman library of Herculaneum that were carbonised by a volcanic eruption have been read in their entirety for the first time, thanks to scans and AI software More

An analysis of tooth proteins suggests all 23 Homo naledi individuals found in the Rising Star cave in South Africa were female, which strengthens the case that they were placed there deliberately More