Menu Close

Articles on Human evolution

Displaying 181 - 192 of 192 articles

The Hobbit was thought to have lived around 18,000 years ago. AAP Image/Mick Tsikas

Archaeologist who discovered the Hobbit dies

The archaeologist who helped discover the extinct Homo species Flores Hobbit, Professor Mike Morwood, has died after a struggle with cancer. New Zealand-born Professor Morwood, who was based at the School…
Food from the Stone Age has raised doubts about the causes of the human revolution. Breville

Shellfish size may disprove cause of ‘human revolution’

About 50,000 years ago, modern humans left Africa and began occupying the rest of the world. The common thought is that a sudden growth in population caused the so-called “human revolution”, which gave…
The key to becoming the dominant species on the planet. Gabriel-Alexandre Decamps

What makes us human: genetics, culture or both?

In Kubrick’s masterpiece, 2001: A Space Odyssey, a group of our ape-like ancestors encounter a towering black rectangle somewhere in an African desert. Something in them changes. A seed is sown. Everything…
People from opposite ends of Europe may still share many common ancestors, the genome study found. http://www.flickr.com/photos/evilerin

Family ties: study finds all Europeans are related

Scientists have uncovered what, for some couples, may be an uncomfortable truth: all people of European descent are related. Go back a few generations and even people from opposite ends of the European…
The discovery of the skeleton of the Homo floresiensis has sparked significant debate among evolutionary scientists. Ryan Somma

Saga of ‘the Hobbit’ highlights a science in crisis

To state the obvious: human evolution is not without its drama – and the latest salvo in the ongoing Hobbit, or Homo floresiensis, battle confirms this yet again. The 2004 announcement of Homo floresiensis…
Prune fingers help us handle slippery objects more efficiently, suggesting that evolution, not osmosis, causes hands to wrinkle when wet. http://www.flickr.com/photos/nhanusek

How finger wrinkles help us handle slippery stuff

Wrinkly fingers help improve handling of slippery objects in wet conditions, a new study has found, suggesting that evolution may be behind the prune finger phenomenon. The study, conducted by scientists…
Our brains haven’t evolved to consider the long-term consequences of behaviour that brings short-term rewards. Patrick van IJzendoorn

Don’t trust your Stone Age brain: it’s unsustainable

Cognitive dissonance is that uncomfortable feeling we have when we know we should invest in solar panels but the 46″ wide screen TV wins out; we know we should catch the bus but we take the car anyway…
Different people can interpret facial expressions differently. Rishi S

Surprise! Facial expressions aren’t necessarily universal

You can tell a lot about a person’s emotional state by looking at their face. A quick glance can give you an idea of whether a person is, say, happy or angry, allowing you to modify your behaviour accordingly…

Top contributors

More