In a first, scientists have used ancient proteins to determine the sex of an archaic human relative that lived up to 3.5 million years ago, a new study reports. An international team of scientists ...

(Reuters) - The incorporation of meat into the diet was a milestone for the human evolutionary lineage, a potential catalyst for advances such as increased brain size. But scientists have struggled to ...

Scientists found that one tiny DNA change in the NOVA1 gene helped modern humans resist lead exposure that harmed ...

Since the discovery of the fossil remains of Australopithecus africanus from Taung nearly a century ago, and subsequent discoveries of Paranthropus robustus, there have been disagreements about the ...

Some of the morphological characteristics of the human hand are different from that of other primates enabling us to grab objects with precision and use them exerting a force. Yet, how did our early ...

New research brings to light for the first time the evolution of maternal roles and parenting responsibilities in one of our oldest evolutionary ancestors Australopithecus africanus mothers breastfed ...

Natural history is a difficult thing to conceptualize. You’ve got eons of undocumented progress, like the evolution of many species. Take, for example, the Australopithecus, an ancient great ape ...

Lead exposure from modern chemical pollution is a well-documented threat to neurodevelopment and general health, yet a ...

Three million years ago, Australopithecus africanus was one of the first human ancestor species to live across the southern African grasslands and forests. A new study of fossil teeth suggests that ...

The distinctly human ability for forceful precision and power "squeeze" gripping is linked to two key evolutionary transitions in hand use: a reduction in arboreal climbing and the manufacture and use ...

Dexterity of human ancestors goes much further back than previously thought. An exhibit featuring the 3.2 million year old Australopithecus afarensis skeleton called Lucy and an artist's life-sized ...