Fossils offer a detailed record of early human skulls but not the brains inside them. So researchers have been using genetic material taken from those fossils to search for clues about how the human ...

The Zlatý kůň skull, found in a cave site in present-day Czechia. Its DNA showed similarities to bones found in a German cave, according to new research. Hidden in many people’s genetic codes is a ...

A tiny set of ancient genetic “switches” may have played a surprisingly large role in making human language possible.

Neanderthals, our extinct relatives, were known for their notably larger jaws compared to modern humans. This distinct trait is linked to a minute variation in their DNA, which influenced facial ...

A recent study compared features of Neanderthals' inner ears across space and time to extrapolate what happened to them tens of thousands of years ago. Reading time 3 minutes DNA studies suggest that ...

Cutting-edge genetics research reveals a startling legacy embedded in our DNA.

Scientists are fleshing out their understanding of Neanderthals by analyzing a Neanderthal tooth. The dental analysis is ...

A new study of 250,000-year-old fossil teeth from France suggests climate shifts repeatedly isolated and reconnected Neanderthal populations.

Neanderthals emerged around 250.000 years ago from European populations—referred to as "pre-Neanderthals"—which inhabited the Eurasian continent between 500.000 and 250.000 years ago. It was long ...

Scientists have long puzzled over the origin and evolution of our closest relative, the Neanderthal. Now, researchers say Neanderthals seem to have developed their distinctive jaws and other facial ...