The messy story of humanity's genealogical past

A timeline of human fossil discoveries

A key part of writing a coherent story about our origins is finding and identifying the remains of our ancestors and understanding their significance. Scientists will not always agree on identifications and opinions will change as new find are made and new ways of studying them are developed.

Homo sapiens may have migrated into Europe earlier than previously believed

Archaeologists used to believe that Homo sapiens migrated to Europe from Africa about 42,000 years ago, at about the time that Neanderthals went extinct. This 27-minute podcast episode explores new evidence that suggests Homo sapiens migrated about...

Human origins 101

Learn about the over 20 early human species that belong in our family tree and how the natural selection of certain physical and behavioral traits defined what it means to be human.

Ancient humans and other early hominins were closer than you might think

Evidence that human ancestors and other early hominins coexisted continues to accumulate, raising the question of just how close these ancient people truly were. This article details how evidence is changing the theory that early hominins like...

The history of the gene: an interactive timeline

Humans didn’t need modern technology to figure out that kids tend to look like their parents. But what did humans believe about genetics before we knew about DNA or cells in general? Explore this interactive timeline to see how philosophers and scientists throughout the ages tried to explain how traits are passed from generation to generation.

Neanderthals 101

Who were the neanderthals? Do humans really share some of their DNA? Learn facts about Neanderthal man, the traits and tools of Homo neanderthalensis, and how the species fits into our evolution story.

Here's how humans migrated across the world

From our deepest origins in Africa all the way to the Americas, by looking at the fossils and archaeological materials we have been able to trace the path our ancestors took during thee short window of time when we took over the world.

Why portraits of Neanderthals vary so drastically

Neanderthals, humanity's long-lost genealogical cousins, are often portrayed as bumbling, hairy, cave-dwelling misogynists. But other efforts show tall, dignified creatures not too different from contemporary people. This article explores why most visual interpretations of Neanderthals are more in the service of social or political beliefs instead of science.

The Paranthropus genus, our mysterious extinct cousins

In the last century, skull and jaw fragments have been discovered in East Africa suggesting an ancient hominin species lived, evolved, and died alongside humanity's ancestors. With large, broad skulls and strong jaws, the Paranthropus genus—which includes several related species—is an absorbing case of the effects of niche partitioning, where species coexist by adapting differently to the environment. Paranthropus died out and human ancestors endured. Find out why here.

How humans evolved from single-cell organisms

Humans have had a long history. 3.8 billion years in the making, to be precise. From the primordial puddle to the modern day, here's how humans have evolved from the first life.

Human ancestors: a guide

Modern humans are not the only creatures classified as part of the Homo genus. This article examines the eight other humans that fall under the Homo umbrella.

Why our ancestors didn't have crooked teeth

The ancient human fossil record is filled with specimens with pretty nice teeth. So why do modern humans have dental problems? Scientists can't be certain, but one hypothesis suggests the evolutionary shrinking of the human jaw crowded our mouths,...

The archaeological discovery that shifted scientists' understanding of human evolution

In 2003, archaeologists in Indonesia uncovered the remains of a 3-foot-tall skeleton that appeared to belong to a new type of human. Read this article to learn how the discovery of this 50,000-year-old skeleton upended the idea that human evolution...

The oldest DNA recovered so far is 2 million years old

The oldest DNA recovered so far is about 2 million years old and has given scientists an unadulterated peek into ancient history. This nine-minute video explores the findings and implications of the DNA, which was pulled from frozen soil in...

Why genetic similarities between humans suggest a past near-extinction event

Researchers have found that low genetic diversity among humans—even those on opposite sides of the planet—may result from a breeding population of as few as 1,280 adults, estimated to have existed 930,000 years ago. This genetic bottleneck may have resulted from a near-extinction or from a small population of human ancestors, from which we all descend, that broke off from a larger population.

Svante Pääbo's life work was to discover the Neanderthal in our genes

Geneticist Svante Paabo reconstructed the genome of long-extinct human relatives, showing we have more in common with Neandertals than previously thought. Read up on his research and its impact on the wider scientific community.

The lifestyles of early humans

For 2.5 million years, humans lived on Earth without leaving a written record of their lives—but they left behind other kinds of remains and artifacts.

Explore the human family tree

This interactive human family tree shows the various species that constitute the human evolutionary family. Click on each species or group image to learn more.

A historical tree of technological advancement

Starting from stone tools millions of years ago and culminating in today's cutting-edge tech, this thorough genealogy lays out how humanity has progressed in its use of tools over thousands of years. See descriptions, links to further info, and how each tech fits in the larger tree.

The wild ancestors of dogs first mingled with humans 15,000 to 30,000 years ago

An estimated 1 billion modern dogs now live around the world. Breaking down the ancestry and relatives of the dogs we now love as pets, MinuteEarth shows what canines like foxes and wolves have in common with our beloved poodles and dachshunds, and what those breeds are known for.

An interactive timeline of history, from beginning to middle

The history of humanity is a long, winding road, and the history of everything else is even more complex and interwoven. This interactive timeline takes users through the history of the world and includes links to related videos, blurbs, and events. Each event in history is represented by a dot, providing users with a glittering horizon filled with moments of intrigue and impact.

The 4% DNA difference between humans and chimps

On the genetic level, we’re not all that different from chimps. But those small differences in DNA can have huge effects. This 11-minute video digs in to the topic.

The role of fire in the evolution of humanity's big brains

Roughly 1.5 million years ago, the brain size of our hominin ancestors exploded. To understand why, Richard Wrangham posited the cooking hypothesis, arguing the adoption of fire as a means to cook food had a lasting impact on our ability to digest...

The $3B project scientists called 'junk'

In 1990, scientists set out to map all of human DNA. A $3B bet many called "junk." But the Human Genome Project's radical transparency and a race with a private company sped it to completion in just 13 years. Today, that once-contested map underpins nearly every breakthrough in genetics and personalized medicine.

Up to 8% of the human genome consists of ancient viral DNA

Human endogenous retroviruses are remnants of infections that affected human primate ancestors millions of years ago and were passed on by infiltrating sperm and egg cells. Studies have shown that this DNA may play a role in immune responses and in placental formation.

See how each of the more than two million known species relates to each other—and to common ancestors—in this zoomable tree of life.

After NASA's Voyager 1 captured Earth as a single pixel as it left the solar system in 1990, astronomer Carl Sagan used the image to reflect on humanity's fragility and the responsibility to protect 'the only world we've ever known.'

The first line of 'immortal' human cells, which can divide indefinitely and are used in scientific research, was nonconsensually taken from a Black woman.

Before humans, the Soviet Union and the United States sent animals—including apes, dogs, and cats—to space during the Space Race.

Watch how viruses like Ebola can spill over from animals to humans—and vice-versa.

Graffiti dates back to at least ancient Pompeii, where citizens scrawled messages to one another on public walls

Visualize how CRISPR-Cas9—a type of immune system used by single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses—targets and makes precise changes to a gene's DNA.

The American cockroach is actually from Africa, an apparent hitchhiker aboard ships carrying enslaved people, with evidence suggesting the bug may have arrived in the New World as early as the 1600s.

Scientists can determine Earth's past climate conditions by analyzing air trapped in microscopic bubbles within ice cores—columns of compressed snow layers that build up over hundreds of thousands of years.

Crows are believed to have intelligence on par with a seven-year-old child and demonstrate complex behaviors, from problem-solving with tools to recognizing human faces.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

The original copy of the Declaration of Independence is not a pristine document, and even features a smudged anonymous handprint in the bottom left corner.

Hear 50 years of iconic hip-hop samples, the genre's foundational looped tracks

Watch how algorithms can be designed to train themselves and self-improve without human input, to the point where the optimized code is too complex for programmers to understand.

The Brothers Grimm were lawyers before they were storytellers, but became interested in fairy tales as they began investigating how rules and customs had been passed down through cultures.

Many legends about George Washington, including his supposed wooden teeth and the story of cutting down the cherry tree, lack evidence.

US housing costs have risen by roughly 175% between 1991 and 2026—but a growing number of Gen Zers are becoming homeowners anyway. In 2025, 4% of homebuyers were Gen Z, up from 3% the year before.

Listen to an in-depth conversation on the links between Parkinson's disease and herbicide exposure and the challenging pace of scientific investigation.

Fear or disgust related to clusters of holes and cracks, called trypophobia, may stem from evolutionary processes to help us avoid pathogens.

The animatronic shark from Steven Spielberg's 'Jaws,' the first modern blockbuster, was a complex underwater apparatus called 'Bruce.'

In 2018, 26-year-old missionary John Allen Chau was killed by tribesmen after attempting to reach and evangelize on India's isolated North Sentinel Island

While atoms are normally made of protons, neutrons, and electrons, exotic ones have been built with antimatter—alternate versions of normal matter that live for fractions of a second and are about a billion times as rare.

'Saturday Night Fever,' the 1977 film that introduced disco to the mainstream, was based on a fabricated magazine story.

For centuries, it was common to sleep in two shifts: a few hours at the beginning of the night, and a longer period beginning around midnight