The brain of modern humans has evolved remarkable computational abilities that enable
higher cognitive functions. These capacities are tightly linked to an increase in the size and …

The challenge of studying human cognitive evolution is identifying unique features of our
intelligence while explaining the processes by which they arose. Comparisons with …

The face is the most distinctive feature used to identify others. Modern humans have a short,
retracted face beneath a large globular braincase that is distinctively different from that of our …

The cranial morphology of the earliest known hominins in the genus Australopithecus
remains unclear. The oldest species in this genus (Australopithecus anamensis, specimens …

Abstract The Cradle of Humankind (Cradle) in South Africa preserves a rich collection of
fossil hominins representing Australopithecus, Paranthropus and Homo. The ages of these …

The origin of Neanderthal and modern human lineages is a matter of intense debate. DNA
analyses have generally indicated that both lineages diverged during the middle period of …

A partial left femur (TM 266-01-063) was recovered in July 2001 at Toros-Menalla, Chad, at
the same fossiliferous location as the late Miocene holotype of Sahelanthropus tchadensis …

A wide-ranging argument by a renowned anthropologist that the capacity to believe is what
makes us human Why are so many humans religious? Why do we daydream, imagine, and …

The evolutionary pressures shaping humans' unique bipedal locomotion have been a focus
of research since Darwin, but the origins of humans' economical walking gait and endurance …

Africa's fossil record of late Cenozoic mammals documents considerable ecological and
evolutionary changes through time. Here, we synthesize those changes in the context of the …