Modern humans descended from not one, but at least two ancestral populations that drifted apart and later reconnected, long before modern humans spread across the globe.

"Our history is far richer and more complex than we imagined," said human evolutionary geneticist Aylwyn Scally.

At the most basic level, human evolution is articulated through classifications ... 1994). Thus, there is no genetic support for grouping the great apes together in a distinct group from humans.

For the past 150 years, scientists and laypeople alike have accepted a “savanna” scenario of human evolution. The theory, primarily based on fossil evidence, suggests that because our ancestral ape ...

Our ancestors still resembled apes nearly 4 millions years later. This includes Lucy, a 3.2-million-year-old human ancestor discovered in Ethiopia, from a group called the australopiths.

Beyond human ancestry, the researchers say their method could help to transform how scientists study the evolution of other species. In addition to their analysis of human evolutionary history ...

Two fossils named Ardi and Lucy provide evidence for human evolution. Both were found in Africa. Ardi is a female human-like fossilised skeleton that dates from 4.4 million years ago. Ardi's bones ...