Homo Sapiens
latest news & developmentsThe God Edition | Searching among the bones for Homo naledi’s soul
Drew Forrest uses one of South Africa’s most important hominid discoveries to debate the paradoxes and contradictions inherent in the religious doctrine of ‘ensoulment’
Did Homo naledi bury their dead?
Researchers’ findings suggest that they possessed advanced cognitive abilities, something usually associated with Homo sapiens
How we became slaves to our own technology
The metaverse may have expanded our choices, but who is in charge of it, and what is its real cost?
These climate activists want you to give up hope
The Extinction Rebellion is rooted in the conviction that humanity has dug its own grave and has one foot dangling over the edge
Oldest known drawing by a human found in SA
South Africa’s Blombos cave is home to the earliest drawing by a human: a 73 000-year-old cross-hatched drawing on a silcrete flake.
Putting meat on Homo’s menu
We have been omnivores probably since the time of Lucy, our closest ancestor
How human brains became so big
Though most organisms thrive with small brains, or none at all, the human species opted for a different route
Racism is behind outlandish theories about Africa’s ancient architecture
The belief that ancient Egyptians needed help from supernatural beings to built the Giza pyramids relies on racism and colonial attitudes
Climate shift killed off dinosaurs
Volcanos and an asteroid released sulphates and carbon, which caused temperature change.
These troglodytes had more brains than brawn
New research suggests Neanderthals were not as simple-minded as has been believed.
From the cradle to the grave? #Naledifossils
Researchers have revealed details of the recently discovered Homo naledi – a species with characteristics eerily similar to humans.
The fine art of the Neanderthals
Several times in the past 10 years scientists have had to rewrite the textbooks on Neanderthals, the last species of human to go extinct.
Ape genes show we have gorillas in our midst
Our ancestors made the evolutionary split with gorillas about 10-million years ago but we still share a remarkable number of genes with the great ape.
Homo erectus was first master chef
The first ancestor of modern humans to have mastered the art of cooking was likely homo erectus, which evolved around 1.9-million years ago.
You owe your grandparents big time
Thirty-thousand years ago the human species had a senior moment. Numbers of adults reaching the age of 30 began to rise dramatically.