Understand what makes us human — from our ancient ancestors to modern behaviors. Explore weird facts, psychology, evolution, and everything in between.
Around 70,000 to 50,000 years ago, the modern human species, Homo sapiens, was finally able to successfully migrate out of Africa into other continents like Asia and Europe. In these new environments, they met an already established population of different human species, such as the Neanderthals. Today, about 1 to 4% of the DNA of … Read more
When people talk about the ice age, they usually refer to the glacial period that ended around 11,700 years ago and peaked around 20,000 years ago. By this time, the modern human species, Homo sapiens, has been developing for over 200,000 years, and the genus Homo has been around for nearly 2.5 million years. So, … Read more
Before, the brain size of our ancestral lineage was no bigger than that of modern-day Chimpanzees, but around 2.5 million years ago, it began to develop. During this period, our brains saw a significant increase in size and gradually grew beyond the normal hominid or ape-like proportions. Along with this change was the appearance of … Read more
The modern human species has many recorded wars and conflicts in history. However, what if our ancestors did not only just fight with themselves, but with other human species too? Research shows that around 70,000 to 50,000 years ago, Homo sapiens began spreading around the world, arriving in Asia, Europe, and the rest. But when … Read more
Over 50,000 years ago, on an isolated island in Indonesia, there was a hominin species that developed to be only slightly above 3 feet tall. Thus, they were nicknamed the Hobbits, or Homo floresiensis. It is estimated that they may have lived on this island for hundreds of thousands of years. However, around 50,000 years … Read more
Over 12,000 years ago, humans were still hunter-gatherers before they transitioned to farming. At this time, they foraged, scavenged, hunted, and gathered resources in their natural habitats, and then they moved on to the next environment if the old one could no longer support them. However, around 12,000 to 10,000 years ago, human groups shifted … Read more
Over 12,000 years ago, humans were living a very different life from today. They haven’t learned how to deliberately grow their own food through farming yet. Instead, they relied on their natural surroundings to provide what was necessary for them to survive. They were hunter-gatherers who would hunt animals and collect wild plants to eat. … Read more
Looking at our ancestors’ fossils and skeletons, we could observe that ours pales in comparison when it comes to their weight and robustness. This is because our bodies have changed and are continuing to change based on our lifestyle, environment, and needs for survival. However, what exactly triggered our evolution as humans to have our … Read more
If you look at the fossils of our distant ancestors, you would be able to notice that their jaws are much larger and wider than ours, the modern humans. This change happened relatively recently in the evolutionary history of humans. One of the most drastic changes gradually happened around 10,000 years ago, a time when … Read more
Have you ever looked at a snake or a spider and immediately felt a tingling sensation in your whole body? It turns out it’s not just a few of us who feel this way, but rather, the fear of snakes and spiders is common in a large human population. Researchers think that it is also … Read more
