A new study strengthens the theory that bipedalism developed early in human history. What defines a human as a human? Though it’s a tricky question, paleontologists and archaeologists tend to cite a ...

In 2001, researchers unearthed a scattering of fossils beneath the windswept dunes of the Djurab Desert of northern Chad. The remains were later identified as belonging to an extinct species, ...

Scientists have found that one of the earliest known human ancestors was walking on two legs as far back as seven million years ago, building on previous analyses that came to similar conclusions. The ...

New research on Sahelanthropus tchadensis fossils from Chad provides strong evidence that this 6.7–7.2 million-year-old hominin could walk upright. Analyses of a femur and forearm bones reveal ...

A controversial hominid that lived 7 million years ago may have walked on two legs after all, according to a new analysis of its fossilized bones. After its discovery in 2001, Sahelanthropus ...

In recent decades, scientists have debated whether a seven-million-year-old fossil was bipedal—a trait that would make it the oldest human ancestor. A new analysis by a team of anthropologists offers ...

It’s considered to be one of the most decisive steps in human evolution. Now, scientists believe they have pinpointed when our ancestors made the transition from walking on all fours to standing on ...

French paleontologist Michel Brunet takes an interview with Xinhua at his office in Paris, France, Aug. 8, 2019. In July 2001, a Franco-Chadian team headed by Michel Brunet unearthed a fossil cranium ...

These files consist of 3D scans of historical objects in the collections of the Smithsonian and may be downloaded by you only for non-commercial, educational, and ...