Human evolution
Wanting to understand who we are, where we come from and how we evolved is part of what makes us human.
This an exciting time to be examining human evolution. Intriguing fossil and archaeological discoveries, combined with innovative techniques and DNA research, are transforming scientists' understanding of our ancient past.
We now know of more than 20 hominin species that are part of our family tree. At least half of these species are based on fossils unearthed in the last 30 years.
Museum scientists are at the forefront of research on the migration, characteristics and capabilities of these early human relatives, and the origin and cultural development of our species, Homo sapiens.
Trace the evolution of humans since our lineage split from that of chimpanzees, explore what we have in common with our ancient relatives and discover research that is helping to answer questions about our past and future.
Meet your ancient relatives
Embark on a seven-million-year journey of evolution and see fossil and artefact discoveries in the Human Evolution gallery.
How humans evolved
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Human evolution
The origin of our species
Take a tour through seven million years of human evolution and explore the origin of Homo sapiens.
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Human evolution
How we became human
What features make us human? And where, when and why did they evolve?
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Human evolution
The Neanderthal in us
Many of us carry around two per cent Neanderthal DNA in our genes. Prof Chris Stringer discusses why and what it means.
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Human evolution
Tracing our genetic ancestry
Our DNA offers us the chance to look into our ancient past. Discover what six celebrities learned when they had their DNA analysed.
Early human family tree
Meet some of the members of your human family tree.
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Human evolution
Australopithecus afarensis, Lucy's species
Australopithecus afarensis is one of the best-known early human relatives thanks to an extraordinary fossil called Lucy.
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Human evolution
Homo erectus, our ancient ancestor
Learn about the longest-surviving human species, which was also the first known to leave Africa.
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Human evolution
Who were the Neanderthals?
Explore Neanderthal facts, from looks to lifestyle and abilities. These early humans are far more similar to us than once believed.
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Human evolution
Homo naledi, your recently discovered human relative
Meet your long-lost relative and find out why their discovery has had such an impact on our family tree.
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News
Homo luzonensis: new species of ancient human discovered in the Philippines
It has been named Homo luzonensis.
11 April 2019 -
News
Ancient child from Siberia was Neanderthal and Denisovan hybrid
Fragments of bone from a Siberian cave reveal ancient human species were mating.
23 August 2018
Our closest relative
Discover more about Neanderthals.
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Human evolution
Are Neanderthals the same species as us?
Prof Chris Stringer addresses this controversial question.
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Human evolution
Bringing a Neanderthal to life: the making of our model
Discover the science and art involved in making the Museum's Neanderthal and early modern human models.
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Human evolution
First adult Neanderthal skull
Listen to the tale of the first adult Neanderthal skull unearthed and what we've uncovered about our close relative in the past 160 years.
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Human evolution
How the Neanderthals got their big noses
Prof Chris Stringer discusses a Museum fossil that helps explain why Neanderthals looked different to us.
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Science news
A new look at the Gibraltar Neanderthals
Discover more about some iconic Neanderthal skulls.
15 July 2019 -
Science news
Early Neanderthal teeth shed light on the identity of our own ancient ancestors
We've been looking at the wrong species.
15 May 2019 -
News
The pros and cons of dating a Neanderthal
Breeding with Neanderthals allowed our ancestors to better cope with European winters, but also passed on diseases we suffer today.
3 February 2014 -
News
Neanderthals and humans had ample time for interbreeding
Accurate dating of 40 sites across Europe shows that Neanderthals and humans overlapped by as much as 5,400 years.
20 August 2014
Humans in Britain
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Human evolution
First Britons
Unearth the one-million-year story of humans in Britain and their struggle to survive in a changing land.
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Human evolution
The cannibals of Gough's Cave
Dr Silvia Bello tells us about the gruesome yet fascinating behaviour of people living in a Somerset cave 14,700 years ago.
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Human evolution
The making of an island
Discover how the changing climate of the past million years affected Britain's coastline and the presence of humans.
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Human evolution
The oldest human footprints in Europe
Follow the progress of a team of scientists as they realise they have uncovered human footprints that are around 900,000 years old.
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Collections
Skeletons reveal their secrets
Bone detectives at the Museum are uncovering the secrets of life and death in London over 5,000 years.
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Collections
A history of burial in London
How has London buried its dead over the past 5,000 years?
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Life in the bones of Londoners
Human remains from prehistoric to Victorian times reveal how people lived and died in the city.
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Analysing the bones: what can a skeleton tell you?
How scrutinising a person's bones and teeth can disclose who they were, how they lived and even how they died.
Latest human evolution news
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Science news
Fossil evidence of mysterious 'southern Denisovans' yet to be found
When modern humans arrived in the islands of southeast Asia, they may have encountered a range of ancient human species.
22 March 2021 -
Science news
Most southerly evidence of Neanderthals revealed in cave in Palestine
The fossilised tooth of a nine-year-old child found in Shuqba Cave is the most southerly evidence of Neanderthals ever discovered.
15 February 2021 -
Science news
Ancient burials near Stonehenge reveal how cultures merged in the Bronze Age
Rather than a violent turnover of populations, there was a merging of communities.
11 February 2021 -
Science news
Modern human origins cannot be traced back to a single point in time
Genetic and fossil records do not reveal a single point where modern humans originated, researchers have found.
10 February 2021
Guest feature
Alice Roberts: How the Museum has inspired me
TV presenter, author and academic Alice Roberts shares memories of the Museum and how it influenced her fascination with human evolution.
In collaboration with Google Arts & Culture
The theory of evolution
Audio exhibition about the theory of evolution, which underpins modern biology. Narrated by Dr Tim Littlewood.
Human origins
Thanks to the fossil record, we know humans have evolved over millions of years, through a complex process of change. Narrated by Prof Chris Stringer.
Books by Museum evolution experts and friends
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Our Human Story
By Louise Humphrey and Chris Stringer
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The Origin of Our Species
By Chris Stringer -
Britain: One Million Years of the Human Story
By Chris Stringer and Rob Dinnis
Read more
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Science news
Human teeth found in Jersey hint at Neanderthal and Homo sapiens interbreeding
Ancient teeth could be evidence of a hybrid population of Neanderthals and modern humans.
1 February 2021 -
Science news
Some Bronze Age Britons turned the bones of dead relatives into musical instruments
Bronze Age people were keeping human body parts and preserving them.
1 September 2020 -
Science news
The earliest art in Britain was created in the Ice Age
Prehistoric societies in the Britain were creating artistic designs on rock as long ago as the late Ice Age.
19 August 2020 -
Science news
Human ancestor Homo erectus had the stocky chest of a Neanderthal
New research on Turkana Boy is changing our understanding of the species Homo erectus.
6 July 2020 -
Science news
Dating the Broken Hill skull: Homo heidelbergensis was younger than we thought
Africa and Eurasia were inhabited by a whole range of hominin species just a few hundred thousand years ago.
1 April 2020 -
Science news
Australopithecus afarensis: Human ancestors had slow-growing brains just like us
Ancient fossils are revealing even more about this species' evolution.
1 April 2020 -
Science news
Modern humans may have been in Europe 150,000 years earlier than thought
New dating suggests they were in southern Greece 210,000 years ago.
10 July 2019 -
Science news
Neolithic Britain: where did the first farmers come from?
The introduction of farming across the world changed the course of human history.
15 April 2019 -
News
The oldest drawing ever found is a stone 'hashtag'
The earliest human drawing, dating back to the Stone Age, has been found in a cave in South Africa.
12 September 2018 -
Science news
Ancient human teeth suggest new links between prehistoric African populations
The teeth are helping us to understand how ancient human populations interacted.
1 August 2018 -
Science news
The way we have been thinking about the first modern humans in Africa could be wrong
A new paper challenges the traditional idea that our species evolved from a single population in one region of Africa.
11 July 2018 -
Science news
New evidence of ancient child sacrifice found in Turkey
Remains of young people who were ritually sacrificed have been found from Bronze Age Mesopotamia.
28 June 2018 -
News
Creating a computer-generated Neanderthal
Hollywood star Andy Serkis worked with Museum experts to create an animated Neanderthal.
11 May 2018 -
News
New Centre for Human Evolution Research announced
The new centre will allow scientists to collaborate more closely and share pioneering research.
25 April 2018 -
Science news
The Beaker people: a new population for ancient Britain
Ancient DNA reveals that the British population was all but wiped out and replaced roughly 4,400 years ago.
22 February 2018 -
Science news
Humans left Africa 40,000 years earlier than we thought
A newly-discovered fossil jawbone has revealed that Homo sapiens had already left Africa 180,000 years ago.
25 January 2018 -
News
Fossil teeth suggest earlier entry of modern humans into SE Asia
New dating of teeth from a cave in western Sumatra, Indonesia, suggests that modern humans were present in tropical southeast Asia earlier than previously thought.
10 August 2017 -
News
Broken bones may rewrite history of humans in America
Museum human origins expert Chris Stringer comments on research that suggest humans arrived in the Americas much earlier than previously thought.
27 April 2017 -
News
Oldest known Homo sapiens fossils discovered in Morocco
Prof Chris Stringer comments on new research that has identified the earliest known fossils of our species, Homo sapiens.
7 June 2017 -
Collections
Carved bone reveals rituals of prehistoric cannibals
A patterned prehistoric human bone from an archaeological site in Somerset has revealed that the practices of ancient cannibals were ritualistic, and not simply about survival.
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News
Earliest evidence of modern humans breeding with Neanderthals
New DNA evidence of interbreeding between modern humans and Neanderthals raises surprising questions about our species' history. Human origins expert Prof Chris Stringer explains why.
17 February 2016 -
News
Neanderthals' distinctive face shape explained
Research on a Museum fossil helps explain why Neanderthal faces looked different to our own.
7 December 2015 -
News
Modern humans reached Asia far earlier than previously thought
Modern human teeth that are at least 80,000 years old have been found in China. Museum human origins expert Professor Chris Stringer says the discovery is a 'game-changer'.
15 October 2015 -
News
More complexity in early human evolution in East Africa
Studies on two jawbones, one 2.8 million years old and the other 1.8, give more clues to human origins.
5 March 2015 -
News
Missing human fossils rediscovered
A treasure trove of important human fossils missing for decades has been identified among the Museum’s collections.
23 June 2014 -
News
Grandpa Neanderthal? ‘Pit of bones’ clues suggest closer link
New research confirms the theory that modern humans and Neanderthals had a common ancestor about 500,000 years ago.
20 June 2014