Ancient humans: What we know and still don’t know about them

New Scientist

Image: Vegansoldier

In recent weeks, we have explored the brain of a species called Homo naledi, speculated on the idea that Neanderthals might have made it to North America deep in prehistory, and found signs of Denisovan DNA in layers of dirt in a Siberian cave that don’t actually contain any fossil bones.

But who were these ancient humans? And what about the other species that pop up in the news on a regular basis? Here is New Scientist’s primer to help you understand a little bit more about seven of the most important human species in our evolutionary tree. Read more on newscientist.com…