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.
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Meet your ancient relatives
Embark on a seven-million-year journey of evolution and see fossil and artefact discoveries in our 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
Homo habilis, an early maker of stone tools
This ancient human was once thought to be the first to make stone tools, but is this true?
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Human evolution
Homo floresiensis: the real-life 'hobbit'?
Fierce debate has raged about the origins of the tiny ancient human species Homo floresiensis, nicknamed the 'hobbit'.
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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
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 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
Potential new human species may redraw the family tree
A new ancestor of modern humans with the potential to rip up the family tree has been tentatively named.
3 November 2021 -
Science news
Ancient skull from China could be new human species, Dragon Man
A huge skull found in China represents a new sister lineage for Homo sapiens.
25 June 2021 -
News
Homo luzonensis: new species of ancient human discovered in the Philippines
It has been named Homo luzonensis.
11 April 2019
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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Human evolution
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.
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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
Neanderthals grew up faster than humans to power brain growth
Neanderthals lived fast and died young, developing their teeth earlier than humans to power their rapid growth.
24 November 2021 -
Science news
A new look at the Gibraltar Neanderthals
Discover more about some iconic Neanderthal skulls.
15 July 2019
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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News
First known Denisovan rib could reveal more about our ancient human relatives
The rib bone suggests that the Denisovans may have been living in eastern Asia as recently as 32,000 years ago.
3 July 2024 -
News
Oldest evidence of Homo sapiens in northern Europe discovered
The first modern humans to live in northern Europe arrived more than 45,000 years ago.
31 January 2024 -
Science news
Better fossil dating could help to clear up human evolution
Going back to basics could help to unlock the mysteries of our origins.
18 December 2023 -
News
Natural History Museum human evolution expert awarded Huxley Medal
Professor Chris Stringer, our longest-serving researcher, is set to be honoured for his contributions to human evolution.
23 October 2023
In collaboration with Google Arts & Culture
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The theory of evolution
Audio exhibition about the theory of evolution, which underpins modern biology. Narrated by Dr Tim Littlewood.
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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.
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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.
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News
From staple to superfood: how seaweed fed prehistoric Europeans
Dental plaque may help to reveal what prehistoric humans ate.
17 October 2023 -
Science news
Oldest evidence of human cannibalism as a funerary practice
Human bones with cutmarks, breaks and human chewing marks are found across northern Europe.
4 October 2023 -
News
Human ancestors may have almost died out after ancient population crash
Almost 99% of all human ancestors may have been wiped out around 930,000 years ago, a new paper has claimed.
31 August 2023 -
Science news
Ancient ice age could have caused the first Europeans to go extinct
Melting polar ice caps may have pushed some of the first ancient humans out of Europe.
10 August 2023 -
News
Oldest known Neanderthal engravings unearthed in French cave
Neanderthals might have been making some of Europe’s oldest art thousands of years before the arrival of humans.
21 June 2023 -
News
Fossils reveal early modern humans in southeast Asia 77,000 years ago
Our ancient relatives may have reached southeast Asia over 10,000 years earlier than thought.
15 June 2023 -
News
Claims that Homo naledi buried their dead could alter our understanding of human evolution
New claims argue that the ancient human species Homo naledi buried their dead and made engravings.
5 June 2023 -
Science news
Ancient human DNA found in 20,000-year-old bone jewellery
A new technique allows researchers to extract the DNA of people who have handled bone artefacts, giving clues about prehistoric cultures.
3 May 2023 -
News
Oldest remains of ancient human relative Paranthropus suggest possible tool use
Early humans, and an ancient relative, may have been using complex stone tools as early as three million years ago.
9 February 2023 -
News
Giant glyptodont armadillos may have been hunted by early South Americans
A chink in the armour of giant South American armadillos may have left them vulnerable to human hunting.
25 November 2022 -
Science news
Earliest human fossils in the UK reveal how ancient Europeans were connected
Fossils discovered in Sussex were compared to human remains found in Spain from a similar time period to see if the populations are linked.
14 November 2022 -
Science news
Neanderthal extinction may have been caused by sex, not fighting
The question of how the Neanderthals died out remains one of the biggest mysteries in human evolution.
31 October 2022 -
Science news
The oldest human DNA in the UK reveals two distinct populations in late Ice Age Britain
The sequencing of the oldest human DNA in the UK so far.
24 October 2022 -
News
Siberian remains could represent first-known Neanderthal community
Neanderthals may have lived in small groups of around 10 to 20, with females moving between the different communities.
19 October 2022 -
Science news
Sinuses offer new way of studying the evolution of ancient humans
While their function remains uncertain, the sinuses provide an insight into how ancient human skulls changed over time.
21 October 2022 -
Science news
Early English Anglo-Saxons descended from mass European migration
The people after which England is named made up more than three quarters of the nation's genetic ancestry during the early Middle Ages.
21 September 2022 -
Science news
Ancient DNA from medieval Norwich skeletons shed light on Jewish history
The twelfth century skeletons have provided an unprecedented look at the genetic history of Ashkenazi Jews.
30 August 2022 -
News
Prehistoric giant stork competed with 'hobbit' human relative for food
Measuring almost two metres tall, Leptoptilos robustus would have lived in a unique ecosystem which included the mysterious miniature human relative Homo floresiensis.
13 July 2022 -
News
The first people in Australia likely feasted on the eggs of giant ducks
Genyornis newtoni may have become extinct after humans stole and ate its eggs.
27 May 2022 -
News
Fossil tooth could show the mysterious Denisovans made it to southeast Asia
The tooth of a young girl living hundreds of thousands of years ago may be from the Denisovans, an extinct hominid species of which very little is known.
18 May 2022 -
Science news
Oldest evidence of modern humans in western Europe discovered
Modern humans arrived in western Europe about 10,000 years earlier than previously thought.
9 February 2022 -
News
Human ancestor Homo erectus probably wasn't the carnivore we thought
Evidence of increasing carnivory in ancient humans may just be a quirk of sampling.
24 January 2022 -
Science news
Ancient Britons adapted to drink milk a millennium earlier than Europeans
The genetic landscape of England and Wales was shaken up thousands of years ago as new arrivals redefined its people.
22 December 2021 -
Science news
Oldest evidence of hominins in Arabia give clues to how humans left Africa
A series of ancient lake beds discovered in Saudi Arabia is showing how the now arid deserts were once green wetlands.
1 September 2021 -
News
Oldest human burial in Africa has been discovered in a cave in Kenya
Dating to roughly 78,000 years old, the grave is the oldest human burial discovered in Africa to date.
5 May 2021 -
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
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 -
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
Early Neanderthal teeth shed light on the identity of our own ancient ancestors
We've been looking at the wrong species.
15 May 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 -
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 -
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 -
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
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 -
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