Ancient DNA is turning human prehistory into something startlingly intimate. Instead of a clean handoff from one species to another, the last 50,000 years look more like a long, tangled story of ...

I read your column “Do Most Whites Have Traces of African DNA, as I Do?” with interest. The questioner in that column was wondering whether the traces of African ancestry in her DNA test entered her ...

The discovery of ancient human cousins has long stirred wonder and debate. Early Neanderthal remains offered a glimpse into our distant past, prompting questions about how they lived and whether they ...

A simplified model of human evolution showing how humans are related to Neanderthals and Denisovans. Arrows between different branches show mating that occurred. Events that happened further back in ...

The new analysis traces Indian ancestry back to a migration out of Africa around 50,000 years ago, after which humans interbred with Neanderthals and Denisovans and then spread throughout Eurasia.

Thousands of years ago, groups of ancient people made the dangerous journey across the icy land bridge of the Bering Strait into the Americas. They carried tools, traditions, and survival skills with ...