Capuchin monkeys’ stone-tool use has evolved over 3,000 years

A Brazilian archaeological site reveals capuchins’ long history of practical alterations to pounding implements, researchers say.

People may have smoked marijuana in rituals 2,500 years ago in western China

Cannabis may have been altering minds at an ancient high-altitude cemetery, researchers say

These knotted cords may hide the first evidence that the Incas collected taxes

Some knotted string devices point to crop levies imposed by the Incan empire, researchers say. But…

DNA reveals ancient Siberians who set the stage for the first Americans

A previously unknown population of Ice Age people who traveled across Beringia was discovered in Russia.

Hominids may have been cutting-edge tool makers 2.6 million years ago

Contested finds point to a sharp shift in toolmaking by early members of the **** genus.

Cave debris may be the oldest known example of people eating starch

Charred material found in South Africa puts energy-rich roots and tubers on Stone Age menus, long…

Africa’s first herders spread pastoralism by mating with foragers

DNA unveils long-ago hookups between early pastoralists and native hunter-gatherers in Africa.

Fossil teeth push the human-Neandertal split back to about 1 million years ago

A study of fossilized teeth shifts the age of the last common ancestor between Neandertals and…

Ancient South American populations dipped due to an erratic climate

Scientists link bouts of intense rainfall and drought around 8,600 to 6,000 years ago to declining…

An ancient pouch reveals the hallucinogen stash of an Andes shaman

South American shamans in the Andes Mountains carried mind-altering ingredients 1,000 years ago, a study finds.