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Baked sediment, heat-shattered artefacts and introduced pyrite in a 400,000-year-old Palaeolithic occupation site in Suffolk, UK provide evidence of intentional fire-making, marking a pivotal moment in human development.

When a new fossil is found it is often claimed that it will rewrite the anthropological textbooks. But in the case of an astonishing new discovery from Indonesia, this claim is fully justified.

Ten years after the publication of a remarkable find, Chris Stringer explains why the discovery of Homo floresiensis is still so challenging.

Chris Stringer explains why the longest-running whodunnit in palaeontology is still worth solving.

New 43–45 ka dates for stone tool assemblages associated with anatomically modern humans (AMHs) at the southern Spanish site of Bajondillo suggest an early AMH incursion and weaken the case for late Neanderthal persistence in the region.

We probably all carry genes from archaic species such as Neanderthals. Chris Stringer explains why the DNA we have in common is more important than any differences.

A comprehensive search for super-archaic introgression in >400 modern human genomes, including >200 from Island Southeast Asia, corroborates widespread Denisovan ancestry in ISEA populations but fails to detect any substantial super-archaic admixture signals compatible with the endemic fossil record.

Encephalization—increase of brain size relative to body size—has occurred in two distinct evolutionary lineages; Neanderthals and modern humans. However, the 3D endocranial surface shape analysis reported here reveals unique structures at the base of the brain inHomo sapiens, which may have contributed to learning and social capacities.

Analyses of the hominin skull from Broken Hill, Zambia, place it at an earlier date than previously thought, confirming that later Middle Pleistocene Africa was home to at least three lineages of hominin.

The human dispersal out of Africa that populated the world was probably paced by climate changes. This is the inference drawn from computer modelling of climate variability during the time of early human migration. See Letter p.92

A South African cave overlooking the Indian Ocean was apparently a desirable residence for early humans. The site has provided rich evidence for the early use of colour and marine resources.

Openshaw and colleagues find myeloid inflammation and complement activation signatures in patients with long COVID who were previously hospitalized.

Detailed comparative analyses of two fossil crania from Apidima Cave, Greece, indicate that two late Middle Pleistocene human groups were present at this site; first an early Homo sapiens population followed by a Neanderthal population.

Xenon isotopic analysis shows that ancient pockets of water found in a mine in Timmins, Canada, have survived in the Earth’s crust for at least 1.5 billion years.

The authors report genetic, archaeological and stable isotopic data from two late Palaeolithic individuals in Britain, from Gough's Cave and Kendrick's Cave. The individuals differ not only in their ancestry but also their diets, ecologies and mortuary practices, revealing diverse origins and lifeways among inhabitants of late Pleistocene Britain.

Hominins colonized Eurasia fairly swiftly after they left Africa around 1.75 million years ago, although it had been thought that they did not penetrate beyond 45° N except in very warm intervals. Now, however, artefacts, fauna and flora dating back more 0.78 million years have been found in a river deposit in Norfolk, England. The findings show that humans were capable of penetrating northern Europe in cooler intervals, and will prompt a re-evaluation of the adaptations and abilities of humans at this early date.

DNA analyses of Mesolithic and Neolithic individuals indicates the British Neolithic transition was mediated by incoming continental farmers, with little gene flow from local hunter-gatherers.

The South African archaeological record contains evidence of the early flourishing of the human mind. Ziegler et al. provide new paleoclimate reconstructions, which suggest that rapid fluctuations in global climate have played a key role in the evolution of these early human cultures.

Unlike modern humans, Neanderthals had large and projecting faces. Here, the authors show that the maxilla of modern humans is distinct from those of the Neanderthal and Middle Pleistocene hominins from Sima de los Huesos because their growth processes differ markedly during the postnatal period.

Gaps in the fossil record have limited our understanding of how Homo sapiens evolved. The discovery in Morocco of the earliest known H. sapiens fossils might revise our ideas about human evolution in Africa. See Letters p.289 & p.293

The evolution of the human facial skeleton is evaluated in the context of its extinct hominin relatives, and the biomechanical, physiological and social influences on its development are considered.

Newly discovered fossils from Ethiopia provide fresh evidence for the 'out of Africa' model for the origin of modern humans, and raise new questions about the precise pattern of human evolution.

Hyer et al. generate a potent and specific small-molecule inhibitor of the E1 ubiquitin-activating enzyme UBE1 that has antitumor activity in mice against a wide variety of tumor types.

Analysis of Aboriginal Australian mitochondrial genomes shows geographic patterns and deep splits across the major haplogroups that indicate a single, rapid migration along the coasts around 49–45 ka, followed by longstanding persistence in discrete geographic areas.

According to a widely accepted view, modern humans originated in Africa. But by which route did they start to migrate from the continent and spread more widely? Recovery of artefacts from a site on the Red Sea, dating to 125,000 years ago, implies that modern humans may have dispersed along the coasts.

The 'how, where and when' of possible Neanderthal coexistence with Cro-Magnons, and their extinction, continue to exercise a varied community of researchers. The latest interpretations of the fossil and archaeological records were aired at two meetings.

The sequencing of mitochondrial DNA from Neanderthal fossil bone is a terrific achievement. Among the conclusions to be drawn from the data is that there was a period of more than 500,000 years during which Neanderthals and the line leading to modern humans evolved independently.

A Review describes the three key phases that define the origins of modern human ancestry, and highlights the importance of analysing both palaeoanthropological and genomic records to further improve our understanding of our evolutionary history.