In a remarkable turn of events, scientists have stumbled upon non-human DNA from ancient fossils, shaking the very foundations of our understanding of human evolution and our ancestral lineage.

HUBEI, China — A badly crushed cranium unearthed decades ago from a riverbank in central China that once defied classification is now shaking up the human family tree, according to a new analysis.

Scientists believe they’re close to solving an ancient mystery involving a strange hominin skull, neither Neanderthal nor human, that was found fused to a cave wall — with a stalagmite sticking out of ...

Human evolution’s biggest mystery, which emerged 15 years ago from a 60,000-year-old pinkie finger bone, finally started to unravel in 2025. Analysis of DNA extracted from the fossil electrified the ...