Genetic variation makes for stronger species, but for a mammalian species, humans are disturbingly closely related. Help your class explore human ancestry and genealogy using the 15th video in a 16-part series. It describes how we became...

Is the progression of human complexity due to eating meat? The 14th video in a 16-part series attempts to answer this and other thought-provoking questions. It relates the process of human evolution and innovation to our ability to learn...

Was the first use of fire intentional or accidental? Although the answer to the question may never be known, we do know that the discovery of fire was a turning point in humans' evolution. Explore the history of fire use and its...

You may struggle to find similarities between humans and many of our ancestors. Fossil evidence finds more and more signs of similarities between humans and many other species. A lesson outlines the fossil evidence and the questions...

Humans did not evolve from monkeys or chimpanzees—so what does our evolution look like? A video explains the evolution of humans from a common ancestor to homo sapiens. It describes the many branches on our family tree as well as the...

In 2004, scientists found skeletons of a hobbit-like creature in Asia. This discovery is just one more part of the large human evolution puzzle. Scientists continue to build the puzzle with missing pieces and confusing information. This...

This video segment, adapted from NOVA, explores reasons why Homo sapiens had an advantage over Neanderthals in the pursuit of territory and natural resources. [4:55]

"Where did we come from? What makes us human?" Becoming Human is a three-part comprehensive examination of the latest research on our hominid relatives. Part 1 takes a critical look at what set us on the path from ape to human. The...

NOVA examines what set Homo sapiens apart from our ancestral cousins like the Neanderthals, the Hobbits, and others. We lived and thrived, why? Also, are we still evolving even today?

Ian Tattersall, author of Masters of the Planet, talks about the origin of humans, and how Homo sapiens became a dominant species. Aired Apr. 6, 2012 [38:44 min]

Second in a series of videos that introduces human prehistory, this video describes how our human ancestors spread throughout Africa and then into other regions such as Australia and Europe. How did they reach Australia so early on? What...

The Academy's Zeray Alemseged's recent discovery pushes human tool-use back over 800,000 years. [2:57]