{
  "id": 210159,
  "title": "The 85-million-year timeline of human evolution",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/06/the-85-million-year-timeline-of-human-evolution",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-08-06T08:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Scientist",
    "slug": "new-scientist",
    "url": "https://www.newscientist.com/article/2583039-timeline-of-human-evolution/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The human evolutionary tree is a complex and ever-expanding story, with many species and species groups adding to our understanding of our origins. Over the past 85 million years, primates – the group that includes monkeys, apes, and humans – have evolved and adapted to their environments.\n\nPrimates first appear in the fossil record between 85 and 55 million years ago. These small, tree-dwelling creatures resemble modern tree shrews or squirrels. However, it's unclear exactly when primates first evolved, as the fossil record is incomplete and uncertain dates are often marked with a question mark.\n\nAround 55 million years ago, Earth experiences a global heatwave known as the Palaeocene-Eocene thermal maximum. This event allows tropical forests to spread widely, providing a vast habitat for early primates. By 55 million years ago, we start seeing unambiguous primates such as Archicebus, found in eastern China, and several species of Teilhardina, which inhabit the Americas and Eurasia.\n\nThe emergence of apes around 30 million years ago marks the next phase in human evolution. Genetic studies suggest that apes separated from monkeys as early as 30 million years ago, although the fossil evidence lags behind. In Africa, Rukwapithecus, living 25 million years ago, is the earliest known ape or ape-like primate. Later, Masripithecus from Egypt and Nacholapithecus and Nyanzapithecus from Kenya, dating back 15 and 13 million years respectively, add to the growing ape family.\n\nAs grasses become common in East Africa and savannahs expand, a new habitat emerges. However, it's unclear how or when apes and hominins begin living in these grasslands. Meanwhile, Eurasian apes enter the continent around 17 million years ago, thriving in their new environment. Eurasian apes develop more upright postures and curved, grasping fingers, traits that are still seen in modern great apes.\n\nSome of these Eurasian apes may have begun walking upright, or bipedally, around 12 million years ago. This shift in locomotion could have been a key step in human evolution, with bipedalism potentially evolving independently in multiple groups. The fossil record, however, is spotty and disputed, making it difficult to determine the exact timeline and nature of this transition.\n\nThe last common ancestor (LCA) of humans and chimpanzees lives between 13 and 5.5 million years ago. This unidentified animal is the most recent ancestor of both our closest living relatives as well as humans and human-like hominins. The LCA's location and nature remain debated – some argue for an African origin while others suggest Eurasia. Nonetheless, the fossil record points to Kenya as a possible location for the LCA, with the 9.8-million-year-old Nakalipithecus being a candidate.",
  "summary": "Combining archaeological evidence with ancient DNA and data on past climates shows us how long and winding the story of human evolution is, stretching back millions of years to when the first primates arose",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}