Newly recovered stone tools indicate that hominids lived in chilly northwestern Europe more than 800,000 years ago. (p. 5)

Newly identified remnants of copper smelting at a 7,000-year-old Serbian site fuel debate over where and when this practice began. (p. 8)

Scientists have unearthed a 3.6-million-year-old partial hominid skeleton that may recast the iconic species as humanlike walkers. (p. 5)

Southern routes to a destination often get picked over same-distance northern routes, possibly because people equate north with “up.”

Excavations in an Armenian cave have uncovered the oldest known leather footwear, a 5,500-year-old shoe. (p. 14)