10 things we learned about our human ancestors in 2023

Humans are everywhere nowadays, but Homo sapiens and our close relatives weren't so widespread in the past. In fact, the ancestors of modern humans nearly went extinct just under 1 million years ago. And many lineages of human or close human relatives vanished without a trace; we have evidence of their existence only from discovering and studying their fossils.
Here's a look back at 10 major findings about humans and our close ancient relatives from 2023 and what they teach us about our own evolution.