This book introduces, through the field of biological anthropology, how hominins have evolved and survived since their first appearance on Earth long ago—explained in a way that combines brain science with archaeology. In the previous series, Human Inquiry Report, the exploration team from planet Aure lived alongside humans and observed them, showing readers why humans think, perceive, and behave the way we do. Through that series, children got a taste of the essence of brain science. This newly planned series, Humanity Exploration Report, introduces readers to the field of 'biological anthropology'—or, more precisely, 'paleo-neuro-bioanthropology.' In other words, rather than focusing only on humans today, this series explains what kind of brains hominins had hundreds, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of years ago, and how they evolved and survived on Earth, using both brain science and archaeology. It introduces readers to a field of study that uses biological principles to imagine humanity's past in vivid detail. The name of this field may sound intimidatingly complex, but through it, we're actually uncovering fascinating answers about how humans lived tens of thousands of years ago. If Human Inquiry Report was a 'brain science project for children,' then Humanity Exploration Report is the very first project to introduce children to 'the brain science of Homo sapiens.' History truly is a remarkably scientific subject—we hope even children who love history will enjoy this series! While Human Inquiry Report was a book that children who love brain science and science in general could dive into eagerly, Humanity Exploration Report adds history into the mix, making it a book that history-loving children can enjoy as well. History is often thought of as a humanities subject, quite distant from science—but in truth, history is an incredibly scientific discipline. To understand how our ancestors lived, we must imagine and reconstruct their lives from small fragments of historical evidence and clues, and for that reconstruction to be convincing, a scientific approach is absolutely essential. That's why biological anthropology may be the purest form of science of all. This series was created with the hope that readers can experience a taste of that scientific essence. The human ancestors depicted and described in this book are not presented as absolute truth. Just as we infer 'humanity must have lived this way' based on small clues—fragments of bone, the shape of skulls, and the ruins and artifacts left behind—this book is structured much like a modern forensic investigation team tracking down a culprit using only the evidence left at a scene. In that spirit, we hope every reader can become an anthropological detective, imagining our ancient ancestors in their own minds. To understand how humanity built today's vast civilization, and what sets us apart from other great apes, we need to explore biological anthropology. Why introduce children not only to brain science, but also to a field as seemingly difficult as biological anthropology? When we study the differences scientists have recently discovered between humans and other great apes, we uncover astonishing truths about ourselves. Young orangutans, chimpanzees, and gorillas show little difference from two- or three-year-old human children. Scientists have found that these great apes are remarkably intelligent and capable of many complex cognitive behaviors, much like us. So why have we built such an enormous, intellectually advanced civilization and now live amid the complexities of modern society, while they remain in a far more primitive state? And why did other hominins—like Homo neanderthalensis, Homo erectus, and Homo habilis—fail to survive and eventually go extinct? To find clues to these questions, researchers had to examine how the brains of early Homo sapiens differed from those of great apes, as well as from other now-extinct hominins. And what they found was surprising: it wasn't the size of the brain that mattered. It wasn't about having a bigger skull or greater brain volume.