early humans | Ask Dr. Universe | Washington State University

Are fishes related to humans? – Sarah, 9, Nigeria

February 20, 2025 melissamayer

Dear Sarah,

Tuna, salmon, mackerel. Cats like me are famously big fans of fish. But I’ve never looked at my afternoon sushi and wondered if it’s related to my human friends.

So, I asked one of those friends named Thomas Siek. He’s a biological anthropologist at Washington State University. He studies how humans evolved.

He told me that fish and humans are distant relatives. All vertebrates—animals with backbones—are related.

“Humans and fish aren’t close evolutionary cousins,” Siek said. “We’re part of the same phylum called Chordata. We share a common ancestor. Those in Chordata have backbones. So, this will also include birds, dogs, … » More …

Did dinosaurs eat humans? – Brileigh, 10, North Carolina

March 2, 2023 melissamayer

Dear Brileigh,

If you looked inside a T. rex mouth, you’d see some 12-inch teeth. That’s longer than my tail!

I asked my friend Aaron Blackwell if dinosaurs used those big chompers on humans. He’s an anthropologist who studies human biology at Washington State University. He told me dinosaurs and humans didn’t live at the same time.

“Dinosaurs died out 65 million years ago—before there were even primates,” Blackwell said. “So, they could never have eaten a human or even a monkey.”