While studies in model organisms have led to great progress in unveiling the conserved mechanisms of gene regulation, many aspects of development that are unique to humans and other primates remain unexplored, as are regulatory principles underlying emergence of human-specific traits. I will discuss some of our recent progress in understanding transcriptional mechanisms governing human development and evolution, such as those involving the activity of transposable elements in early embryogenesis or our recent quantitative analyses of cis-regulatory divergence in the human and chimpanzee neural crest, an embryonic cell population that is most relevant for evolution of human craniofacial form.