The Origins of the Genus Homo
In this talk, paleoanthropologist Dr. Bernard Wood will survey the history of attempts to find fossils of the earliest members of the genus Homo, including very recent and controversial additions. He will review the complications that arise from defining the genus and discuss how half-a-century of paleontological research has taught him what to look for within the hominin fossil record when searching for the origins of our genus Homo.
From the Field: Alia Gurtov
With the start of 2016, it is time for a progress update. As I write, I am sitting in a pleasantly overheated café while Madison, WI, withers in 5° F temperatures. This couldn’t feel more different from the conditions in which I first wrote about my research.
Animated Life: Mary Leakey
This wonderful animated documentary by Flora Lichtman and Sharon Shattuck remembers the life and work of Mary Leakey.
Guest Post: Why walk on two legs?
By Jeremy DeSilva of Boston University.
Jeremy will discuss the question “Why walk on two legs?” along with Brian Richmond during a SciCafe at the American Museum of Natural History on April 1, 2015. This article is an excellent introduction to the pros and cons of bipedalism.
Humans are weird. We are mammals, yet we have very little body hair.
Cranium discovery sheds light on early human migration
Leakey Foundation grantees Israel Hershkovitz and Ofer Marder led an international team of archaeologists who discovered a 55,000 year old cranium in Manot Cave in Israel. Their discovery was described last week in the journal Nature.
Photo courtesy of : Clara Amit, Israel Antiquities Authority
A key event in human evolution was the expansion of modern humans of African origin