CARTA - Anthropogeny (Video)

Rick Potts (Smithsonian Institution) suggests that the complexity of climate dynamics, and associated resource uncertainty, likely influenced the evolution of adaptive versatility in our species, expressed by the expansion of mobile technologies, symbolism, social networks, and behavioral diversity. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Show ID: 25390]

Ofer Bar-Yosef (Harvard Univ) briefly summarizes the archaeological evidence for the dispersals of modern humans into Eurasia avoiding the assumptions that these events, whether short or continuous, were triggered by climatic conditions or followed the dispersals of other mammals. He contends that tracing past human groups as they move through time and space in Eurasia relies on the recognition of how they made their stone tools. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Show ID: 25396]

CARTA: Behaviorally Modern Humans: The Origin of Us – Iain Davidson: Stone Tools and Cognition: Lessons from Australia

In this talk, Iain Davidson (Univ of New England, Australia) addresses four topics: What is cognition? Can we learn anything from brains? What was the cognitive ability of the Last Common Ancestor? And, how can we learn from stone tools? He emphasizes specific aspects of stone tool making and use, which show how it required particular cognitive abilities and provided a selective context for their evolutionary emergence. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Show ID: 25398]

Lyn Wadley (Univ of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg) contends that the manufacture of compound adhesives and compound paints by 100,000 years ago in South Africa is clear evidence for modern thought processes that involve, for example, multi-tasking. Some early hunting technologies support this conclusion. Cultural traditions, reminiscent of hunter-gatherer ones practiced in historic times, are also evident in South Africa’s Middle Stone Age, by not less than 100,000 years ago. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Show ID: 25392]

CARTA: Behaviorally Modern Humans: The Origin of Us – Christopher Ehret: Relationships of Ancient African Languages

Almost all of the more than 1,000 African languages spoken today belong to just four families – Afroasiatic, Niger-Kordofanian, Nilo-Saharan, and Khoesan. As these language families spread out across the continent in the early Holocene, they gradually drove out hundreds of other languages that used to be spoken in Africa. Christopher Ehret (UCLA) reflects on the relationships of these languages to the existing African families and to the language families of the rest of the world, and asks what this information can tell us about human origins and early human history. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Show ID: 25397]

Evidence points strongly to Africa as the major center for the genetic, physical and behavioral origins of both ancient and modern humans. In this talk, Chris Stringer (Natural History Museum, London) reviews recent genetic and paleontological research that suggests more complex scenarios for our origins than had been considered previously. This includes the likelihood of interbreeding between archaic and modern humans, both within and outside of Africa. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Show ID: 25393]

One of the enduring questions of human origins is when, where and how we "Behaviorally Modern Humans" emerged and why and how we eventually replaced all the other human-like species. This series takes a fresh look at the situation today with a critical examination of the available evidence from multiple sources. Ofer Bar-Yosef (Harvard Univ) leads off with a talk about Evidence for the Spread of Modern Humans, followed by Christopher Ehret (UCLA) on Relationships of Ancient African Languages, and Iain Davidson (Univ of New England, Australia) on Stone Tools and Cognition: Lessons from Australia. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 25389]

One of the enduring questions of human origins is when, where and how we "Behaviorally Modern Humans" emerged and why and how we eventually replaced all the other human-like species. This series takes a fresh look at the situation today with a critical examination of the available evidence from multiple sources. Chris Stringer (Natural History Museum, London) leads off with a talk about the Fossil Record of Anatomically Modern Humans, followed by Michael Hammer (Univ of Arizona) on Interbreeding with Archaic Humans in Africa, and Richard “Ed” Green (UC Santa Cruz) on Interbreeding with Archaic Humans outside Africa. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 25388]

One of the enduring questions of human origins is when, where and how we "Behaviorally Modern Humans" emerged and why and how we eventually replaced all the other human-like species. This series takes a fresh look at the situation today with a critical examination of the available evidence from multiple sources. Rick Potts (Smithsonian Institution) leads off with a talk about African Climate of the Last 400,000 Years, followed by Alison S. Brooks (George Washington Univ/Smithsonian Institution) on East African Archaeological Evidence, and Lyn Wadley (Univ of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg) on South African Archaeological Evidence. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 24970]

Colin Renfrew (McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research) discusses the “Sapient Paradox.” The genetic basis of humankind was established 200,000 years ago, and yet the tectonic phase of human development is only 10,000 years old. So what took so long? Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 24982]