Carrie Mongle examines fossilized teeth to understand how early humans grew, lived, and ate. Host Heather Lynch and Mongle, assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology and Turkana Basin Institute at Stony Brook University, dive into the intricacies of human evolution, discussing the key players and distinctive features that separate modern humans from other hominins. Mongle also discusses her research on the hand morphology of Paranthropus boisei, highlighting the evolutionary insights gained from studying fossilized teeth and hands. 

Learn more with:

• “An updated analysis of hominin phylogeny with an emphasis on re-evaluating the phylogenetic relationships of Australopithecus sediba”, by Mongle, C. S., Strait, D. S., & Grine, F. 
• “Rules of teeth development align microevolution with macroevolution in extant and extinct primates”, by Machado, F. A., Mongle, C. S., Slater, G. J., Penna, A., Wisniewski, A. L., Soffin, A., Dutra, V., & Uyeda, J. C.
• “Variation, sexual dimorphism and enlargement of the frontal sinus with age in adult South Africans”, by Greening, V. A., Hernandez, E., Mongle, C. S., Billings, B. K., Mngomezulu, V., Wallace, I. J., & Grine, F. E.

Skip ahead to the chapter that interests you:

• 00:36 The Evolutionary Journey of Humans
• 01:16 Understanding Hominins and Their Traits
• 03:32 Future Human Evolution and Selective Pressures
• 05:33 Human Adaptations to Extreme Climates
• 08:45 The Role of Diet in Human Evolution
• 16:33 The Importance of Teeth in Evolutionary Studies
• 19:22 The Significance of Hominin Teeth
• 20:04 Discovering the Importance of Hands
• 20:50 Introducing Paranthropus Boisei
• 22:07 Comparing Hominin and Homo Species
• 24:33 Insights into Hominin Hand Morphology
• 27:18 The Evolution and Future of Human Brains
• 28:46 Challenges and Future of Fossil Research
• 32:38 The Role of AI in Paleontology
• 34:44 Future Directions in Hominin Research
• 35:47 Concluding Thoughts on Human Evolution

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C4E Presents is a production of Stony Brook’s Collaborative for the Earth.

Host: Heather Lynch

Editor: J.D. Allen

Program Manager: Jennifer Gilday