Episode 233

Human Evolution 101 (Part 1)

We probably should have done this about 200 episodes ago, but it's time to lay down the (very very) basics of the evolution of the genus Homo. First of all, how does evolution work? Who were our ancestors, where did they live and when, and how did these populations adapt and branch into different species over time? This is part one of Anna's crash course on early humans, with a second installment coming to the premium feed soon! In that second half, we'll talk specifically about tool use as a "hallmark of human-ness" and cover some surprising examples of non-human tool users.

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To learn more:

https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/who-were-the-neanderthals.html#:~:text=Some%20genetic%20calibrations%20place%20their,Homo%20antecessor%20or%20another%20species.

https://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-evolution-interactive-timeline

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0047248416301361?via%3Dihub

BOOK RECOMMENDATION:

Rutherford, Adam

The Book of Humans: A brief history of culture, sex, war, and the evolution of us


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The Dirt Podcast
Archaeology, Anthropology, and our shared human past.

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The Dirt Podcast

As science communicators in anthropology and archaeology, we hosts of The Dirt acknowledge that we hold a position of considerable privilege and opportunity, and commit ourselves to continuous learning, unlearning and reflection. We recognize that our disciplines, as well as our own lives, are rooted in and propped up by settler colonialism, white supremacy, and dispossession.

We now reside on the stolen ancestral territory of the Shawnee and Haudenosaunee and on the lands of the Muscogee and Cherokee Nations, but over its lifetime, The Dirt has also been produced on the unceded traditional territory of the Piscataway Conoy and Cedarville Band of Piscataway Indians, as well as that of the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, Patwin and Miwok peoples and all those dispossessed by Cession 296. We offer our show as a platform for Indigenous scholarship, history, and cultural expression, through citation and conversation, and we welcome the opportunity to host and compensate Indigenous scholars of archaeology and anthropology as interview guests.

Likewise, we encourage all listeners who reside in settler-colonial states to learn about on whose land they reside, their place in the ongoing process of colonization, and how to contribute materially to reparations and Indigenous sovereignty.