RAI RESEARCH SEMINAR

SEMINAR SERIES AT THE ROYAL ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE

The complex origins and evolution of our species

Professor Robert Foley, Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, University of Cambridge

Wednesday 27 April at 5.30 pm

Nearly thirty years ago the idea that Homo sapiens evolved recently in Africa and dispersed rapidly from there took hold, and led to a cascade of new ideas - the human revolution, modern human behaviour, the role of symbolic thought and language in shaping humanity, the extinction of Neanderthals, population bottlenecks, multiple dispersals and the limited nature of human diversity. Since then an enormous amount of research has gone into the field, across several disciplines. ‘Out of Africa’ has remained a robust model, but the picture we now have of the evolution of modern humans is much more complex. In this seminar I will explore how the model of modern human evolution looks today, in the light of evidence from palaeontology, genetics (ancient and modern) and archaeology. An intricate web of events and processes, in and out of Africa, over half a million years, have shaped the way we are today - a complex origin and evolution.

This event is free, but tickets must be booked. To book tickets please go to http://robertfoley.eventbrite.co.uk