Uploaded May 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Hominin origins were borne at least in part from climate change, with a global climate that was cooling and drying, leading to shrinking forests and expanding open lands in eastern Africa. We have long imagined our ancestors emerging from the forests, standing up from all fours, and striding out into the open in search of a new diversity of food sources and lifeways. Our understanding of exactly how this shaped hominin biology and evolution is changing thanks to the steady recovery of more fossil evidence that has been underway over the past several decades. I will review some of the insights inspired by these new fossils that suggest we need to rethink the origin and early evolution of the hominin lineage.
Hominin origins were borne at least in part from climate change, with a global climate that was cooling and drying, leading to shrinking forests and expanding open lands in eastern Africa. We have long imagined our ancestors emerging from the forests, standing up from all fours, and striding out into the open in search of a new diversity of food sources and lifeways. Our understanding of exactly how this shaped hominin biology and evolution is changing thanks to the steady recovery of more fossil evidence that has been underway over the past several decades. I will review some of the insights inspired by these new fossils that suggest we need to rethink the origin and early evolution of the hominin lineage.
