Presentation on species concepts and the hominin fossil record

On a visit to Charles Darwin's home, I share some perspectives on how paleoanthropologists think about species.

26 Jun 2014 — 1 min read

John Hawks on the Sandwalk at Down House

In 2014 I offered the massive open online course, Human Evolution: Past and Future. One of the most challenging subjects in human origins research is how different kinds of scientists use the concept of species in their work. As I put together the course, I thought about how to convey paleoanthropological views of species, and how they relate to what most people may have learned in their biology education.

I went to Charles Darwin's home at Down House early on a Sunday morning to walk on the famous Sandwalk and think about species.

Human Evolution: Past and Future Charles Darwin species concepts Australopithecus afarensis Australopithecus anamensis Video by John Hawks

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I'm a paleoanthropologist exploring the world of ancient humans and our fossil relatives.

Lecture: Finding ancient minds in the human evolutionary tree

Insights into the behavioral capabilities of ancient human relatives are beginning to show that some of the abilities we consider human go surprisingly deep in our ancestry.