Leading scientists John Shea of Stony Brook University, Sarah Tishkoff of the University of Pennsylvania, and Tim White of the University of California, Berkeley, will detail a global exploration spanning millions of years to illuminate the rise of modern humans beginning October 6, 2011.
Where and when did humans arise? What distinguishes us from other species? Did our distant ancestors look and behave like us? These questions and more will be addressed at the 2011 Holiday Lectures on Science presented by Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
When Darwin proposed that humans evolved from a common ancestor with the great apes, he lacked fossil evidence to support his idea. One hundred and fifty years later, the evidence for human evolution is plentiful and growing, including detailed molecular genetics data, an impressive fossil record, and artifacts of early human culture like stone tools.