Human Evolution: past, present and future

Duration: 23 mins 5 secs

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Description:	An International Cafe Scientifique discussion organised and hosted by The Darwin 2009 Festival and the British Council with speaker Robert Foley chaired by Ash Rampura.

Created:

2008-11-17 11:29

Collection:

Featured content

Publisher:

University of Cambridge

Language:

eng (English)

Keywords:

darwin; robert foley;

Credits:

Photographer:

Rebecca Burdon, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge


Abstract:	It is now nearly 150 years since the knowledge of our evolutionary history was opened by the publication of Charles Darwin, the Origin of Species. In the intervening years, a great deal of information has been acquired, mapping out our relationship to the rest of the animal kingdom, the close evolutionary relationship we have with chimpanzees, the African origins of our lineage and species, the patterns of dispersals out of Africa, and the emergence of both key features such as bipedalism and our unique patterns of behavior and culture. Much still remains to be discovered, and new ways of investigating our evolutionary history are always being developed, but on the basis of what we now know we can address many questions about the evolutionary heritage and history of human beings. Some of those questions relate to the past – where and when did we evolve? When did we become truly human? What factors in the environment helped our evolution? Other questions arise because a knowledge of the fact of human evolution may influence how we think of humans today, both as individuals with a biological heritage, and as a species with a unique and dominant place in the world. And yet other questions may lead to speculations about the future of our species, and whether we are still evolving. Robert Foley is the Leverhulme Research Professor of Human Evolution at the University of Cambridge. His research focuses on human evolutionary ecology, and has ranged from the early hominins of Africa to recent hunter-gatherers. He is author of Another Unique Species (Longman, 1987), Humans before Humanity (Blackwells, 1995), and Principles of Human Evolution (with R.Lewin, Blackwells, 2003).

Abstract:

It is now nearly 150 years since the knowledge of our evolutionary history was opened by the publication of Charles Darwin, the Origin of Species. In the intervening years, a great deal of information has been acquired, mapping out our relationship to the rest of the animal kingdom, the close evolutionary relationship we have with chimpanzees, the African origins of our lineage and species, the patterns of dispersals out of Africa, and the emergence of both key features such as bipedalism and our unique patterns of behavior and culture.

Much still remains to be discovered, and new ways of investigating our evolutionary history are always being developed, but on the basis of what we now know we can address many questions about the evolutionary heritage and history of human beings. Some of those questions relate to the past – where and when did we evolve? When did we become truly human? What factors in the environment helped our evolution? Other questions arise because a knowledge of the fact of human evolution may influence how we think of humans today, both as individuals with a biological heritage, and as a species with a unique and dominant place in the world. And yet other questions may lead to speculations about the future of our species, and whether we are still evolving.

Robert Foley is the Leverhulme Research Professor of Human Evolution at the University of Cambridge. His research focuses on human evolutionary ecology, and has ranged from the early hominins of Africa to recent hunter-gatherers. He is author of Another Unique Species (Longman, 1987), Humans before Humanity (Blackwells, 1995), and Principles of Human Evolution (with R.Lewin, Blackwells, 2003).

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