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Department of Human Origins

Director: Prof. Dr. Tracy L. Kivell

The Department of Human Origins combines new fossil and archaeological discoveries with an interdisciplinary approach to reconstructing how our fossil relatives interacted with their past environments. Our goal is to uncover the emergence and evolution of the human lineage through fieldwork and analysis, studying the fossils of our early relatives and those of African apes. We aim to reconstruct the key behaviours that define humans by integrating high-resolution imaging, quantitative analyses of anatomy, experimental biomechanics and study of living primates. 

News

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Language connection discovered in chimpanzee brains

Human OriginsHuman Behavior, Ecology and Culture

The architecture for complex communication already existed in the common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees

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Different ways of ‘getting a grip’

Human Origins

Researchers uncover new evidence of how ancient human relatives in South Africa used their hands, revealing…

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Why humans have a smaller face than Neanderthals

Human Origins

In Homo sapiens, facial growth stops at puberty

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