The Role of Africa’s Tropical Forests in the Deep Human Past - Eleanor Scerri (Max Planck Institute)

Our species, Homo sapiens, evolved in the African continent some time before 300 thousand years ago. Historically, this emergence has been situated within the grassland environments of eastern or southern Africa. However, the growing consensus that there was no single centre of endemism in Africa for our species now means that a range of regions and ecological zones are being considered for their role in human evolution. The rainforest and savannah mosaics of western Africa, and ecotonal regions therein, are in particular emerging as central to understanding processes of population separation, adaptation and change. When did humans first inhabit these environments, or did they only serve as barriers? If they served as barriers, how did their shifting dynamics shape human connections in the past? If these environments were indeed exploited by early humans, how important were they, and what was their impact? In this talk, Dr Eleanor Scerri (Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History) presents her reflections and recent research in western Africa within these major new themes in human origins.

Видео The Role of Africa’s Tropical Forests in the Deep Human Past - Eleanor Scerri (Max Planck Institute) канала Yadvinder Malhi