A Human Like No Other: The Rise of Homo Sapiens ~ Johannes Krause
The time has come! This is where our story truly begins.In Episode 4 of The Origins of Humankind, we finally turn the spotlight on Homo sapiens. Guiding us through this journey is Johannes Krause, director of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and a pioneer of one of the greatest scientific revolutions of our time: the science of ancient DNA.This ability to extract DNA from fossils has transformed our understanding of the human past—giving us tools to tell a genuinely global history of our species. In this episode, we use the magic of ancient DNA to explore the world our species was born into: a weird, wild Ice Age planet teeming with other human species, from Flores Hobbits to Neanderthal Giants. We touch on big questions, such as:How did Homo sapiens spread around the world?Why were our ancestors so successful? How did climate changes shape their story?What was palaeolithic life like?What happened to the Neanderthals? (Be prepared for a plot twist!)We end at the dawn of the Holocene—the warm, wet period that would give rise to farming, cities, and everything we call “history.” That’s the story we’ll tackle in the final episode of The Origins of Humankind. Stay tuned. And enjoy this episode!LINKSMore material: OnHumans.Substack.com/OriginsSupport the show: Patreon.com/OnHumansFree lectures on human origins: CARTAKrause's books: A Short History of Humanity; Hubris: The Rise and Fall of HumanityABOUT THE SERIESThe Origins of Humankind is produced by On Humans and UC San Diego's Centre for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny (CARTA). Other guests include Chris Stringer, Dean Falk, and Tim Coulson. KEYWORDSAnthropology | Biology | Human evolution | Human origins | Homo Erectus | Australopithecines | Brain evolution | Paleoneurology | Hominins | DNA | Homo sapiens | Climate changes | Pleistocene | Cognitive evolution | Cognitive archaeology | Stone tools | Palaeolithic | Neanderthals | Homo floresiensis | Denisovans | Homo longi | Sima de los Huesos | Gravettian | Cannibalism | Aurignacian | Svante Pääbo |
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1:10:09
What Is a Human? The New Science of the Genus Homo ~ Chris Stringer
Things are about to get personal... In episode 3 of The Origins of Humankind, we zoom into the birth and spread of humanity itself. Our guide is the iconic Chris Stringer, one of the most influential paleoanthropologists alive. Together, we trace the origins of our genus and the emergence of Homo sapiens as the last surviving human species. While doing this, we meet many oddities, such as rhino hunting along the River Thames, but we also explore some of the biggest questions in human evolution:What is a human?Why did we evolve big brains?Why do we have such long childhoods?Is Homo sapiens truly unique — or just one human among many?As always, we finish with my guest's reflections on humanity.MORE LINKSMore material: OnHumans.Substack.com/OriginsSupport the show: Patreon.com/OnHumansFree lectures on human origins: CARTAStringer's books: Lone Survivors; Our Human StoryWHAT'S NEXT#4-5: The Story of Sapiens, in Two PartsThe series finishes with two episodes on the story of Homo sapiens, using the magic of ancient DNA to tell a genuinely global history of our species.Key question: How did migrations shape the human story? Why are we the only humans left? And how did humans spread worldwide, first as hunters and gatherers, then as farmers and shepherds?Your guide: Johannes Krause was the first scholar to discover a new species of humans by DNA alone. Co-author of Hubris, and A Short History of Humanity, he is now the Director of the Max Planck Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology.When: March 16th & 23rd, 2025KEYWORDSAnthropology | Biology | Human evolution | Human origins | Homo Erectus | Australopithecines | Brain evolution | Paleoneurology | Hominins | Cave art | Homo sapiens | Climate changes | Pleistocene | Cognitive evolution | Cognitive archaeology | Stone tools | Palaeolithic | Neanderthals | Alloparenting | Expensive tissue -hypothesis | Radiator theory | Brain growth | Palaeoanthropology |
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1:06:17
An Unusual Ape: The Deep Origins of Our Human Oddities ~ Dean Falk
The story continues! In part 2 of the Origins of Humankind, we trace the first steps of our ancestors after they left the chimpanzee lineage.To get humanity going, our ancestors had to wander through millions of years of what anthropologist Dean Falk has called the Botanic Age. It's a time shrouded in mist, yet it may hold the key to some of humanity’s most defining traits — from language and music to our clumsy toes and our large brains.On this walk through the mysteries of the Botanic Age, our guide is Dean Falk herself. She is a Distinguished Professor of Anthropology and the world's leading expert on human brain evolution. Together, we try to make sense of topics such as:The common ancestor between humans and chimpanzeesAgainst “Man the Toolmaker”: Tool use in other apesThe walking ape: how bipedalism shaped our ancestorsOrigins of languageOrigins of musicSize matters, but… The early evolution of the human brainAs always, we finish with the guest’s reflections on humanity.MORE LINKSMore stuff (including written highlights): OnHumans.Substack.com/OriginsSupport the show: Patreon.com/OnHumansFree lectures on human origins: CARTADean Falk’s book: The Botanic AgeWHAT'S NEXTOrigins of Humankind #3: What Is a Human?The stage has been set. It is time for humanity to enter. But what is a human? What makes a skeleton fall into the Genus "Homo"? And why did this puzzling genus evolve?Key questions: Why did humans evolve? And how do modern humans differ from Neanderthals or other extinct humans?Our guide: Chris Stringer is an iconic figure in the field, best known for his groundbreaking work towards the widely accepted Out of Africa -theory of human evolution. His career at London’s Natural History Museum stretches across five decades. When: April 9th, 2025KEYWORDSAnthropology | Primatology | Human evolution | Human origins | Homo Erectus | Australopithecine | Australopithecus africanus | Brain evolution | Paleoneurology | Apes | Great apes | Chimpanzees | Bonobos | Gorillas | LSA | Cognitive evolution | Cognitive archaeology | Baby slings | Motherse | Parentese | Baby talk | Putting the baby down -hypothesis | Radiator theory | Biology | Honinins | Hominoids | Palaeolithic Palaeoanthropology |
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The Big Picture: From the Origin of Life to the Rise of Humans ~ Tim Coulson
Welcome to the first episode of the Origins of Humankind!In this sweeping first episode, we cover the entire planetary backstory of human existence – from the origins of life to the climate change that kickstarted human evolution. Our expert guide on this journey is Tim Coulson, the Head of Biology at the University of Oxford and the author of A Universal History of Us. The episode explores questions such as:What is "life”? How did it begin?The surprising role of meteors (even before dinosaurs)Why animals? “Ediacaran Garden” and the dawn of predatorsBlood, bones, and the dawn of “terrestrial fish” (yup, that’s us!)Our ancestors amongst the dinosaursFruits and snakes in primate evolutionThe climate change that made humanity The rise and spread of humans As always, we finish with the guest’s reflections on humanity.MORE LINKSMore stuff: OnHumans.Substack.com/OriginsSupport the show: Patreon.com/OnHumansFree lectures on human origins: CARTATim Coulson’s book: A Universal History of UsNEXT EPISODE#2 An Unusual Ape (Tuesday 2nd of April)In episode two, we follow the first steps on the human line, exploring how abandoning life in the trees paved the way for many of our human oddities.Key questions: Why was upright posture so important? What did it do to parents and children? When did the brains of our ancestors start to show human oddities?Your guide: Dean Falk, a leading expert on brain evolution at the University of Florida. She recently published a book titled A Botanic Age, looking at human evolution before the Stone Age.Stay tuned. And subscribe to On Humans.KEYWORDSEvolution | Human evolution | Human origins | Origin of life | Emergence of life | Abiogenesis | Natural history | History of life | Meteors | Organic chemistry | Vertebrate evolution | Tetrapods | Dinosaurs | Pleistocene | Predators | Early humans | Austrolopithecins | Lucy | Homo erectus | Homo ergaster | Homo sapiens | Megafauna extinction | Humanity | Carl Sagan | Ediacaran Garden | Cambrian Explosion | Mesozoic | Jurassic | Triassic | Cretaceous | The Great Oxigenation Event | Sauropsids | Synapsids |
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1:04:14
Trailer | Origins of Humankind
Where do we come from? How did we get here? What kind of creature are we?The science of human origins has made great progress in answering these timeless questions. From carbon isotopes to ancient DNA extraction, we now have unprecedented tools to explore our past. But with all this detail, it’s easy to miss the forest from the trees.To fill this gap, On Humans has partnered with CARTA — a UC San Diego-based research unit on human origins. Together, we have designed a five-episode journey to dig deep into the new science of the origins of humankind. Together, these episodes explore the emerging science of how we became the puzzling and wonderful creatures we are today. The series begins tomorrow. Subscribe now free episode and written summaries at:Onhumans.Substack.com/OriginsSERIES OVERVIEW#1 The Big PictureThe series begins with a sweeping take on the history of life on Earth, from the origin of life to the rise of humans.Key questions: What is life? Who were our ancestors during the dinosaurs? What led to the rise of primates? And what kind of a primate are we?Your guide: Tim Coulson is the Head of the Department of Biology at the University of Oxford. He recently released a breathtaking overview of the history of life and the universe titled A Universal History of Us.When: March 25th#2 An Unusual ApeIn episode two, we follow the first steps on the human line, exploring how abandoning life in the trees paved the way for many of our human oddities.Key questions: Why was upright posture so important? What did it do to parents and children? When did the brains of our ancestors start to show human oddities?Your guide: Dean Falk, a leading expert on brain evolution at the University of Florida. She recently published a book titled A Botanic Age, looking at human evolution behind the Stone Age.When: April 2nd#3 What Is a Human?The stage has been set. The third episode tackles human evolution head-on, focusing on the new scientific discoveries about the genus Homo.Key questions: What is a human? Why did we evolve? And how do modern humans differ from Neanderthals or other extinct humans?Your guide: Chris Stringer is an iconic figure in the field, best known for his groundbreaking work towards the widely accepted Out of Africa -theory of human evolution. His career at London’s Natural History Museum stretches across five decades.When: April 9th#4-5: The Story of Sapiens (In Two Parts)The series finishes with two episodes on the story of Homo sapiens, using the magic of ancient DNA to tell a genuinely global history of our species.Key question: How did migrations shape the human story? Why are we the only humans left? And how did humans spread worldwide, first as hunters and gatherers, then as farmers and shepherds?Your guide: In 2010, Johannes Krause became the first person to discover a new species of humans by DNA alone. Co-author of Hubris, and A Short History of Humanity, he is the Director of the Max Planck Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology.When: March 16th & 23rdSUBSCRIBE Onhumans.Substack.com/Origins
Where do we come from? What brings us together? Why do we love? Why do we destroy?
On Humans features conversations with leading scholars about human nature, human condition, and the human journey. From the origins of war to the psychology of love, each topic brings fresh insights into perennial questions about our self-understanding.
Support: Patreon.com/OnHumans
Articles: OnHumans.Substack.com
Focus areas: Anthropology, Psychology, Archaeology, Philosophy, Big History
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