Day 2: We’re only human
by Chris Smith
Anthropology studies humans, their cultures, and their societies both past and present. An anthropologist is like being a time-traveling, globe-trotting detective. Unraveling the mysteries of how we now have larger brains and move with two feet and use both of those on the latest TikTok trend!
Evolutionary anthropology researches the origins and development of humans from our earliest primate ancestors to modern-day Homo sapiens. By analyzing fossils, genetics, and comparative anatomy, evolutionary anthropologists help to answer the question of how humans became humans. They study how the environment, genetics, and adaptations shaped human evolution.
Lee Berger and the cranium of Malapa Hominid 1, type specimen of Australopithecus sediba; a hominin species that lived nearly two million years ago in present-day South Africa
By Profberger - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10094721
Anthropology also provides discoveries in the connections defining human societies and relationships. Anthropologists immerse themselves in diverse cultures to understand kinship and social organization. How does the society function regarding a hierarchy of political or economic organization, gender roles, and religion? By having a better understanding of human diversity, anthropology helps to provide an appreciation among us humans from various backgrounds and cultures.