Where do we come from? How did our species evolve? What can fossils tell us about the behavior of ancient humans and our relationships with other species? Join us for talks from experts on human origins and evolution to learn about what we can learn from fossils about early humans, their behavior, and how evolution shaped our species.
Doors open at 7:00 PM
Talks begin at 7:30 PM
Check out our speakers below:
Frances Forrest, PhD
Assistant Professor, Fairfield University
Talk Title: Digging Up Dinner: How Our Ancestors’s Eating Habits Shaped Human Evolution (and Our Love for Bacon)
Frances Forrest is a zooarchaeologist studying animal bones from early human archeological sites in Africa. She uses fauna to reconstruct ancient environments and learn about human dietary behavior during the Early Stone Age. In her talk, she will discuss her work in Kenya looking at the human fossil record and what it can tell us about evolution and human diets.
Shara Bailey, PhD
Professor of Anthopology, Center for the Study of Human Origins, New York University
Talk Title: Teeth Tell Tales
Shara Bailey is a biological anthropologist and Professor at New York University. She uses teeth to answer questions about human evolution: from the origin of modern humans and our relationship to Neanderthals to the question of who made the earliest Oldowan tools in East Africa 2.8 million years ago. She is currently working on describing and diagnosing 800,000-year-old hominin fossils that could represent the common ancestor of our species and Neanderthals. Her research has been featured on National Public Radio, The History Channel, National Geographic and PBS/Nova. Although teeth comprise a majority of the fossil record, most people do not appreciate their importance. Dr. Bailey will describe how the mountains and valleys on the surfaces of our teeth tell stories about our recent and distant past. She will discuss how teeth have been used to diagnose who made the earliest modern tool kits in Europe; identify the makers of some of the earliest stone tools in East Africa, and confirm hybridizing between ancient humans and our species.