17.02.2022

Direct Dating of Human Fossils and the ever changing story of Human Evolution

Colloquium by Prof. Dr. Rainer Grün

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Time: 17th February, 13:00

Speaker: Prof. Dr. Rainer Grün

Title: Direct Dating of Human Fossils and the ever changing story of Human Evolution

Abstract: The last 20 years have seen a rapid expansion of our knowledge on human evolution. Firstly, fossils of a surprisingly significant number of new species were found: Homo floresiensis, Homo naledi, Homo luzonensis, Homo longi.  In addition, as the result of ancient DNA analysis, the Denisovans were found.
The dating of Irhoud pushed back the age of the earliest Homo sapiens to around 300,000 years ago. Direct dating also demonstrated that anatomical associations, for example for Homo floresiensis or Homo naledi, may lead to erroneous age assessments. This presentation will give an overview of the results published in the last years, showing that the phylogenetic tree of humans has gained considerable complexity. It can be expected that new discoveries in geographical areas that have not yet seen systematic investigations will further contribute to the complex and exciting story of human evolution.

If you are interested in joining the Colloquium, please send a mail to monika.dollspam prevention@ifu.uni-tuebingen.de.