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The Last Common Ancestor

Join the Harvard Museum of Natural History and the Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology for The Last Common Ancestor on Thursday, March 4. The last common ancestor of chimpanzees and modern humans is believed to have evolved in Africa six to eight million years ago. Finding fossil apes and hominins—extinct members of the human lineage—from this period has been challenging.

Ashley Hammond, an Assistant Professor at the Richard Gilder Graduate School as well as the Biological Anthropology Curator of the American Museum of Natural History, will discuss her approach to identifying key evolutionary adaptations of this last common ancestor using 3D technology, analyses of known fossils along with field research at six-million-year-old sites in Kenya. Hammond’s research aims to clarify the origins of bipedality, a key adaptation in human evolution.

Registration is required and will close 30 minutes before the start time. This free virtual event is part of the Evolution Matter Lecture Series which is supported by a gift from Drs. Herman and Joan Suit.

Location

26 Oxford St, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA

Harvard Square

Website

https://reservations.hmsc.harvard.edu/Info.aspx?EventID=38

Date & Time

  • Thu Mar 4, 2021-Fri Mar 5, 2021

    • 11:00pm - 12:00am

Type

  • Lectures / Talks
  • Museums / Attractions