The Evolution of Human Uniqueness

Humans are a unique species among the 5 million species on this planet.  More specifically we represent an extreme outlier species on many easily measured dimensions from our fraction of earths biomass and nutrient cycling, to levels of social complexity, to extra somatic phenotype, energy capture, and cumulative technological evolution.  How we got to be a spectacular anomaly among the life forms on this planet, despite being subject to all the same natural processes, and despite the power of convergent evolution, is one of the most intriguing questions in all of biology.  Professor Hill will discuss ongoing research (mainly empirical work with hunter-gatherer societies) into the combination of traits that may have allowed for human uniqueness, how and when they might have evolved, how they interact, and what pre-adaptations might explain why only humans exhibit such traits as large-scale cooperation between non-kin, and cumulative culture.

Speaker: Kim Hill is a Professor of Anthropology at Arizona State University.