Top Human Origins Discoveries of 2021
Origin Stories
Meredith Johnson
4.8 • 554 Ratings
🗓️ 21 December 2021
⏱️ 31 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
2021 was a big year in science! Fossil discoveries introduced new relatives to our family tree, new findings added fascinating twists to the human story, and breakthroughs in research methods opened new worlds to explore. In this episode, five scientists discuss their favorite human origins discoveries of 2021.
Click here for a transcript of this episode.
Our guests:
Scott A. Williams, New York University
Jessica Thompson, Yale University
Giulia Gallo, University of California at Davis
Fernando Villanea, University of Colorado at Boulder
Erin Kane, Boston University
Read more about their top discoveries:
Dragon Man
Late Middle Pleistocene Harbin cranium represents a new Homo species
Stunning 'Dragon Man' skull may be an elusive Denisovan—or a new species of human
'Dragon man' claimed as new species of ancient human but doubts remain
SedaDNA
Unearthing Neanderthal population history using nuclear and mitochondrial DNA from cave sediments
Bacho Kiro
Initial Upper Palaeolithic humans in Europe had recent Neanderthal ancestry
Early Homo sapiens groups in Europe faced subarctic climates
Like Neanderthals, Early Humans Endured a Frigid Europe
White Sands footprints
Evidence of humans in North America during the Last Glacial Maximum
Ancient Footprints Push Back Date of Human Arrival in the Americas
National Park Services White Sands Website
Camera trap research on Dryas monkeys
Picture Perfect: Camera Traps Find Endangered Dryas Monkeys
The Leakey Foundation
Origin Stories is a project of The Leakey Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding human origins research and outreach.
This month, thanks to Jorge and Ann Leis and the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation, all donations will be quadruple-matched. Click here to make a donation!
Credits
This episode was hosted and produced by Meredith Johnson and Ray Pang. Our editor is Audrey Quinn.
Music by Henry Nagle and Lee Roservere. Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions.
Please send us your questions!
Have a question about human evolution? Something you've always wondered about? We will find a scientist to answer it on a special episode of Origin Stories!
There are three ways to submit your question:
Leave a voicemail at +1(707)788-8582
Visit speakpipe.com/originstories and leave a message
Record a voice memo on your phone and email it to us at originstories@leakeyfoundation.org
Lunch Break Science
Lunch Break Science is The Leakey Foundation's web series featuring short talks and interviews with Leakey Foundation grantees. Episodes stream live on the first and third Thursdays of every month. Sign up for event reminders and watch past episodes at leakeyfoundation.org/live
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is Origin Stories, the Leaky Foundation podcast. |
| 0:08.0 | I'm Meredith Johnson. |
| 0:10.2 | Today on the show, we're celebrating the end of 2021 with a look back at some of the most thrilling discoveries from this year. |
| 0:18.7 | Human evolution research moves fast. |
| 0:23.3 | There's always something new that adds a plot twist to the human story or introduces a new relative to our family tree. So for today's |
| 0:29.8 | episode, we thought it would be fun to learn what scientists think are the top human evolution |
| 0:34.8 | discoveries of 2021. And on today's episode, you get to meet our producer, Ray Pang. |
| 0:41.3 | Hey, Ray. |
| 0:42.3 | Hi, Meredith. |
| 0:43.3 | Ray and I interviewed five Leaky Foundation grantees who shared their favorite discoveries of the year. |
| 0:49.3 | Yeah, it really was so much fun to nerd out with them and learn about the work that inspired and excited them this year. |
| 0:56.8 | So today, we're bringing you five short stories from this year in science. |
| 1:01.2 | Stories that go beyond what you hear in the news. |
| 1:04.3 | We hope these stories inspire you just as much as they inspire us. |
| 1:08.5 | The first story is one you actually probably did hear about in the news this summer, |
| 1:13.6 | because it's such a cool find with an amazing backstory |
| 1:16.9 | and some mystery about what it actually might be. |
| 1:21.3 | It's referred to sometimes as the harbon cranium, |
| 1:24.8 | but that's not what most people call it. |
| 1:29.4 | It's a huge skull. That is, like a name Dragon Man and given a new species name, |
| 1:35.5 | Homo Longhi. And I think that cranium is really interesting. |
| 1:39.1 | That's Scott Williams. He's an associate professor of biological anthropology at NYU. |
... |
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