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 will discuss her approach to identifying key evolutionary adaptations of this last common ancestor using 3D technology, analyses of known fossils, and 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.

Ashley S. Hammond, Assistant Professor, Richard Gilder Graduate School; Biological Anthropology Curator, American Museum of Natural History

Evolution Matters Lecture Series. Series supported by a generous gift from Drs. Herman and Joan Suit

Presented by the Harvard Museum of Natural History and the Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology.

Advanced registration required. Click here to register for this free virtual event. Registration closes 30 minutes before start time.