CARTA - Anthropogeny (Audio) - Podcast

CARTA: Lucy - Welcome and Opening Remarks

Lucy is one of the most famous fossils of all time. The discovery of this species had a major impact on the science of human origins and evolution. Why? What was that impact? The symposium speakers—e…

00:03:30 | Sat 10 Aug 2024

CARTA: What Was Lucy’s Impact on our Understanding of Bipedality Diet and Encephalization? with Carol Ward

Paleoanthropology is booming with discoveries, reshaping our understanding of human evolution. Lucy's 1974 find stands as a milestone, providing crucial insights into early hominins. Her species, Aus…

00:19:53 | Thu 01 Aug 2024

CARTA: The Savanna Hypothesis: Tracing an Enigmatic Idea Through Time with Kaye Reed

The savanna hypothesis suggests that early human ancestors evolved in open grasslands. Raymond Dart's 1925 discovery of Australopithecus africanus at Taung supported this idea. Lucy's 1974 discovery …

00:15:39 | Fri 26 Jul 2024

CARTA: What Was Lucy’s Impact on Our Understanding of Other Australopith Relatives? with Bernard Wood

In 1974, understanding early human evolution was limited. Lucy's discovery provided insights into one early hominin, while her species, Australopithecus afarensis, revealed broader patterns. The abun…

00:20:11 | Mon 22 Jul 2024

CARTA: Lucy's Children and Human Origins with Zeray Alemseged

Owing to its morphological and temporal placement, the Lucy species, Australopithecus afarensis, plays a pivotal role in our understanding of the human evolutionary career. Though many more fossil re…

00:21:50 | Thu 18 Jul 2024

CARTA: The Discovery and Initial Interpretation of ‘Lucy’ as a Tipping-Point in Paleoanthropology with Ian Tattersall

The discovery of Lucy, a fossil from the 1970s, changed paleoanthropology. Before Lucy, scientists saw human ancestors as rough guides, not distinct species. This mindset dominated the interpretation…

00:17:15 | Sat 13 Jul 2024

CARTA: Before Lucy: The State of Knowledge on Human Origins with Donald Johanson

Since entering into the field of paleoanthropology in 1970, Donald Johanson has found a more focused and rigorous implementation of an expanded collaborative, multinational, transdisciplinary strateg…

00:12:24 | Tue 02 Jul 2024

CARTA: Body Modification - Questions Answers and Closing Remarks

Permanent body modification is a unique and variable practice among humans, not observed in other mammals. Despite being costly and risky, it is regularly performed. Scientific understanding of this …

01:23:02 | Mon 01 Apr 2024

CARTA: Lip Plates in Ethiopia with Shauna LaTosky

In the literature on lip plates in Southern Ethiopia there has been a strong emphasis on their socio-cultural importance and little information about their biocultural significance. Shauna LaTosky pr…

00:23:47 | Fri 22 Mar 2024

CARTA: The Recent History of Piercing Practices in Europe and North America with Paul King

Across continents, material evidence of body piercing jewelry abounds in the archeological record. However, the varying procedures and processes of piercing, healing, and stretching these wounds for …

00:17:05 | Fri 15 Mar 2024

CARTA: Permanent Body Modification in Mesoamerica and Central America with Rosemary Joyce

Archaeological research in Mexico and Central America reveals insights into cultural practices, focusing on the history of body modification. Examining long-term patterns helps unravel motivations fo…

00:18:51 | Fri 08 Mar 2024

CARTA: Female and Male Genital Modification with Ellen Gruenbaum

This talk offers an overview of the many forms of permanent genital modifications embedded in human cultures, where they occur, the reasons why, the archaeological investigations of origins, and futu…

00:18:38 | Fri 01 Mar 2024

CARTA: Dental Ablation and Facial Piercing in Late Pleistocene Southwestern Asia and Africa with John Willman

Bioarchaeological studies of Pleistocene populations, examining practices like tooth ablation, facial piercing, and cranial modification, contribute to our understanding of social identities and popu…

00:19:07 | Wed 28 Feb 2024

CARTA: Permanent Body Modification: Archaeological and Early Historical Evidence with Brea McCauley

Today, permanent body modification (PBM) is very popular. Studies suggest that well over a billion living people have experienced one or more types of PBM. But what is the history of PBM? When did th…

00:19:08 | Fri 23 Feb 2024

CARTA: A Multistep Evolutionary Scenario for the Culturalization of the Human Body with Francesco d'Errico

Our ability to adapt our bodies to culture has ancient origins. We suggest a timeline for how the culturalization of the human body evolved, starting around 500-300 thousand years ago. This timeline …

00:15:56 | Mon 19 Feb 2024

CARTA: The Recent History of Tattooing in Europe and North America with Matt Lodder

This talk presents a new account of the development of professional tattooing in Britain and America since the late 19th century. Research based exclusively in primary sources reveals that the story …

00:20:27 | Sat 17 Feb 2024

CARTA: Body Modification - Welcome and Opening Remarks

Permanent body modification is a unique and variable practice among humans, not observed in other mammals. Despite being costly and risky, it is regularly performed. Scientific understanding of this …

00:10:56 | Sat 17 Feb 2024

CARTA: Footbinding: A Gene-Culture Co-evolutionary Approach to a One Thousand Year Tradition with Ryan Nichols

This talk explores the 1000-year practice of "footbinding" in ethnically Han Chinese families, involving modifying young girls' feet by wrapping the toes under the sole, often resulting in broken toe…

00:15:28 | Sun 11 Feb 2024

CARTA: CompAnth - Questions Answers and Closing Remarks

Comparative Anthropogeny (CompAnth) is the study of distinctly human traits and characteristics in the context of comparisons with our closest living relatives, the “great apes.” This symposium, the …

00:33:50 | Wed 10 Jan 2024

CARTA: Comparative Anthropogeny - Language: Uniqueness Out of the Ordinary with Eva Wittenberg

Human language is a strong contender for the title of most often named species-specific feature in the literature. But why is that? In this talk, Eva Wittenberg explores what we could mean by "human …

00:23:25 | Mon 01 Jan 2024

EachPod