Whats the greatest misconception about our human ancestors that still seems prevalent?
That bipedality was a big leap forward. I don’t think bipedality was such a significant leap. I think it’s something that you would expect things to have evolved to be, if you were to stand upright and move up. Q: How has your perspective of Homo sapiens changed through the years? A: Homo sapiens evolved out of Homo erectus but probably in Africa – not in Eurasia or Europe. It was maybe not the first being to have speech. Homo erectus may have had qualities that Homo sapiens have today and maybe it wasn’t such a marked change. It’s very debatable, but I think if a hominid were to move that great a distance out of Africa, it must have been very intelligent and had quite complex communication. Q: How does an understanding of our ancestors most impact the world today? A: We’re all innately interested in where we actually came from, and in a world today where there are so many issues and problems, why is it that we still want to know about our past? It really does still have a place in our
