Explore human evolution one story at a time. This award-winning show blends storytelling with science that will change your understanding of who we are.
Are humans the only animals that practice medicine? In this episode, two scientists share surprising observations of orangutans and chimpanzees treating wounds–their own and others'–with plants and insects. These discoveries challenge ideas about uniquely human behaviors and offer insights into animal intelligence, empathy, and the evolutionary roots of medicine. Origin Stories is a project of The Leakey Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding human origins research and outreach. Sign up for our monthly newsletter to learn more about our work! Videos Rakus and his wound Rakus doing a long call after being wounded Chimp applying insect to wound Caroline Schuppli on Lunch Break Science Links to learn more SUAQ Orangutan Program Ozouga Chimpanzees (where Alessandra studies chimpanzee behavior) Research papers Active self-treatment of a facial wound with a biologically active plant by a male Sumatran orangutan (open access) Application of insects to wounds of self and others by chimpanzees in the wild (pdf) Credits Origin Stories is a listener-supported show. Additional support comes from Jeanne Newman, , Camilla and George Smith, the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation, and the Joan and Arnold Travis Education Fund. Origin Stories is produced by Ray Pang. Our editor is Audrey Quinn. Theme music by Henry Nagle. Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions and Lee Roservere.
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23:51
The First Story
Over 50,000 years ago on what is now the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, someone climbed a towering rock formation and painted a mysterious image on a cave ceiling. The painting shows three half-human, half-animal figures and a large wild pig. The image, dated to 51,200 years old, is now the oldest known visual story in the world. In this episode, archaeologist Adam Brumm shares the story of this incredible discovery. Help make more Origin Stories. We're $3,000 short of our quadruple-match fundraising goal and our deadline is August 31! Please donate today and your gift will be quadruple-matched! Click here to 4x your donation! Origin Stories is a project of The Leakey Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding human origins research and outreach. Links to learn more: Google Arts and Culture virtual tour of the cave art site Narrative cave art in Indonesia by 51,200 years ago Nature, July 2024 Adam Brumm's website Blog post by Adhi Oktaviana Episode produced by Meredith Johnson and Ray Pang Sound design by Ray Pang Edited by Audrey Quinn Theme music by Henry Nagle. Ending credit music by Lee Roservere. Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions. Hungry for more science? Lunch Break Science is The Leakey Foundation's web series featuring short talks and interviews with Leakey Foundation grantees. Episodes stream on the third Thursday of every month. Click here to watch!
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29:23
Understanding Neanderthals
Early prehistorians had little more than stones and bones to work with as they tried to piece together the story of the Neanderthals, but today’s researchers work in ways that early prehistorians could never have imagined. Archaeologist and author Rebecca Wragg Sykes' new book Kindred: Neanderthal Life, Love, Art, and Death synthesizes more than a century of research on Neanderthals – from the first Neanderthal fossil discovered, to the most up to date and cutting edge research - revealing a vivid portrait of one of our most intriguing and misunderstood relatives. Links Kindred: Neanderthal Life, Love, Death, and Art by Rebecca Wragg Sykes Rebecca Wragg Sykes' website Kindred bibliography with 61 pages of Neanderthal research papers Leakey Foundation grantee Carolina Mallol's Neanderthal Fire Project The Leakey Foundation Origin Stories is a project of The Leakey Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding human origins research and outreach. Support The Leakey Foundation Support this show and the science we talk about. leakeyfoundation.org/donate
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43:09
The Story of Human Hair
Why do humans have most of our hair on our heads, not our bodies? Why do we have so many varieties of hair color, thickness, and curliness? Dr. Tina Lasisi is a biological anthropologist whose work explores these evolutionary mysteries. In this episode, she shares her research into why humans have scalp hair as well as her insights on why curly hair is uniquely human. Links to learn more: Dr. Tina Lasisi's website Why Am I Like This? - PBS Terra series Dr. Lasisi's AMNH/Leakey Foundation SciCafe lecture Why Care About Hair? Leakey Foundation event Quantifying variation in human scalp hair - research paper Origin Stories is a project of The Leakey Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to human origins research and education. Donate to support the show. Your gift will be quadruple-matched! Click here to give! This episode was produced by Ray Pang. Our editor is Audrey Quinn. Theme music by Henry Nagle, additional music by Blue Dot Sessions and Lee Roservere.
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35:27
The Musical Ape
Music is universal in all human cultures, but why? What gives us the ability to hear sound as music? Are we the only musical species–or was Darwin right when he said every animal with a backbone should be able to perceive, if not enjoy music? Professor Henkjan Honing is on a mission to find out. Learn more Henkjan Honing's website Music Cognition Group Blog The Evolving Animal Orchestra - Henkjan Honing What makes us musical animals - Henkjan Honing lecture Henkjan Honing TedX Amsterdam Snowball dancing to the Backstreet Boys Ronan the sea lion Songs to make the forest happy It turns out we were born to groove - beat perception study Support the show All monthly or one-time donations will be quadruple-matched! Click here to turn $10 into $40 or $25 into $100! Credits This episode was written and produced by Ray Pang and Meredith Johnson. Sound design, mixing, and scoring by Ray Pang. Our editor is Audrey Quinn. Theme music by Henry Nagle, additional music by Blue Dot Sessions and Lee Roservere. This episode uses many sounds from Freesound.org, including: Neon Dreams: A Retro-Futuristic Synthwave Track - Instrument 02 by Robbnix - License: Attribution 4.0 Music Box, Happy Birthday.wav - by InspectorJ - License: Attribution 4.0
Explore human evolution one story at a time. This award-winning show blends storytelling with science that will change your understanding of who we are.
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