It’s almost time for our final event of #Humanists2021 Convention – an 'in conversation' lecture on the evolution and origins of human beings – featuring our Vice President @jimalkhalili as chair & President @thealiceroberts as keynote speaker. 
And we're go! 🎉Alice ‘sets the scene’ for what science tells us about human origins: ‘It’s quite extraordinary to think about what we know now, when we think back to the time of Darwin, when very little was known about human origins...’ #Humanists2021
‘He [Darwin] of course was absolutely convinced that human beings had evolved on the planet like every other life form, but the evidence for that happening was very thin on the ground, says @aliceroberts, and now we have an extraordinary amount of evidence.’ #Humanists2021
We have something like 20 named hominid species all based on various fossil finds, says Alice, but we’re also in the era of ‘archaeogenomics’ – whereby extracted genomes from bone samples give us data about entire populations (their movement & integration with one another.’
We’re examining the human species like we would any other, says @thealiceroberts: ‘Our story is nestled in the story of life on Earth.’ This is the theme of Alice’s talk. It starts, as Darwin guessed correctly, in Africa, where the majority of those hominid species were found.
Even though bringing genetics into archaeology and geology is relatively new, within the 13 years since @thealiceroberts’s series ‘The Incredible Human Journey’ (which covered the subject) aired on BBC 2 aired – things have come in ‘leaps and bounds’. #Humanists2021
‘What do we know now that we didn’t know then?’ asks @jimalkhalili. Alice: ‘Where we can see our species 1st appears & the antiquity of human beings.’ One Moroccan find is 300,000 years old! Pushing our origins even further back in time and outside Eastern Africa. #Humanists2021
Archaeogenomics allows us to analyse inherited DNA of our ancestors, says Alice, but that doesn’t mean we have one single common ancestor. You can take multiple parts of our genome and find multiple ancestors. We’re not talking about an ‘Adam and Eve’ scenario. #Humanists2021
We find ancient human remains across the globe. Thanks to genetics, an accurate date can be given to human fossils: skull from Borneo (42,000 yrs old), skull fragments from Laos (70,000 yrs old), teeth from China (80-120,000 yrs old), skeleton from Australia (40,000 yrs ago).
We eventually get ancient humans on the coast of the Arctic, connecting North East Asia to Northern America – allowing a migration to the Americas - the last place thought to be populated by ancient human beings. #Humanists2021
The big question: Did human beings interbreed with Neandertals? The big revelation: Yes! Genome technology reveals that some modern day human beings have more Neanderthal genomes than others. #Humanists2021 bbc.co.uk/news/science-e…
Another mind-blowing revelation: We also share DNA with other ‘archaic’ human beings – entire populations of people we’re yet to identify. The ’Denisovans’ is one example – first identified because of mitochondria DNA, but with very little fossil evidence.
Evidence of 'sophistication' is also piling up! Neanderthals created cave art. Incredible. ‘This changes our perception’, says Alice. We used to think of them as brutish... but they’re part of our genome – and even perhaps – taught early humans to paint. #Humanists2021
Even though the species is extinct, they’re literally part of all of us. It’s an incredible story. It forces us to accept these connections we have with people all over the world. We’re all part of the same story… it brings us together.’ #Humanists2021
The human origins story is connectedness, we are all connected by the DNA of our ancestors. This, says Alice, can create a very humanistic message, and help us focus on our common humanity. And it also provides us with a fascinating and scientific creation story.
For humanists, understanding the richness of our origins by using science only adds to the excitement, the mystery and the awe of living, says @jimalkhalili, quoting humanist physicist Richard Feynman. #Humanists2021
A key principle of humanism is changing one's own mind in the light on new scientific evidence, says Alice, as she ends on this quote by Carl Sagan from the #LittleBookofHumanism – on the importance of critical inquiry.
That's a wrap for our keynote lecture! Thank to you @jimalkhalili, @thealiceroberts, and to all our watching our #Humanists2021! Now, for some closing words from @andrewcopson.
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