Lucy and ASU Institute of Human Origins

04/30/2026

What can ancient Peru teach us about survival, movement and disease? Learn about Maxine McCarthy and her research into the history of human populations in Peru!

04/29/2026

Join us in celebrating the research scientists at the Institute of Human Origins in evolutionary 🧬Read more at the link in bio!

04/29/2026

Join us in celebrating the research scientists at the Institute of Human Origins in human cultural 🌿
Read more at the link in bio!

04/29/2026

Join us in celebrating the research scientists at the Institute of Human Origins in nonhuman behavior 🦧
Read more at the link in bio!

04/29/2026

Join us in celebrating the research scientists at the Institute of Human Origins in 🦴

04/28/2026

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A new study recently published in Nature resulted in the largest genomic dataset of Indigenous Americans to date, providing a deeper understanding of human diversity, evolution and health.

An international research team led by the Institute of Evolutionary Biology analyzed genomes from Indigenous populations spanning North America to Patagonia. The study identified more than 1 million genetic variants not previously documented in other populations, highlighting the unique diversity of Indigenous genomes. Carlos Eduardo G. Amorim, study co-author and research scientist at the Institute of Human Orgins, says this diversity is important to highlight and goes beyond the DNA.

“It is important to emphasize that Indigenous populations are not a single, homogeneous group. There is substantial cultural and biological diversity across these communities,” said Amorim, who is also core faculty in ASU’s Center for Evolution and Medicine and assistant professor at the School for Human Evolution and Social Change. “While some of our findings are discussed at a continental scale, we recognize that these populations differ in many aspects of their history, culture and biology, and should not be treated as a single unit.”

Nearly a decade of research and collaboration went into the study, involving researchers from across the Global South and Latin America, as well as ongoing partnerships with Indigenous communities, which were an integral and important part of the study.

Amorim says the study lays a foundation for future research by allowing scientists to refine models of population history in the Americas and improve biomedical research.

Learn more at the link in our bio.

04/02/2026

04/01/2026

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

03/25/2026

🤝 Why do we cooperate, even when it costs us?

A groundbreaking idea from 1981 helped answer one of evolution’s biggest puzzles: how cooperation can survive in a world driven by self-interest.

Using game theory and the famous prisoner’s dilemma, scientists showed that cooperation can actually win, especially when interactions repeat over time. One simple strategy stood out: “tit-for-tat”— start by cooperating, then mirror the other person’s behavior.

Fast forward 45 years, and this idea has shaped how we understand everything from human relationships to animal behavior and even economics.

But here’s the twist: real life doesn’t always match the theory. Cooperation isn’t as common as predicted and scientists are still figuring out why.

🧠 What drives us to trust, help and work together?

🌍 And why does cooperation sometimes break down?

The science of cooperation is still evolving and it might say more about human nature than we think.

https://rdcu.be/e9usE

03/18/2026

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/10/travel/canceled-flights-middle-east-iran-war.html?smid=url-share

"Ethiopia had not been on Dr. Miller’s travel wish list before this trip.

But he had 15 hours to fill in Addis Ababa after his flight landed at 6:40 a.m. on Friday, and he didn’t feel like spending them at the airport. Though he was running on empty, he seized the chance to visit the National Museum of Ethiopia, home to the skeleton of Lucy, a 3.2-million-year-old hominin that was discovered in the country in 1974. As a self-described die-hard disciple of Charles Darwin, Dr. Miller joked by text message that there was no way he’d miss the chance to see “my one true love.”

When conflict broke out in the Middle East, thousands of travelers were stranded. We followed a New Orleans doctor on his epic journey to get home.

03/13/2026

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Why do chimpanzees in some places travel in large groups while others split into smaller parties? Researchers have long thought it comes down to food availibity. But Leakey Foundation grantee Maggie Hoffman thinks the landscape itself may be part of the story. ⁠
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Hills cost energy to climb. Bigger groups need to travel farther to get enough food to meet their collective needs. If terrain makes that travel more costly, it may limit who chimps choose to move with, and how often. Terrain, in other words, may be quietly shaping social life.⁠
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That matters for understanding chimpanzees. It also matters for understanding us. Knowing how landscapes shape social life in our closest living relatives gives us new ways to think about the pressures that shaped early human social behavior, habitat choice, and possibly the evolution of bipedalism itself.⁠
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Read more about Maggie’s research on our blog. Link in bio or first comment! Also, check out her instagram for more of her amazing wildlife photography.

Thank you to the Leakey Foundation for their continued support of IHO affiliated students and researchers!