Previously assumed evolutionary trends (e.g., increasing brain size with time, coupled with increasing cultural complexity and expanding ecological range) have come under scrutiny, as new discoveries defy expectations. Indeed, the emerging pattern is a far cry from traditional, linear or even more recently-promoted ‘bushy’ models of human evolution. The current state of human origins research therefore demands a new conceptual framework that incorporates methodological developments and emphasizes the strategic recovery of new evidence, integrating biological, cultural and environmental perspectives and moving away from the piecemeal study of the fossil and archaeological records which is currently prevalent.

The proposed HUMAN ORIGINS Cluster of Excellence (CoE) will harness the University of Tübingen’s strengths in human origins research to establish such a framework. Rather than investigating particular hominins or time periods, it will focus on the comprehensive investigation of three major interconnected themes across time and space: systematics and evolutionary relationships; the evolution of human cognition; and the evolution of the human ecological niche. These will be examined diachronically and at different scales across three Research Areas, spanning the last 5 million years of human evolution. In parallel, the CoE will work to develop guidelines for ethical research through the planned Ethics Laboratory.

In this way, HUMAN ORIGINS aims to address fundamental questions of both the scientific community and society: Where do we come from and how did we get here? What conditions led to the evolution of quintessential human biological and cultural adaptations? How did the emergence of hominin biological features influence the development of culture and technology? In turn, how did cultural and technological developments affect our biology? Finally, how did it come to pass that Homo sapiens, our own species, is the only surviving hominin today? This much-needed research framework will constitute a major contribution towards a paradigm shift in the field of human origins. The envisioned approach will help address current biases and assumptions, integrating old and new discoveries in a coherent narrative of human evolution.

The HUMAN ORIGINS CoE will be unprecedented in its scope and ambition both in Germany and internationally, thus propelling the University of Tübingen to a position of global leadership in human evolutionary studies.

Involved Institutions:

• Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (MPI EVA)
• Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum (SGN)