The meaning of ancient burials | John Hawks | TEDxUWMadison

Burial of the dead is one of the clearest archaeological signs of the depth of human emotional and social ties. Investigation of some of the oldest burial evidence hints at the ways these ties connect us with other species much older than our own. John Hawks is a world expert on human evolution and genetics. He is Chair of the Department of Anthropology and Vilas-Borghesi Distinguished Achievement Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He also serves as a visiting professor at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa. Hawks’ research covers seven million years of human origins. His work in human genetics helped uncover the very rapid recent pace of genetic evolution with the rise of agriculture. He was one of the first to show how genes from ancient groups like the Neanderthals could make a difference in today’s people. For the last decade, he has worked with scientists and explorers in South Africa to bring to light new hominin fossils. Among the best known have come from the Rising Star cave system, where the team discovered the new species, Homo naledi in 2013. Hawks has done fieldwork in Africa, Asia and Europe, combining skeletal evidence from fossils with new information from genetics to uncover how humans evolved. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx