Why did we evolve?

Research in the Hominin Origins Lab is concerned with understanding hominin evolutionary processes. We answer big-picture questions across both evolutionary and ecological scales by developing and applying quantitative and comparative models.

We principally study hominin evolution across macroevolutionary timescales, applying quantitative evolutionary modelling to ask why, when, and where hominin species first evolve and go extinct. Our current research is focused on interspecific competition as a driver of macroevolution. However, macroevolutionary processes…

…are ultimately the outcome of recurrent processes at ecological scales.

We therefore study the exact same processes in the Nimba Mountains of Guinea, as part of the Nimba Chimpanzee Project, and develop new quantitative methods to integrate results across these two scales.