Institute for Human Origins
Our species, Homo sapiens, is an oddity among the life forms on this planet. Our societies are much larger and more complex than that of any other species, and our tools and artifacts are vastly more sophisticated than those made by any other creature.
A research center of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Institute for Human Origins pursues an integrative strategy for research and discovery central to its more than 30-year-old founding mission, bridging social, earth and life science approaches to the most important questions concerning the course, causes and timing of events in the human career over deep time.
The institute is also home to Ask an Anthropologist, an online resource for K-12 students, teachers and parents that offers interative insight into the science of anthropology.