Whether you are a convinced creationist or an enthusiastic evolutionist, head to the Kenton Theatre to hear Professor Chris Stringer deliver a Kenton Lecture on The Origin of our Species.
An anthropology graduate with a PhD in Anatomical Sciences from Bristol University, Prof Stringer will be talking about the difference between Homo sapiens and Neanderthals and mesmerising the audience with the story of the ascent of man out of Africa.
An internationally respected anthropologist, he is a leading proponent of the recently developed single-origin hypothesis of man’s Out of Africa origins. He has worked at The Natural History Museum London since 1973 and has more than 200 scientific papers and memorable books to his credit.
Along the way he has been elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society. He is now a Research Leader in Human Origins and is currently leading the Ancient Human Occupation of Britain project – our very own Homo Britannicus.
His early research was on the relationship of Neanderthals and early modern humans in Europe, but through his work on the Out of Africa theory of modern human origins, he is attempting to reconstruct the evolution of modern humans globally.
Chris said: “As one of the architects of the Out of Africa theory, I have regarded the Neanderthals as representing a separate lineage and most likely a separate species from Homo sapiens. Although I have never ruled out interbreeding, I have considered this to have been small and insignificant in the bigger picture of our evolution. Now the Neanderthal genome strongly suggests these genes were not lost and that many of us outside of Africa have some Neanderthal inheritance.”
If that has you scurrying to measure your skull and check your birth certificate, hurry along to the Kenton Theatre for confirmation your genomes are unblemished and you remain a fully paid up Homo sapien. For more information or tickets, call 01491 575698 or visit www.kentontheatre.co.uk
