Human Bridges
Recent scientific findings and research in the study of human origins and our biology, paleoanthropology, and primate research have reached a key threshold: we are increasingly able to trace the outlines and fill in the blanks of our evolutionary story that began 7 million years ago to the present, and understand the social and cultural processes that produced the world we live in now.
We are at an early moment in the education process—the recent science and research have not percolated into popular consciousness, or found application in centers of social influence. Our goal is to offer an accessible synthesis of these findings, and advance this material as a staple of education at all stages of life.
For an introduction to this project, read Human Bridges editor Jan Ritch-Frel’s
conversations with Gary Feinman on the promise of archaeology to provide historical context for humanity and how we live today, and
Michael Hudson on how the central social institutions we live by are borne out of the archaic past, and
Robert Sapolsky on the social advantages of studying the biology of human behavior.
Map Search: Human Bridges Area
Irina Matuzava, Human Bridges Project
This guide explores the evolutionary origins of aesthetics in humans, otherwise known as bioaesthetics. Bioaesthetics is an interdisciplinary field that bridges biology, psychology, philosophy, and art to investigate aesthetic perception and how we perceive certain forms. Emerging research underlines the fact that our sense of beauty isn't purely cultural and has biological underpinnings.
April M. Short, Human Bridges Project
With new anthropological, biological and scientific findings, we are increasingly able to trace the outlines and fill in the blanks of our human evolutionary story. This can help us better understand the social and cultural processes that produced the world we live in now. This guide to Human Bridges explores the work of experts from the fields of human biology, human origins, and anthropology who want to contribute their individual expertise to a wider accessible body of information, and enlist in the cause to make this material a staple of education at all stages of life.
Katherine Dolan, Human Bridges Project
Our financial system originated in Mesopotamia, where it was designed to ensure economic stability for a community. Over time it has transformed into something much more predatory.
