Associate Professor, Fellow in Palaeonathropology, Professor Susana Carvalho, appeared as one of the special guests on the BBC Radio 4 show ‘Start the Week’, in an episode on ‘Human ingenuity and shared inheritance’.
In the episode, Susana Carvalho, Simon Baron-Cohen and Rebecca Wragg Sykes discussed whether ingenuity is unique to Homo sapiens. Presenter, Amol Rajan, explored different ways of thinking, and how far humans can be seen as unique for their ability to invent.
Susana started her career as an archaeologist with a fascination for human evolution, and her interest in uncovering knowledge of our ancestors led her to become one of the main founders of the field of Primate Archaeology. Susana studies stone-tool use by wild chimpanzees in West Africa, and alongside another project in the Rift Valley, she applies knowledge gained from non-human primates to understanding human origins and behaviour. In “The Pattern Seekers”, Simon Baron-Cohen shows how humans have evolved remarkable ingenuity in every area of their lives – from the arts to the sciences – by using complex systemizing mechanisms. Archaeologist Rebecca Wragg Sykes is also seeking to challenge people’s perceptions, arguing that humans are not necessarily uniquely special and that we share many traits and DNA with our Neanderthal relatives.
The episode, which was broadcast on Monday 30th November 2020, is available to listen to here.
