Are humans the only animals that practice medicine? In this episode, two scientists share surprising observations of orangutans and chimpanzees treating wounds–their own and others'–with plants and insects. These discoveries challenge ideas about uniquely human behaviors and offer insights into animal intelligence, empathy, and the evolutionary roots of medicine.
Origin Stories is a project of The Leakey Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding human origins research and outreach. Sign up for our monthly newsletter to learn more about our work!
Videos
Rakus doing a long call after being wounded
Chimp applying insect to wound
Caroline Schuppli on Lunch Break Science
Links to learn more
Ozouga Chimpanzees (where Alessandra studies chimpanzee behavior)
Research papers
Application of insects to wounds of self and others by chimpanzees in the wild (pdf)
Credits
Origin Stories is a listener-supported show. Additional support comes from Jeanne Newman, , Camilla and George Smith, the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation, and the Joan and Arnold Travis Education Fund.
Origin Stories is produced by Ray Pang. Our editor is Audrey Quinn. Theme music by Henry Nagle. Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions and Lee Roservere.
Over 50,000 years ago on what is now the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, someone climbed a towering rock formation and painted a mysterious image on a cave ceiling. The painting shows three half-human, half-animal figures and a large wild pig. The image, dated to 51,200 years old, is now the oldest known visual story in the world. In this episode, archaeologist Adam Brumm shares the story of this incredible discovery.
Help make more Origin Stories. We're $3,000 short of our quadruple-match fundraising goal and our deadline is August 31! Please donate today and your gift will be quadruple-matched! Click here to 4x your donation!
Origin Stories is a project of The Leakey Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding human origins research and outreach.
Links to learn more:
Episode produced by Meredith Johnson and Ray Pang Sound design by Ray Pang Edited by Audrey Quinn
Theme music by Henry Nagle. Ending credit music by Lee Roservere. Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions.
Hungry for more science?
Lunch Break Science is The Leakey Foundation's web series featuring short talks and interviews with Leakey Foundation grantees. Episodes stream on the third Thursday of every month.
Early prehistorians had little more than stones and bones to work with as they tried to piece together the story of the Neanderthals, but today’s researchers work in ways that early prehistorians could never have imagined.
Archaeologist and author Rebecca Wragg Sykes' new book Kindred: Neanderthal Life, Love, Art, and Death synthesizes more than a century of research on Neanderthals – from the first Neanderthal fossil discovered, to the most up to date and cutting edge research - revealing a vivid portrait of one of our most intriguing and misunderstood relatives.
Links
The Leakey Foundation
Origin Stories is a project of The Leakey Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding human origins research and outreach.
Support The Leakey Foundation
Support this show and the science we talk about. leakeyfoundation.org/donate
Why do humans have most of our hair on our heads, not our bodies? Why do we have so many varieties of hair color, thickness, and curliness? Dr. Tina Lasisi is a biological anthropologist whose work explores these evolutionary mysteries. In this episode, she shares her research into why humans have scalp hair as well as her insights on why curly hair is uniquely human.
Links to learn more:
Origin Stories is a project of The Leakey Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to human origins research and education.
Donate to support the show. Your gift will be quadruple-matched! Click here to give!
This episode was produced by Ray Pang. Our editor is Audrey Quinn. Theme music by Henry Nagle, additional music by Blue Dot Sessions and Lee Roservere.
Music is universal in all human cultures, but why? What gives us the ability to hear sound as music? Are we the only musical species–or was Darwin right when he said every animal with a backbone should be able to perceive, if not enjoy music? Professor Henkjan Honing is on a mission to find out.
Learn more
Support the show
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Credits
This episode was written and produced by Ray Pang and Meredith Johnson. Sound design, mixing, and scoring by Ray Pang. Our editor is Audrey Quinn. Theme music by Henry Nagle, additional music by Blue Dot Sessions and Lee Roservere.
This episode uses many sounds from Freesound.org, including:
Neon Dreams: A Retro-Futuristic Synthwave Track - Instrument 02 by Robbnix - License: Attribution 4.0
Music Box, Happy Birthday.wav - by InspectorJ - License: Attribution 4.0
What is it like to be responsible for the safekeeping of the ancestors of everyone in the world? In this episode, we travel to the National Museum of Ethiopia to see our most famous fossil relative – Lucy – and meet Yared Assefa, the person who takes care of her and all of our Ethiopian fossil ancestors and relatives.
If you love fossils, you won't want to miss this episode!
Special thanks
Thanks to Yared Assefa, Dr. Berhane Asfaw, and Dr. Mulugeta Feseha, who hosted The Leakey Foundation at the National Museum of Ethiopia.
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Links to learn more
President Obama's speech to the African Union Lucy: A marvelous specimen Top ten human evolution discoveries in Ethiopia Rare 3.8 million-year-old fossil skull recasts origins of iconic Lucy Ethiopia is top choice for the cradle of Homo sapiens
The Leakey Foundation
Origin Stories is a project of The Leakey Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding human origins research and outreach.
Funding provided by the Foundation has made many of the fossil hominin discoveries in Ethiopia possible. In addition, Our Baldwin Fellowship program has been building scientific capacity in Ethiopia and other countries since 1978. We also have a new program called the Francis H. Brown African Scholarship Fund that provides up to $25,000 for East African students or early career researchers in botany and geology. Learn about all of our grant programs at leakeyfoundation.org/grants
Lunch Break Science
Lunch Break Science is The Leakey Foundation's online series featuring short talks and interviews with Leakey Foundation grantees. Feed your brain with Lunch Break Science every third Thursday at 11 am Pacific on Facebook, YouTube, and leakeyfoundation.org/live.
Credits
Host and Producer: Meredith Johnson Editor: Audrey Quinn Theme Music: Henry Nagle
Additional Music:
Lee Rosevere "Tech Toys" and music from Blue Dot Sessions.
Sponsors
Origin Stories is made possible by support from Jeanne Newman, the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation, the Joan and Arnold Travis Education Fund, and donors like you!
Travel through 50,000 years of human history following clues hidden inside beads made from ostrich eggshells. In this episode, researchers Jennifer Miller and Yiming Wang share how these tiny artifacts reveal a sweeping story of ancient social networks, cultural connections, and human adaptability.
Support the show
Help us make more episodes! All tax-deductible donations to Origin Stories will be quadruple-matched!
>>>> Please click here to make a one-time or monthly donation.
Guests
Links to learn more
Sponsors and credits
This episode was generously sponsored by Leakey Foundation Fellow Eddie Kislinger in honor of his wife, jewelry designer Cathy Waterman. Her designs are inspired by nature and influenced by her study of and connection with ancient human history. We are grateful to them for making this episode possible.
Additional support comes from Jeanne Newman, the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation, the Joan and Arnold Travis Education Fund, and our listener-supporters.
Origin Stories is produced by Ray Pang. Our editor is Audrey Quinn. Theme music by Henry Nagle. Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions and Lee Roservere.
2023 was another exciting year in human origins research! Fossil discoveries and long-term primate studies expanded our understanding of what makes us human. In this episode, four Leakey Foundation scientists shared their favorite human evolution discoveries from the past year.
Help us make more episodes! All tax-deductible donations to Origin Stories will be quadruple-matched!
>>>> Please click here to make a one-time or monthly donation.
Guests
Links to learn more
Sponsors and credits
Origin Stories is sponsored by Jeanne Newman, the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation, and the Joan and Arnold Travis Education Fund.
Origin Stories is produced by Ray Pang. Our editor is Audrey Quinn. Theme music by Henry Nagle. Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions and Lee Roservere.
Sibling relationships can include everything from love and support–to tension, competition, and conflict. They might also play a fundamental role in the evolution of our species. In the final installment of our three-part series on family relationships, researchers Karen Kramer, Cat Hobaiter, and Rachna Reddy explore surprising new science about the role of siblings in primate and human evolution.
Links to learn more:
Support Origin Stories and help us explore human evolution one story at a time.
Your tax-deductible gift makes our show possible. Click here to donate!
Credits:
This episode was produced by Leo Hornak. Sound design and production by Ray Pang. Host and executive producer, Meredith Johnson. Our editor is Audrey Quinn. Theme music by Henry Nagle, additional music by Lee Roservere and Blue Dot Sessions.
Sponsors:
Dana LaJoie and Bill Richards, Jeanne Newman, the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation, and the Joan and Arnold Travis Education Fund.
Humans invest enormous amounts of time and energy into bringing up our babies. This unique investment is a fundamental part of what it means to be human. In this episode, the first in a three-part series on family relationships, researchers Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, Stacy Rosenbaum, and Amy Scott explore how our species' approach to motherhood may hold the key to some of the most important traits that set us apart from other mammals.
Links to learn more:
Support Origin Stories
Origin Stories needs your support. Your donation helps bring the untold stories and latest research in human evolution to thousands of curious minds worldwide. Your gift, no matter the amount, makes a big difference! Click here to support the show.
Credits:
This episode was produced by Leo Hornak. Sound design by Ray Pang. Host and executive producer, Meredith Johnson. Our editor is Audrey Quinn. Recording assistance Catherine Monahon. Theme music by Henry Nagle, additional music by Lee Roservere and Blue Dot Sessions.
Sponsors:
Dana LaJoie and Bill Richards, Jeanne Newman, the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation, and the Joan and Arnold Travis Education Fund.
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