HOT (Human Origins Today) Topic Webinar: Adaptability of the genus π»π‘œπ‘šπ‘œ and Emergence of π»π‘œπ‘šπ‘œ π‘ π‘Žπ‘π‘–π‘’π‘›π‘  (Dr. Rick Potts)

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Free;
advance reservation or ticket required.
Location: Online
A landscape photo of the Olorgesailie site in southern Kenya featuring a tented dig site on a barren rocky hillside in the foreground, lush green treetops in the midground, and a mountainrange in the distance in the background

Adaptability of the genus π»π‘œπ‘šπ‘œ and Emergence of π»π‘œπ‘šπ‘œ π‘ π‘Žπ‘π‘–π‘’π‘›π‘ 

How did early humans come to endure environmental changes in Africa and beyond? And how did the human capacity to persist through variation in their surroundings evolve?

Dr. Rick Potts, director of the Smithsonian Human Origins Program, will describe the results of his decades of fieldwork in the Olorgesailie region of southern Kenya – and what the evidence tells us about the emergence of human adaptability. 

This event is free, but registration is required here.

Moderator: Briana Pobiner, paleoanthropologist and educator at Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.

This Zoom webinar with Dr. Rick Potts will air live on September 24th, 2026 as part of the ongoing "HOT (Human Origins Today) Topic" series.