Genomics

Paleoanthropologists at UC Davis use genomics to investigate the origins of Homo sapiens and the interactions between Homo sapiens and other groups. This research is currently being guided by specific research questions.

How did Homo sapiens arise in Africa? For many years, it has been clear that Homo sapiens originated in Africa and subsequently expanded into other parts of the world. There, however, remain many unresolved questions about how Homo sapiens arose in Africa. Prof. Henn, Prof. Steele, and Prof. Weaver have tried to clarify the space of possible models and how this model space relates to evidence from genomics, archaeology, and the fossil record. Prof. Henn and Prof. Weaver were part of a team that developed a new model (“weakly structured stem”) for Homo sapiens origins.