Turbulent Era Sparked Leap in Human Behavior: Richard Potts

Richard Potts has been leading the Smithsonian Human Origin Program’s research in Olorgesailie for more than 30 years in collaboration with the National Museums of Kenya.

In the Oct. 21 issue of the journal Science Advances, an interdisciplinary team of scientists led by Potts describes the prolonged period of instability across the landscape in this part of Africa (now Kenya) that occurred at the same time humans in the region were undergoing a major behavioral and cultural shift in their evolution.