The Institute of Human Origins is one of the preeminent research organizations in the world devoted to the science of human origins

A research center of The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Institute of Human Origins (IHO) pursues an integrative strategy for research and discovery central to our founding mission—bridging social, earth, and life science approaches to the most important questions concerning the course, causes, and timing of events in the human career over deep time. 

IHO’s strategic vision reaches across the broadest range of transdisciplinary research to create novel approaches to the solution of pressing and newly emerging scientific questions relevant to our society—from the emergence of modern humans in Africa, and human behavioral and genetic adaptations to a changing planet, to what understanding the behavioral ecology of nonhuman primates informs us about how we developed culture and cooperation.

IHO fosters awareness of our place in nature and relevance of our deep past to modern society through innovative outreach programs that provide timely and accurate information for both educators and the public.

IHO researchers are changing the paradigm of human origins research through—

• Continuing a legacy of high-profile discoveries 

• Pursuing how the earliest modern humans evolved before and after the great diaspora out of Africa

• Excavating deep earth cores to examine how global climate affects human evolution 

• Exploring the emergence of uniquely human attributes  and understanding our species development and its indelible impact on the planet

• Investigating what nonhuman primates tell us about how our ancient ancestors developed cooperative behaviors

• Using DNA research to open new paths to ancient human origins and the genetic bases of primate behavior