(Rescheduled) HEB Spring 2026 Colloquium Series: Dr. Carrie Mongle

This talk is cancelled, however, we will be rescheduling for Fall!

Dr. Carrie Mongle is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology and Turkana Basin Institute at Stony Brook University. Her research aims to reconstruct the major trends and transitions that characterize hominin diversity and evolution. Ongoing work towards that goal involves (1) the discovery and description of new hominin fossils from the Turkana Basin in Kenya; (2) quantification of morphological variation; and (3) comprehensive phylogenetic analyses founded on the careful character assessment of both craniodental and postcranial characters.

Talk title:

Reconstructing hominin evolution: phylogenetic insights and new fossil evidence from the Turkana Basin

Abstract:

With each new fossil discovery, the hominin family tree grows more complex, challenging long-held assumptions about human evolution. Understanding the major adaptations that characterize human evolution inherently rests on our ability to reconstruct these evolutionary relationships. This talk synthesizes ongoing work in hominin phylogenetics with new fossil evidence from the Turkana Basin, including the first known hand of Paranthropus boisei, one of the most complete Homo habilis skeletons ever recovered, and several unexpected finds that prompt a re-evaluation of early hominin diversity and evolutionary relationships.