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Harvard’s Department of Human Evolutionary Biology is built around a fundamental question: “What makes us human?”

Faculty and students study an immense diversity of topics

in both our laboratories and far-flung field sites, from the Congo Basin to the Fijian archipelago.

The Skeletal Biology & Biomechanics Lab

studies how and why the human body is the way it is, focusing on the musculoskeletal system.

The Evolutionary Neuroscience Lab

studies brain adaptations resulting from selection pressure on behavior in humans and other species, including domestic dogs.

The Culture, Cognition, and Coevolution Lab

aims to construct an approach to culture and cultural evolution that synthesizes theory and methods from across the sciences.

The Developmental and Evolutionary Genetics Lab

focuses on on identifying the DNA changes underlying human and non-human primate biological adaptations.

The Nutritional & Microbial Ecology Lab

studies how humans and gut microbes interact to acquire and utilize energy.

The 'Pan' Lab

studies the behavioral ecology of non-human animals to understand selective forces shaping our own evolutionary past.