Spencer Rogers

Given my area is primarily biological and cultural anthropology, I will always emphasize the importance of an anthropological perspective when observing past events. Indeed, the field of human evolution is very niche. Though I believe it is of great importance if your goal is to understand any socially oriented field. For those interested in focusing specifically on human evolution, then you are in for a treat; where we will deconstruct and analyze the major lines of evidence in the archeological record that paint humanities past in a more discernable and understandable way. A great emphasis will be placed on the synergistic effect between culture and biology, specifically how both these entities greatly contributed to our becoming often in ways that register with us before we register them. To give a time frame, the earliest we might cover could be as far back as 11.6 million years ago, with more detail being offered at times 2.6 MYA - present. 2.6 MYA is the earliest time in which we see culturally manufactured items (items whose presence is attributed to learning and passing on information). Considering our species' great dependency on culture in contemporary times, I believe that in order to obtain the fullest and most detailed image of humanity, you must focus on the relationship between our biology and that which is manufactured. Doing so will render you permanently viewing humanity in a much different manner than before. So if you ever find yourself asking "why are we the way we are", I encourage you to follow this question.