New CARTA blog post on our Primordial Technology Workshop. Check it out by following the link below! carta.anthropogeny.org/blog/primord... #PrimordialTechnology #StoneTools #FireMaking #Pottery #Fiber #GraduateSchool #Anthropology #HumanOrigins #HumanEvolution #ToolMaking #CARTA #Anthropogeny

CARTA is pleased to announce the second recipient of a 2026–2027 CARTA Fellowship, Skylar Batty! Skylar is a Ph.D. student in the Biomedical Sciences program at UCSD and is researching how faithful chromosome segregation during cell division is ensured. Congratulations, Skylar!

CARTA is pleased to announce Xiaowen Xu as a recipient of a 2026–2027 CARTA Fellowship! She is a Ph.D. student in the Biological Sciences program at UCSD, mentored by Dr. Michael Corley, and is interested in neuroimmunology of MAIT cells in brain aging and disease. Congratulations, Xiaowen!

Red meat helped make us human but now could be making us sick. A new paper in The Quarterly Review of Biology featuring several CARTA members explores this surprising evolutionary story. Read more: today.ucsd.edu/area-story/r...

The June CARTA newsletter just dropped! Check out what we've been up to, get caught up on the latest human origins research, and much more! mailchi.mp/anthropogeny...

Here's a "brain teaser" for you! What did humans gain–and sacrifice–as our brains evolved? Dr. Alex Pollen, Associate Professor of Neurology at UCSF, explains this and more in his talk "The Costs of Big Brains" from the CARTA symposium "The Idea Organ." www.youtube.com/watch?v=1h--...

CARTA: The Costs of Big Brains with Alex Pollen

YouTube video by University of California Television (UCTV)

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TODAY is Triton Giving Day at UC San Diego! Show your support for CARTA and help fuel our quest to understand the human story! tritongivingday.ucsd.edu/campaigns/ce...

Ever wonder why our closest living relatives, chimpanzees, sleep in nests high above the ground and we don’t? Author Robert Moor set out to answer that very question. To learn more, visit: www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/arti...

Big news from the CARTA community! Hande Sever, a PhD candidate in Visual Arts, and CARTA Graduate Specialization in Anthropogeny student, has been awarded a UC President’s Dissertation Year Fellowship for 2026–2027. Join us in congratulating Hande on this incredible achievement!

We are proud to highlight Raihan Alam, a CARTA Graduate Specialization in Anthropogeny student, for his recent publications! Read his papers and learn more about Raihan in the links below. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... carta.anthropogeny.org/users/raihan...

Couldn’t catch Andrés Moreno-Estrada’s talk, “Population genetics of Latin America and Oceania?” 🧬💡 Don’t worry! It’s available to watch here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=re4e...

CARTA: Population Genetics of Latin America and Oceania with Andrés Moreno-Estrada

YouTube video by University of California Television (UCTV)

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Did you miss Maanasa Raghavan’s talk, “Genetic history of humans and animals in South Asia?” 🧬💡 No problem! It is available to watch at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZHH...

CARTA: Genetic History of Humans and Animals in South Asia with Maanasa Raghavan

YouTube video by University of California Television (UCTV)

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Thank you to everyone who contributed to the success of “The Idea Organ,” on Friday, Feb 27, 2026! 🧠💭There were over 500 online viewers watching “The Idea Organ,” from around the world! If you missed all or part of the symposium, don't worry! All talks will air on UCSD-TV in the coming months.

TODAY! CARTA presents The Idea Organ: a free virtual symposium! 🧠💭 Date: Friday, February 27, 2026 Time: 10:00 AM - 2:30 PM Pacific Time Registration & Webcast: carta.anthropogeny.org events/idea-organ See you soon! #carta #ideaorgan #cartaucsd #humanbrain

THIS FRIDAY! CARTA presents The Idea Organ: a free virtual symposium!🧠💭 Date: Friday, February 27, 2026 Time: 10:00 AM – 2:30 PM Pacific Time Registration & Webcast: carta.anthropogeny.org/events/idea-... Hope to see you there! #carta #ideaorgan #cartaucsd #humanbrain

Couldn’t make it to Ainash Childebayeva’s talk, “Central Asian population genetics and natural selection?” 💡🧬 Don’t worry, it is available to watch at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=akoy...

CARTA: Central Asian Population Genetics and Natural Selection with Ainash Childebayeva

YouTube video by University of California Television (UCTV)

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THIS FRIDAY! CARTA presents The Idea Organ: a free virtual symposium!🧠💭 Date: Friday, February 27, 2026 Time: 10:00 AM – 2:30 PM Pacific Time Registration & Webcast: carta.anthropogeny.org/events/idea-... Hope to see you there! #carta #ideaorgan #cartaucsd #humanbrain

Big news: two CARTA videos are among UCTV’s Top 10 most-watched programs of 2025! Thank you for watching, sharing, and engaging with CARTA’s conversations on what it means to be human. To read the full article, visit: myuctv.tv/uncategorize...

The Idea Organ is almost here! Join CARTA for this free virtual symposium exploring the human brain. 🧠💭 Date: Friday, February 27, 2026 Time: 10:00 AM – 2:30 PM Pacific Time Registration & Webcast: carta.anthropogeny.org/events/idea-... #carta #ideaorgan #cartaucsd #humanbrain

Did you miss Johannes Krause’s talk, “The genetic history of Europe: From the first settlement of Europe to the medieval migration period”? 💡🧬 No problem! It is now available to watch at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iyz_...

CARTA: The Genetic History of Europe with Johannes Krause

YouTube video by University of California Television (UCTV)

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Couldn’t make it to Choongwon Jeong’s talk, “Human Population History in North and East Asia”? 💡🧬 You can watch it now: www.youtube.com/watch?v=e57I...

CARTA: Human Population History in North and East Asia with Choongwon Jeong

YouTube video by University of California Television (UCTV)

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Couldn't catch Christina Warinner’s talk, “Human microbiome evolution”? Don’t worry! It’s now available to watch here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF_w...

Did you miss David Gokhman’s talk, “Evolutionary switches: How regulatory variants shaped human evolution?” No problem! It is now available to watch at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSwB... 🧬💡

CARTA: Evolutionary Switches - How Regulatory Variants Shaped Human Evolution with David Gokhman

YouTube video by University of California Television (UCTV)

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CARTA presents “The Idea Organ,” a free symposium exploring how the human brain gave rise to ideas, language, culture, and innovation 🧠 💭 Date: Friday, February 27, 2026 Time: 10:00 AM – 2:30 PM Pacific Time Registration & Webcast: carta.anthropogeny.org/events/idea-...

CARTA member and Palaeoanthropologist Chris Stringer guides us through the Denisovan story, revealing what’s known and what mysteries remain. www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3zq...

Where Are the Denisovans? The Answer is in our DNA

YouTube video by New Scientist

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Save the date for The Idea Organ, a free virtual CARTA symposium exploring how the human brain gave rise to ideas, language, culture, and innovation!🧠💭 Date: Friday, February 27, 2026 Time: 10:00AM – 2:30PM Pacific Time Registration & Webcast: carta.anthropogeny.org/events/idea-... Register now!

Couldn’t catch Diyendo Massilani’s talk, “Archaic human genomes”? 🧬💡 Don’t worry! It’s now available to watch here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=piOS...

CARTA: Archaic Human Genomes with Diyendo Massilani

YouTube video by University of California Television (UCTV)

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Did you miss Janet Kelso’s talk, “Archaic introgression reveals human dispersals?” 🧬💡No problem! It is now available to watch at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=izOa...

CARTA: Archaic Introgression Reveals Human Dispersals with Janet Kelso

YouTube video by University of California Television (UCTV)

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This year, ten UCSD graduate students set off on CARTA’s 2025 Anthropogeny Field Course across Ethiopia and Tanzania! To follow their journey and support this life-changing experience, visit: carta.travelmap.net/2025-field-c... Support: carta.anthropogeny.org/support

The CARTA 2026 calendar is now available! All images feature highlights from our 2025 Field Course. 🗓️🌍 You can download it for free, or receive a printed copy with a $100+ donation to help support and sustain the future of CARTA! Get your calendar here: carta.anthropogeny.org/calendar