In the Research Activity “Human Adaptation, Bio-cultural Diversity and Ecology,” innovative methods from archaeological, paleontological, and paleoanthropological research and fieldwork are used to study which environmental parameters influence human biology, behaviour, and cognition. The goal is to understand the impact of humans on the environment over the course of our evolution and the connections that exist between changing environmental conditions and the parallel biological and cultural adaptations of humans.
The research focus is on the following key questions
- How, and to what extent, does the environment influence human biology, subsistence, cognition, and social behavior?
- What influence did human modifications and impacts have on the environment in the course of human evolution?
- What is the relationship between environmental dynamics and cultural developments and diversity?
Researchers of SHEP in Tübingen, the Palaeoanthropology Department at Senckenberg Frankfurt and the Senckenberg Research Station in Weimar as well as the long-term Heidelberg Academy of Science and Humanities project ROCEEH conduct research in this research activity.
Also the Human-Ethological Film Archive is incorporated. The integration of the Schöningen project in this research area and the expansion of the excavations underway in this area complement our understanding of environments in which humans have evolved and which determined who we are today.
