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Human Origins Lab

The Archaeology & Quaternary Research Laboratory at Indiana State University focuses on the study of human history and environmental changes through archaeological and geological methods. This lab conducts research on past cultures, landscapes, and climate shifts, providing insights into human adaptation and the evolution of ecosystems over time.

Human Origins Lab

In the Human Origins Lab, we tackle one of life’s foundational questions: what makes us human? We use different lines of evidence from archaeology and paleoanthropology to understand the origin of our species and the behaviors that we think of as typically, or even uniquely, human. Our research includes fieldwork at sites across Africa, collections-based research at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, and experimental archaeology projects at our lab at Indiana State University. Students across all levels (undergraduate, Master’s, Ph.D.) can conduct primary research on topics related to archaeology and human origins.

 

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Dr. Sara E. Watson Assistant Professor

Dr. Sara E. Watson works at the intersection of paleoanthropology and archaeology, using the insights from evolutionary and ecological theory to assess the role social networks played in the emergence and spread of behavioral innovations characteristic of our species. 

She engages broadly with scholarship on hominin evolution, behavioral ecology, and cultural transmission theory and employs lithic technology, geospatial analysis, experimental archaeology, and ethnographic data on modern-day hunter-gatherer societies to address the transmission of cultural information during the late Pleistocene (~126,000-11,700 years ago). Examining potential changes in the processes through which people in the late Pleistocene obtained and transmitted cultural information, such as specific tool production methods, holds global implications for understanding how the degree of social network size and strength allowed human populations to prosper during changing climatic conditions and when entering unexplored territories during migrations out of Africa to colonize the rest of the world. Dr. Watson’s research advances our understanding of human behavioral evolution and the emergence of innovations that contributed to the success and global spread of our species.

Dr. Watson maintains an international research agenda, with field and collections-based projects in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Cameroon, and the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. Interested students should contact her for research opportunities.

Research

The invention of tools and technology was a major turning point in the evolution of our lineage. Since its origin, technology has been crucial to our survival and has helped us thrive in the changing world of the deep past, and this is still true today. In this area of study, we use stone tools, or lithics, created by people in the past to understand how they lived and interacted with the physical and social landscape around them.

Experimental archaeology is one of the most important tools to develop and test models which link human behaviors and natural forces to the archaeological record. In this area of study, we replicate past technologies and phenomena observable in the archaeological record to better understand how artifacts were created and used, and how the natural environment affects archaeological materials between the time they are deposited and when we uncover them.

Not all archaeology happens in an excavation trench. By combining traditional archaeological investigation with modern technology, we can gain insights into the past that were not available previously. In this area of study, we use GIS and remote sensing to document new sites, understand how space was used in the past, and track the large-scale movement of people across the landscape.

Data is one of the most valuable resources of our time, and preserving the materials and knowledge we collect is as important as the data itself. The field of digital heritage helps us preserve and share heritage materials, making them more accessible to people all over the world. In this area of study, we use 3D models, digital storytelling, and VR/AR to experience and safeguard humanity’s shared past.

Field Museum of Natural History  

Dr. Watson is Research Associate with the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. She conducts collections-based research at the museum, examining stone tools from the site of Nelson Bay Cave, South Africa. This site was foundational to some of the first comprehensive descriptions of the culture history in southern Africa over the last ~125,000 years. She is using new analytical methods to examine older collections from the last excavations of the site in the 1970s to produce new information about the new technologies people were creating and how they shared information about those innovations. Dr. Watson is also involved in ongoing renovations of the Africa Hall and Ancient Egypt permanent exhibits at the museum, with the grand opening of the new exhibit planned for 2028.

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Fieldwork

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    South Africa

    The late Pleistocene record of South Africa is one of the richest and best dated on the continent, preserving early evidence of behavioral changes in humans, including the use of lithic heat treatment, ochre pigments, and production of bone tools. In Dr. Watson’s ongoing research program, she examines the movement of people and ideas in southern Africa during the late Pleistocene. She works at sites on or near the southern coast of South Africa, a region that experienced dramatic changes in paleoenvironment and geography. Results from this research shed light on the evolution of human social networks, and the origin and spread of behaviors we think of as defining characteristics of our species.

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    Zimbabwe

    In contrast with the rich record of South Africa, little is known from neighboring Zimbabwe and most publications on late Pleistocene sites in the country come from the 1950s and 60s. Along with colleagues at Great Zimbabwe University and the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe, Dr. Watson is opening new excavations of Stone Age sites in southwestern Zimbabwe. This groundbreaking project will expand our understanding of the deep human past while immersing students in Zimbabwe’s distinctive heritage landscape.

Institute for Field Research

Dr. Watson is partnering with the Institute for Field Research to offer field schools at her sites in Zimbabwe and South Africa. For more information about field schools available through the IFR, please visit https://ifrglobal.org.