Profs & Pints DC: Becoming Human

Profs and Pints DC presents: “Becoming Human,” on where we came from, who we are, and what that means, with Ella Al-Shamahi, paleoanthropologist, explorer, stand-up comedian, and host of the upcoming BBC/PBS series HUMAN.

[Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/dc-becoming-human .]

Come to Washington D.C.’s Penn Social to learn compelling story of, well, us–Homo sapiens—in a talk that asks not just where we come from, but who we are and what that means.

Telling the tale will be Ella Al-Shamahi, a National Geographic-sponsored explorer who explores Paleolithic caves in unstable or hostile parts of the world, produced the BBC2 series Neanderthals: Meet Your Ancestors, and has taught classes at the University of London while pursuing a doctorate in anthropology.

She’ll start by describing how, once upon a time, our world was a bit like Lord of the Rings in that we, Homo sapiens, shared this planet with many other species of human. We weren’t that remarkable—in fact, our origins were rather humble. But somehow, today, we are the only ones left.

Ella Al-Shamahi will examine how we didn’t just survive against all odds, but thrived like no human species has ever thrived. We innovated and travelled, becoming an explorer species who built cities and smart phones and painted the Sistine Chapel.

Our success has been profound. We and the world we have curated are the embodiments of this. But that success comes at a cost, and we’ll look at that as well.

Ella Al-Shamah, who at 18 had initially entered a university as a creationist intent on overturning the theory of evolution, will share her thoughts on the nature of truth and tribalism. She’ll toss in a few wild tales from her expeditions to nations such as Iraq, Somaliland and Yemen in what promises to be a fascinating and engaging night. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. The talk starts 30 minutes later.)

Image: A child peers at a model of “Mrs. Ples,” a famous Australopithecus africanus skull, at the visitor center of the Cradle of Humankind paleoanthropological site in South Africa. (Photo by flowcomm / Creative Commons.)