Origin Stories

The Story of Human Hair

Why do humans have most of our hair on our heads, not our bodies? Why do we have so many varieties of hair color, thickness, and curliness? Dr. Tina Lasisi is a biological anthropologist whose work explores these evolutionary mysteries. In this episode, she shares her research into why humans have scalp hair as well as her insights on why curly hair is uniquely human.  Links to learn more: <a href="https://www.tinalasisi.com/">Dr. Tina Lasisi's website</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnNZYWyBGJ1FNZ_ZcL_tJyV8li-lQj0ZA"> Why Am I Like This? - PBS Terra series</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgIDdH58Qwg">Dr. Lasisi's AMNH/Leakey Foundation SciCafe lecture</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgIDdH58Qwg">Why Care About Hair? Leakey Foundation event</a> <a href="https://leakeyfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/quantifying-variation-in-human-scalp-hair-fiber-shape-and-pigmentation.pdf"> Quantifying variation in human scalp hair</a> - research paper Origin Stories is a project of The Leakey Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to human origins research and education. Donate to support the show. Your gift will be quadruple-matched! <a href="https://leakeyfoundation.org/?form=originstories">Click here to give</a>! This episode was produced by Ray Pang. Our editor is Audrey Quinn. Theme music by Henry Nagle, additional music by Blue Dot Sessions and Lee Roservere.

Explore human evolution one story at a time. This award-winning show blends storytelling with science that will change your understanding of who we are.