No Monkeying Around

A while back, I had the opportunity to meet with University of Calgary archaeologist and researcher Julio Mercader to discuss his work on ancient chimpanzee sites in Africa. I have to admit, I had no idea that such sites even existed nor what they meant, but Dr. Mercader was able to shed some light on how such research helps us to understand the evolution process of great apes, but also ourselves. His findings force us to re-examine the definition of humanity. Given that 2009 is the bicentennial of Charles Darwin's birthday and the 150th anniversary of his seminal book On the Origin of Species, the timing could not be more fitting. Read more in my article for the Canada Foundation for Innovation.