Research summary
As Canada Research Chair in Human Origins, Dr. Matthew Tocheri’s research program will contribute new, significant insights into human evolution, culture, and diversity. It will also extend understanding about recent past human dispersals across Southeast Asia and the people of the Indonesian island of Flores.
Through new archaeological excavations, laboratory analyses and international collaborations, Tocheri aims to substantially increase current understanding of the anatomy, biology and culture of Homo floresiensis—the so-called “hobbits” of human evolution that disappeared 60–50 thousand years ago on Flores—and whether modern humans played any role in their extinction.This research will increase our understanding of past human diversity, both biologically and culturally.