This one-day conference aims to stimulate interest and discussion in the origins of modern Homo sapiens and the nature of the transition (‘the speciation event’) from a precursor hominid species. The goal is to compare, and if possible to integrate, evidence and theories from different fields in a coherent account of the origin of the species. Thus contributors from palaeontology, archaeology, linguistics, psychology, evolutionary theory and brain morphology and genetics will all focus on the problem.

The conference is sponsored by the British Academy and the Academy of Medical Sciences, and the organisers also gratefully acknowledge the generous support of the Wellcome Trust and the Wenner-Gren Foundation.

The conference will take place at the British Academy, 10 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1 infrmation is available from: Rosemary Lambeth at the British Academy, 10 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1 5AH; telephone: 0171-969-5264; email: rosemarl@britac.ac.uk.

10.00 am Coffee and registration

Session I Chair: John Maddox

10.30 am Chris Stringer The out-of-Africa hypothesis of modern human origins

11.10 am Paul Mellars The earliest evidence of cognitive ability

11.50 am Ian Tattersall The case for saltational events in human evolution

12.30 pm Lunch

Session II Chair: Jim R Hurford

1.30 pm Derek Bickerton From proto-language to language

2.10 pm Michael Corballis The lop-sided ape

2.50 pm Eörs Szathmáry The implications of language for evolutionary theory

3.30 pm Tea

Session III: Chair Lewis L Wolpert

4.00 pm Chris Tyler-Smith What the Y chromosome can tell us about the origins

4.40 pm Tim Crow Sexual selection, timing and the X-Y hypothesis of

5.20 pm Nabeel Affara Homo sapiens: specific chromosomal re-arrangements

6.00 pm Conference ends