Dr. Shirley Strum: The Echoes of Our Origins

"So I think this whole idea of cumulative culture is a way to make humans exceptional. But it's clear to me that humans are exceptional, and seeing it through baboon glasses, I can understand in a different way why they're exceptional. But many of the things that we think are uniquely human are actually present in other animals." - Dr. Shirley Strum

Dr. Shirley Strum is a groundbreaking anthropologist who has spent over five decades living alongside wild baboons in Kenya. Her work has transformed our understanding of these intelligent, socially complex animals — their relationships, their adaptability, and the intricate societies they create.

In her new book, Echoes of Our Origins, Shirley challenges long-held beliefs about evolution, the human-animal divide, and what it truly means to coexist. This conversation is about science — but it's also about humility, hope, and the messy, beautiful complexity of life on Earth.

Links:

https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/53757/echoes-our-origins

https://anthropology.ucsd.edu/people/faculty/faculty-profiles/shirley-strum.html