Your Eye, My Eye, and the Eye of the Aye-Aye: Evolution of Human Vision from 65 Million Years Ago to the Present
DECEMBER 2, 2011
Dr. Christopher Kirk
The University of Texas at Austin
What is the talk about?
How did humans come to have the best eyesight of any living mammal? Look through the eyes of primate ancestors with Dr. Chris Kirk, UT-Austin professor of anthropology. Dr. Kirk explains how his research related to the evolution of primate sensory systems helps us understand human visual adaptations in the larger context of primate evolution.
About our presenter
Dr. Christopher Kirk
Dr. Christopher Kirk is an Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology at The University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Kirk teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in physical anthropology, is a member of the American Association of Physical Anthropology and Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, and is the author of numerous professional publications, including papers published in the Journal of Human Evolution, the American Journal of Primatology, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Kirk has a broad array of research interests in physical anthropology, including sensory ecology, functional morphology, and paleontology. His primary research interest is the evolution of primate sensory systems, important to physical anthropology because many of the major adaptive shifts that occurred during the course of primate evolution involved key changes in sensory anatomy and ecology.
Videos & Podcasts
Presentations
- Your Eye, My Eye, and the Eye of the Aye-Aye (PPT)
- Your Eye, My Eye, and the Eye of the Aye-Aye (PDF)
Lesson Plans
- Dissecting and Diagramming the Eye (Elementary & Middle School)
- Eye Spy (Elementary)
- My Eye, Your Eyes (Elementary)
- Visual Communication - PowerPoint
- Visual Communication (High School)
- Color Vision in Primates - PowerPoint
- Color Vision in Primates (Elementary, Middle & High School)