The Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny (CARTA) is a center at the

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Es ...

(UC San Diego). Formally established in 2008, CARTA is a collaboration between faculty members of UC San Diego main campus, the

University of California, San Diego School of Medicine The University of California, San Diego School of Medicine is the graduate medical school of the University of California, San Diego, a public land-grant research university in La Jolla, California. It was the third medical school in the Univer ...

, the

Salk Institute for Biological Studies The Salk Institute for Biological Studies is a scientific research institute in the La Jolla community of San Diego, California. The independent, non-profit institute was founded in 1960 by Jonas Salk, the developer of the polio vaccine; among th ...

, and interested scientists at other institutions from around the world. CARTA was formed in order to promote

transdisciplinary Transdisciplinarity is an approach that iteratively interweaves knowledge systems, skills, methodologies, values and fields of expertise within inclusive and innovative collaborations that bridge academic disciplines and community perspectives, ...

research into anthropogeny - the study of human origins - drawing on methods from a number of traditional disciplines spanning the humanities, social, biomedical, biological, computational & engineering and physical & chemical sciences.

History of CARTA

Before CARTA was established as a UC San Diego-recognized center, a

multidisciplinary An academic discipline or academic field is a subdivision of knowledge that is taught and researched at the college or university level. Disciplines are defined (in part) and recognized by the academic journals in which research is published, ...

effort to study human origins had already been underway in the

La Jolla La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood in San Diego, California, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. The climate is mild, with an average daily temperature o ...

area for over a decade, coordinated by the then "UCSD Project for Explaining the Origin of Humans" (POH). The POH group involved local experts in San Diego as well as many others throughout the world. The primary activity of the POH was to organize multi-disciplinary interactions amongst members (via meetings in

), and via secure internet-based mechanisms. These efforts were converted into a larger and more publicly active center, which facilitates graduate education in relevant departments and programs.

Mission statement

"Use all rational and ethical approaches to seek all verifiable facts from all relevant disciplines to explore and explain the origins of the human phenomenon, while minimizing complex organizational structures and hierarchies, and avoiding unnecessary paperwork and bureaucracy. In the process, raise awareness and understanding of the study of human origins within the academic community and the public at large."

Organization and leadership

The current co-directors of CARTA are Pascal Gagneux (Executive Co-Director; Professor of Pathology and Anthropology, UC San Diego); Katerina Semendeferi (Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Laboratory for Human Comparative Neuroanatomy, UC San Diego), and Gerald Joyce (president and professor, the Salk Institute for Biological Studies). CARTA Emeriti co-directors (2008-2022) include founding co-director, Ajit Varki (Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Cellular & Molecular Medicine, UC San Diego, and adjunct professor, the Salk Institute for Biological Studies), Margaret Schoeninger (Distinguished Professor Emerita and former Chair of the Department of Anthropology, UC San Diego), and Fred Gage (Professor, the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, and Adjunct Professor of Neurosciences, UC San Diego).

Activities

CARTA sponsors a symposium series on human origins for both researchers and the public. It also partners with other San Diego institutions and organizations in sponsoring public lectures, and offers a graduate specialization available to students in participating PhD programs at UC San Diego. The Center sponsors the (MOCA), formerly known as the "Museum of Comparative Anthropogeny," an online compilation of comparative information that highlights the differences between humans and the “great apes,” with an emphasis on uniquely human features. It also compiles a chronological list of book titles relevant to exploring human origins and human evolution. It curates the Museum of Primatology (MOP), a collection of chimpanzee and nonhuman primate skeletons, which are currently undergoing 3D digitization and IT integration. CARTA does not directly fund or organize research by its members, but provides a forum for researchers in varied fields to come together in venues across the UC San Diego campus "to explore and explain the human phenomenon.”

Areas of interest

Human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...

and

primate Primates is an order (biology), order of mammals, which is further divided into the Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhines, which include lemurs, galagos, and Lorisidae, lorisids; and the Haplorhini, haplorhines, which include Tarsiiformes, tarsiers a ...

genetics and

evolution Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...

Paleoanthropology Paleoanthropology or paleo-anthropology is a branch of paleontology and anthropology which seeks to understand the early development of anatomically modern humans, a process known as hominization, through the reconstruction of evolutionary kinsh ...

and hominid origins *

Mammalian A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...

and primate

neuroscience Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions, and its disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, ...

* Primate

biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

and

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

Language Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...

communication Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether Intention, unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not onl ...

and

cognition Cognition is the "mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses". It encompasses all aspects of intellectual functions and processes such as: perception, attention, thought, ...

* Nature-nurture interactions in explaining language and cognition * Human and primate society and culture * Comparative developmental biology of primates * General theories for explaining humans

References

External links

* {{authority control University of California, San Diego Biological research institutes in the United States Research institutes in California Research institutes established in 2008 2008 establishments in California