Shiva’s Ape and Brahma's Beast

A largely forgotten Yale collecting expedition in 1932 changed our understanding of evolution and paved the way for modern paleontological studies on the Indian Subcontinent. The fossils brought back to New Haven by a young graduate student named G. Edward Lewis remain in the Peabody collection and, thanks to researchers like Advait Jukar, are receiving renewed attention. 

In this talk, Jukar will introduce highlights from this remarkable collection, and place it within the context of both the colonial history of Indian paleontology and modern evolutionary science. He’ll discuss why India’s fossils have been neglected in favor of other parts of the world and present an argument, based on his own research, for why India’s prehistoric past merits greater consideration and what it can teach us about the future.