"Human evolution is not a linear story, and South Africa is not a footnote"

Macho has been working at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel since September, where she has joined the AMGC (Archaeology, Environmental Changes & Geo-Chemistry Research) research team. “This is a fantastic opportunity,” says Macho, “as PLIODIS’s research fits in perfectly with AMGC’s objectives and is likely to create new synergies around the analytical laboratories.” Her arrival not only represents an important scientific reinforcement for the VUB, but also a repositioning of South Africa as a key region in the debate about the origins of our own species, Homo.

"We have long pretended that the story of human evolution took place in 1 place and followed a single line," says Macho. "But the fossil data show something much more complex. South Africa plays a much more important role in this than is often assumed." With PLIODIS, she wants to uncover precisely that complexity. The project focuses on hominins who lived between approximately 4 and 1 million years ago, a crucial period in which different hominids coexisted and the foundations were laid for later human evolution. To be clear, hominins are a subgroup within the larger family of hominids (human-like creatures). The term refers to all organisms within the human lineage since the split with the ancestors of the great apes approximately 6 to 7 million years ago.

The research starts from a simple but fundamental question: when and where did the genus Homo originate, and under what ecological and evolutionary conditions? Instead of searching for a single origin or a single decisive factor, Macho investigates the interaction between landscape, climate, anatomy and behaviour. “Evolution is not a linear process,” she emphasises. “It is the result of adaptation to constantly changing environments. That means we also have to look at variation, failures and parallel developments.”

What sets PLIODIS apart is its distinctly interdisciplinary approach. Macho combines insights from geomorphology and landscape evolution with palaeoclimatology, functional morphology, biomechanics, (zoo)archaeology and evolutionary theory. By not only studying fossils anatomically, but also placing them in their ecological and climatic context, she aims to better understand how early hominins moved, fed and adapted to their environment. “Bones and teeth tell us a lot, but it is only when you link them to the landscape and climate in which the hominids functioned that you really begin to understand behaviour and evolution,” she says.

The ERC Advanced Grant, awarded by the European Research Council, provides her with the resources to carry out this ambitious research programme over a period of 5 years. It is a highly competitive grant, intended for established researchers with an exceptional track record and an innovative research proposal. “The grant gives you something that is rare in science: time, freedom and trust,” says Macho. “It makes it possible to ask questions that are risky, but that have the potential to fundamentally change the field.”

This international recognition builds on an impressive academic career. Macho trained as a biological anthropologist at the University of Vienna and quickly became a leading voice in human evolution research. She has worked at prestigious institutions such as the University of Oxford, the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa and the University of Western Australia. This international experience is no coincidence, but essential to her research. “You have to be where the fossils are,” says Macho. “And you have to collaborate with researchers from different traditions and disciplines to make progress.”

Her connection with South Africa is particularly strong. The country is home to some of the richest hominin sites in the world, but for a long time played a secondary role in dominant evolutionary models. With PLIODIS, Macho wants to correct that imbalance. “If we continue to regard South Africa as less relevant to the history of the genus Homo, we are missing a crucial part of the story,” she says. “My goal is not to impose a single new model, but to open up the debate and take the complexity seriously.”

In addition to its scientific impact, the project also has broader significance for the VUB and the Flemish research landscape. The Odysseus and ERC grants are key mechanisms for attracting and retaining top researchers and for developing international research networks. For Macho, her arrival in Brussels marks a new chapter, in which she can further deepen her line of research and mentor a new generation of researchers. “Research is never a solo project,” she says. “It's about teams, discussion and daring to rethink what we think we know.”

What drives her is still the same wonder that first drew her to anthropology: the question of how we became who we are. A misconception she often encounters is that research into distant ancestors is of little relevance to today. "Understanding our evolutionary history helps us understand how flexible, but also how vulnerable we are as a species," she says. "That perspective is perhaps more relevant today than ever. "

With PLIODIS, Gabriele Macho is translating that conviction into an ambitious research programme that does not simplify the story of human evolution, but enriches it. By placing South Africa back at the centre and connecting disciplines, she aims to paint a more nuanced, honest and scientifically robust picture of our origins.