The field of paleoanthropology is not as advanced as it could be due to racism. Because of this racism, Africa and Asia were looked down upon and Africa was not admitted to be the origin of humankind until long after the discovery was made. Africa and Asia were made out to be inferior in order to further the idea of western (white) superiority. Early natural historians believed humanity emerged from Asia because the gibbons there seemed to be a better "fit" to the European white male than the apes of Africa. Today we know that humanity originated in Africa but we were years behind figuring that out due to racism. Today's biases towards people of African and Asian descent are still lingering in the field of paleoanthropology. This needs to change. We can never truly grow as a community until racism is no longer a thing. Science needs more non-white people in the field in order to ensure findings aren't based on racism. In order to correct the problematic narratives of the past, science has to be decolonized.
