What's Hot in Human Origins?
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Marco Valente
1 day 14 hours ago
RT @NMNH: The oldest fossil of a modern human outside of Africa has been discovered. How does this new find change our unders… https://t.co/VcENjPCwse
RT @NMNH: #ICYMI: “Not only throughout history but deep into our prehistory, there have been these pioneers...that were not a… https://t.co/Jh5YXEM4HT
RT @MDPetraglia: Comments on NPR by myself and Rick Potts @HumanOrigins @MPI_SHH New Fossil Found In Israel Suggests A Much Earlier… https://t.co/e60jrD89XL
What Does It Mean To Be Human?
- Mykka, Oregon
- Vitor Dantas, Salvador, Earth.
- dat boi, space
- Jen, Santa Clarita
- Wulf Zeiler, Adelaide, Australia
- Corine Batista, New York
- Eric Lomas, Omaha, NE
- Muhamamad, Johannesburg
- Sandy Emery, Lewistown, MT
- Tom, Memphis, TN
- Heather , Wellesley, MA
Events
Visit the Exhibit
Featured Research
'Hobbits' on Flores, Indonesia
New digs and geological dating in Liang Bua Cave, Indonesia, show that Homo floresiensis, nicknamed the “hobbit” for its small size, became extinct around 50,000 years ago – tens of thousands of years earlier than originally thought.
Virtual Dig
Teachers Forum
Are you interested in joining a discussion forum exclusively for educators involved in teaching human evolution? We encourage you to participate in our Teachers Forum and share your insights, questions, best practices, and experiences with other like-minded educators.Human Evolution:
Religious Perspectives
The Hall of Human Origins offers a welcoming place to explore one of the most exciting areas of science, the study of human evolution. Despite strong public interest in the science, however, many people find this topic troubling when viewed from a religious perspective. Representatives of diverse religious communities encourage a larger, more respectful understanding of both the scientific evidence and religious belief.
Featured Multimedia
How To Tell a Rock from a Stone Tool
How can you tell if a rock is actually an early stone tool? Watch this video to find out.
Designing the Exhibition
This video takes you behind-the-scenes into the process of designing and building the Smithsonian's Hall of Human Origins.
Fun Facts
When our back molars are impacted in our jaw, they don’t seem very wise! They’re the last teeth to come into place, and having them was helpful to our early ancestors who ate tough, uncooked foods that wore away their teeth. But with cooking and making food softer, the size of our jaws has diminished, often with room for the last molars to form in the jaw…but – ouch! – not enough room to erupt.
