What Does It Mean To Be Human?
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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.
For Teachers
AP Biology Curriculum Materials
Are you an AP Biology teacher? Click here for freely downloadable curriculum materials aligned to the AP learning objectives that use human case studies to teach core evolutionary principles and a resource to help teachers create a comfortable and supportive classroom environment for teaching evolution.
Lesson Plans
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 Media
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
The short-haired human!
While other primates are furry, human skin is exposed to the elements. It’s not that we’re ‘naked’ – our hair is just really short over much of our bodies. In the warm places where our ancestors lived, evaporation of sweat from exposed skin was a great benefit in cooling our entire bodies. Our brain runs so ‘hot’, in fact, that sweating and cooling proved vital for evolving our big brain.