What's Hot in Human Origins?

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Homo ergaster skull on black background.
ago
Human Origins at SI
@HumanOrigins
RT @ChrisStringer65: #FossilFriday Replica of Arago 21+Petralona, pre-preparation of face (taken in 1978).The Arago fossil may be about 450,000 years old, while Petralona is not well dated. I attribute both to H. heidelbergensis. https://t.co/MDnU40D3oz
Homo ergaster skull on black background.
ago
Human Origins at SI
@HumanOrigins
RT @johnhawks: Some parts of the skeleton are very rare in the #hominin fossil record. The hand remains of Homo naledi, including this articulated specimen, tell us much about the tool-using potential of this species, while suggesting it was a great climber. #paleoanthropology https://t.co/1ufVxJn47O
Homo ergaster skull on black background.
ago
Human Origins at SI
@HumanOrigins
RT @johnhawks: Students of #hominin evolution quickly pick up the differences between big-toothed Paranthropus boisei and our genus, Homo. Yet there are still anatomical overlaps between these lineages that make some of the fossils from Koobi Fora challenging to interpret. #paleoanthropology https://t.co/HMEvOX9sP4

What Does It Mean To Be Human?

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To experience and share deep emotions and share those feelings with each other in the form of stories.

- Chad, Fort Collins

It means that you can talk walk and everything else. It also mean that you can take on the responsibility of walking on this earth.

- liyah, Evanston,Il

I would say love, critical thinking, and greed.

- Jack, Malsin

To be human means to learn to discover and to grow

- Nolan, New westminster canada

To grasp with a thumb tools to till the soil, tools to hunt, tools to create and destroy.

- Dorianne, North Carolina

To understand and to want

- Sivan, Princeton, NJ

To be human is to look up, wondering why. Is to have no answer about many things, and keep asking. Is to keep searching, never knowing what.

- Vitor Dantas, Salvador, Earth.

Being human means developing complex cultures, religion, and being bipedal which gives room for a complex brain structure.

- Kristopher Krohn, Mesa, Arizona

To have capacity for empathy with members of our own species, and with all species with whom we share this planet.

- Katherine Munson, Berlin, MD

To be human means to evolve, adapt, survive, overcome, repeat

- Darkstar is a Potato , Chennai, India

Being a human means living yout life for Christ because He gave His for you.

- John Brothers, New Concord, Ohio

to share happiness as if it were the most contagious disease; to share love and joy and to accept others for who they are

- Adela , Sacred Heart College

Visit the Exhibit

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Human Origins Exhibit Entrance

Featured Research

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image of Homo floresiensis; LB1, skeleton

'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

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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

Comparison of Human and Chimp Chromosomes (Grades 9-12)

Investigating Common Descent: Formulating Explanations and Models (Grades 9-12)

Human Evolution: Religious Perspectives

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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

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Rock or stone tool

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.

Video Thumbnail of Rick Potts from "Designing the Exhibition"

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

Our eyes say it!

Compared to other primates, humans have huge ‘whites of the eyes’, or sclera. This means that humans can easily read each other’s gaze. In experiments, great ape infants usually follow a gaze only when the experimenter also turns his head. But human infants follow the gaze when the experimenter moves only his eyes. The whites of our eyes may help a lot in communicating with one another.