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Smithsonian's Human Origins Program

Name: Smithsonian's Human Origins Program
Address: The Museum is located at the intersection of 10th Street and Constitution Avenue, Washington D.C., DC, 20560, US
Telephone: (202) 633-1000
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Smithsonian's Human Origins Program

Smithsonian's Human Origins Program The Human Origins Program at the Smithsonian is dedicated to understanding the scientific evidence for how the traits that make us human evolved.

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Wondering about our cover photo? These 4 skulls represent 4 species of early human, all found in East Africa (northern Kenya), which overlapped in time. While we are the only species of human left on earth, our family tree was once diverse. The skulls are (from left to right):

KNM-ER 1813, Homo habilis, about 1.9 million years old
KNM-ER 3733, Homo erectus, about 1.8 million years old
KNM-ER 1470, Homo rudolfensis, about 1.9 million years old
KNM-ER 406, Paranthropus boisei, about 1.7 million years old

02/19/2025

Francesc Marginedas from IPHES - Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social and colleagues recently discovered evidence of widespread cannibalism in 18,000 year old remains from a cave in Poland.

The bones and skulls were found strewn among animal remains, a burial that was meant to humiliate a conquered rival even after defeat

02/18/2025

A new hominin on the block? Clément Zanolli from the Université de Bordeaux and colleagues suggest the SK15 mandible from Swartkrans, South Africa, belongs to a new species, 𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑢𝑠 𝑐𝑎𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑠.

The newfound species belongs to the genus Paranthropus, whose nickname is "nutcracker man."

02/17/2025

Deciphering the origin and evolution of tool use is a tough nut to crack, but a recent study by The George Washington University's David Braun and colleagues show chimpanzees select their tools similarly to our own hominin ancestors.

An international team of paleobiologists, anthropologists and behavioral scientists has found that the process used by modern chimps to select tools for cracking nuts may be similar to how ancient human ancestors chose their tools. In their paper published in the Journal of Human Evolution, the grou...

02/14/2025

For this week's Valentine's Day themed Friday Fun reading, read about the work of Københavns Universitet - University of Copenhagen and Human Evolution Research Institute, University of Cape Town molecular scientist Palesa Madupe and how she uses proteomics to determine s*x in hominin fossils.

As we mark 100 years since Australopithecus africanus was first described, molecular scientist Palesa Madupe explains how palaeoproteomics cast light on the biology of South African hominins.

02/13/2025

Why are human brains so big? Research by Atreyo Pal and colleagues at Yale University shows that the same genetic pathways are responsible for brain development in humans and chimpanzees, but in humans the level of gene expression is different.

A new Yale study reveals how a class of genetic switches altered genes shared by humans and chimpanzees, and identified more genes that were targeted in the process.

02/12/2025

Deforestation for palm oil plantations in Indonesia not only threatens biodiversity, but also destroys paleoanthropological evidence from 𝐻𝑜𝑚𝑜 𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑠. Julien Louys of Griffith University describes his experience in a recent SAPIENS article.

A paleontologist travels through Indonesia in search of Homo erectus remains, uncovering how environmental destruction has erased the past.

02/11/2025

Ever wonder why teenagers get facial piercings? Blame our ancestors! John Willman from Universidade de Coimbra showed that dental wear found on European ice age teeth may be a result of cheek piercings in children as young as ten years old.

Strange, flat patches on the teeth of ancient Europeans have puzzled archaeologists for centuries. But one researcher thinks he's solved the mystery: Ice age

02/10/2025

Understanding that your own thoughts are distinct from those of others, part of a cognitive ability called theory of mind, is central to group dynamics and cooperation. In a new study, Cristopher Krupenye and Luke Townrow from Johns Hopkins University demonstrate that one of our closest relatives, bonobos, also have this ability.

A first-of-its-kind study suggests bonobos, like humans, can understand someone else’s lack of knowledge—and adjust their actions accordingly

02/07/2025

This weeks' Friday fun reading in LiveScience is about recent research led by Stéphane Mazières at Aix-Marseille Université which sheds light on new evidence that may tell us what led to the demise of our evolutionary cousins.

Human populations that left Africa evolved quickly whereas Neanderthals stayed the same, according to an analysis of blood group systems.

02/06/2025

Join us on Thursday February 20th at 11:30 am ET for our first free online HOT (Human Origins Today) Topic talk of 2025! Christine France from the Smithsonian's Museum Conservation Institute will talk about using chemical indicators to understand the diet and climate surrounding human evolution. Preregistration required.

The origin of humans came about in a complex world of shifting resources and evolutionary pressures. Advanced chemical techniques help us reconstruct the food sources and climate conditions that influenced early hominin populations. Smithsonian scientist and manager of the Smithsonian Museum Conserv...

02/05/2025

What factors contribute to infant survivability? A team led by Arizona State University's Jacob Feder shows the importance of the mother's age and diet in baboons and geladas, highlighting the importance of non-ape models to ask questions about humans.

There are a lot of factors that affect whether a baby gelada monkey or chacma baboon survives its first year of life, including a mother’s experience, food sources and infanticide. Recently, scientists at Arizona State University conducted a study to determine if maternal age might also play a rol...

02/04/2025

What did people in Neolithic (~3000 BCE) Germany eat on a daily basis? A team out of Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel led by Jingping An examines grinding stones to answer that question.

Discover the diverse diet of Neolithic farmers, featuring grains, tubers, and wild plants, through analysis of ancient grinding stones.

02/03/2025

Which came first: dog domestication, or permanent settlements? A recent study led by Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology's Maria Guagnin describes rock art from two sites in the Arabian Peninsula which shows cooperative hunting scenes including leashed canines that predate the spread of pastoral communities in the region.

Archaeologists have identified what may be the world's oldest images of dogs. The 8,000-year-old hunting scenes even feature some dogs on leashes.

01/31/2025

Bipedalism is an important part of what makes us human, but why did it evolve and what are the advantages (and disadvantages) to two-legged walking? This week's Friday fun reading is an El País interview with Dartmouth's Jeremy DeSilva on this topic!

The American researcher talks to EL PAÍS about how walking upright was the starting point for our brain enlargement and our pro-social nature

01/30/2025

What was on the menu for 𝘈𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘴 in South Africa over 3 million years ago: mostly plants, or mostly meat? A recent study from Max-Planck-Institut für Chemie's Tina Lüdecke and colleagues uses nitrogen trapped in teeth to answer this question!

Analyzing the chemistry of some ancient teeth has revealed what human ancestors were eating around 3 million years ago.

01/29/2025

Chimpanzees have unique genetic adaptations to survive in different environments, including some that protect populations from malaria - and these findings are vital to chimpanzee conservation efforts. Read more about the recent study on this topic from the UCL based team led by Harrison Ostridge!

Chimpanzees bear genetic adaptations that help them thrive in their different forest and savanna habitats, some of which may protect against malaria, according to a study by an international team led by UCL researchers.

01/28/2025

A recent study of cut marked animal fossils from Grăunceanu, Romania dated to at least 1.95 million years ago including our own Briana Pobiner pushes back the date of hominin presence in Eurasia about 500,000 years earlier than previously known, and suggests that hominins dispersed there during interglacial periods when habitats were relatively seasonal.

Research led by the Department of Sociology & Anthropology at Ohio University has found evidence of hominin activity at a Romanian fossil site dating to at least 1.95 million years ago. This discovery pushes back the known date of European hominins by half a million years and establishes Grăunceanu...

01/27/2025

Today, modern humans occupy every habitat on the planet. New research from Julio Mercader at University of Calgary and colleagues based at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania suggests that 𝘏𝘰𝘮𝘰 𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘴 was also able to adapt to desert environments.

Homo erectus adapted to live in arid, desert-like conditions 1.2 million years ago according to new research.

Address

The Museum Is Located At The Intersection Of 10th Street And Constitution Avenue
Washington D.C., DC
20560

Opening Hours

Monday	10am - 5:30pm
Tuesday	10am - 5:30pm
Wednesday	10am - 5:30pm
Thursday	10am - 5:30pm
Friday	10am - 5:30pm
Saturday	10am - 5:30pm
Sunday	10am - 5:30pm

Telephone

(202) 633-1000

Website

https://www.si.edu/termsofuse/, http://www.si.edu/privacy/, http://humanorigins.si.edu/

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