The Human Origins Program at the Smithsonian is dedicated to understanding the scientific evidence f Welcome to our page!
(34)
Please feel free to share thoughts about our posts, ask us questions, or tell us about your visit. We hope youโll contribute to this interactive forum and to our ongoing conversation about the work we do to further the Smithsonian's mission to increase and diffuse knowledge. While on-topic discussion is encouraged, we ask that you express yourself in a civil manner and treat other users with respe
ct. The Smithsonian also monitors and may remove posts consistent with its terms of use, as described at http://si.edu/Termsofuse -gen. For our Privacy Policy: http://www.si.edu/Privacy
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
This week's Friday fun reading is a recently posted guide to ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ค๐ถ๐ด species by University of Wisconsin-Madison's John Hawks!
These ancient human relatives include the first species with evidence of upright walking and running like humans. They represent more than a third of our evolutionary history.
We're excited to hear about a new human evolution exhibit at the Iziko Museums of South Africa called HUMANITY, which opened today, and reimagines the story of human evolution as centered on the diversity of humans today and how we came to be that way.
Iziko Museums of South Africa, in collaboration with the Human Evolution Research Institute at the University of Cape Town (UCT), will host a new exhibition entitled, HUMANITY.
Following on our post from yesterday - more cool trackways research in southern Africa! A team led by Kunstgeschichte (Friedrich-Alexander-Universitรคt Erlangen-Nรผrnberg)'s Andreas Pastoors recently presented evidence that during the Later Stone Age in what is now Namibia, rock artists imbued so much detail into their engravings of human and animal prints that current-day Indigenous trackers could identify which animals' prints they were depicting, as well as the animals' general age and s*x.
During the Later Stone Age in what is now Namibia, rock artists imbued so much detail into their engravings of human and animal prints that current-day Indigenous trackers could identify which animals' prints they were depicting, as well as the animals' general age and s*x. Andreas Pastoors of Fried...
A team led by Nelson Mandela University's Charles Helm recently described evidence from at least three tracksites on the South African Cape south coast suggesting that that humans may have worn footwear while traversing dune surfaces there during the Middle Stone Age.
Trackway findings support the notion of southern Africa being one region where human cognitive and practical ability developed a very long time ago.
Yesterday was National Family Day! A group of over 200 ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ค๐ถ๐ด ๐ข๐ง๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ด๐ช๐ด fossils from over a dozen individuals found in 1975 at the site of AL-333 at Hadar, Ethiopia, and dated to ~3.2 million years ago, are nicknamed "the First Family". Learn more about this early human species on our website:
Australopithecus afarensis Behavior Primate Behavior Footprints Stone Tools Getting Food Carrying & Storing Hearths & Shelters Burial Recording Information Making Clothing Art & Music Human Fossils Species Fossils Mystery Skull Interactive Shanidar 3 - Neanderthal Skeleton 3D Collection Artifacts Fo...
Itโs National Cooking Day! The ability to cook fundamentally altered ancestral diets and may have contributed to increases in brain size in human evolution. Cooking makes food easier to digest and allows access to more nutrients. Cooking with fire may go back to 1 million years ago, but could have potentially started even earlier.
Tools & Food Walking Upright Tools & Food Bodies Brains Social Life Language & Symbols Humans Change the World Human Characteristics: Tools & Foods Some non-human primates occasionally use tools. So how are humans different? Watch this video to find out. NOTE: This video is silent. New Tools, New Fo...
This week's Friday fun reading celebrates Hobbit Day today! The small-statured, large-footed ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฐ ๐ง๐ญ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ช๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ด๐ช๐ด got its nickname "the Hobbit" from its resemblance to the creatures from J. R. R. Tolkien's novels.
Homo floresiensis Behavior Primate Behavior Footprints Stone Tools Getting Food Carrying & Storing Hearths & Shelters Burial Recording Information Making Clothing Art & Music Human Fossils Species Fossils Mystery Skull Interactive Shanidar 3 - Neanderthal Skeleton 3D Collection Artifacts Fossils Pri...
An exciting find published yesterday: a team led by University of Liverpool's Lawrence Barham presented their discoveries of modified wood from Kalambo Falls in Zambia dated to at least 476,000 years ago. These include the earliest-known example of a hominin-crafted wooden structure and a collection of wooden tools.
Ancient hand-crafted wooden structures excavated in Zambia.
A recent study by Duke University's Herman Pontzer looked at patterns of obesity in 40 species of nonhuman primates, and found that they can put on too much weight just as easily as humans can, regardless of diet, habitat, or genetic differences - all they need is extra food. This contradicts the idea that our species is prone to obesity because our ancestors evolved "thrifty genes" making us incredibly efficient at storing calories to get through tough times.
Contrary to some theories, our species didnโt evolve to gain weight more easily than other apes and monkeys, study finds
A recent study led by Dartmouth's Luke Fannin concluded that apes and early humans likely evolved free-moving shoulders and flexible elbows to slow their descent from trees as gravity pulled on their heavier bodies.
The rotating shoulders and extending elbows that allow humans to reach for a high shelf or toss a ball with friends may have first evolved as a natural braking system for our primate ancestors who simply needed to get out of trees without dying.
A new 3D analysis led by The Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Antoine Muller suggests that these 1.4 million year old rounded stones called spheroids from โUbeidiya, Israel, were intentionally made by early humans.
New 3D analysis suggests 1.4-million-year-old objects were intentionally made
This week's Friday fun reading is a nod to the 20th anniversary of the discovery of ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฐ ๐ง๐ญ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ช๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ด๐ช๐ด earlier this month.
The explosive discovery of a tiny, enigmatic hominin in an Indonesian cave in 2003 captivated the world. Now, 20 years later, scientists are still struggling to understand the hobbitโs place in the human family tree.
A recent study led by Universidad Complutense de Madrid's Raquel Asiain revisited La Pasiega, Spain's cave's rock art using new digital stereoscopic recording methods and identified previously unnoticed animal figures within the cave art.
Research led by Complutense University, Madrid, has discovered an array of ancient cave paintings hidden among previously described cave art. In a paper, "Animals hidden in plain sight: stereoscopic recording of Paleolithic rock art at La Pasiega cave, Cantabria," published in Antiquity, the team fi...
A recent study led by UP Diliman's Hermine Xhauflair of damage on 39,000 year old stone tools from Tabon Cave, Phillipines, indicates indirect evidence of basket/tying material making - suggesting that fiber technology was was an integral part of late Pleistocene skillset in Southeast Asia.
Studying tools found in Tabon Cave, archaeologists found traces that indicate plants were used as crafting components.
This past Sunday was Grandparent's Day! The relationship between human grandparents and grandchildren is rarely seen in other animals. The "Grandmother hypothesis" for the existence of menopause kin humans posits that the assistance in care and nourishment that grandmothers gave to their grandchildren enabled mothers to have more children, so women who lived long enough to provide this grandmotherly support would have more surviving grandchildren who carried their genes for longevity.
Scientists debate the evolutionary benefits of menopause
A recent genetic study on the remains of 30 people who lived during the Iron or Bronze Age in Sardinia, Tunisia and mainland Italy conducted by an international team of anthropologists, archaeologists and geneticists led by Stanford University's Jonathan Pritchard and University of Vienna's Ron Pinhasi learned more about the migration patterns of people living around the Mediterranean Sea during the Iron and Bronze ages. They found evidence of widespread migration around the Mediterranean, suggesting strong ties between distant people.
An international team of anthropologists, archaeologists and geneticists has learned more about the migration patterns of people living around the Mediterranean Sea during the Iron and Bronze ages. In their study, reported in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution, the group conducted genetic sequen...
This week's Friday fun reading is a recent SAPIENS article about how the discovery of a human skull and jawbone at Tam Pร Ling in Laos helps push back the timing of modern humansโ migration into Southeast Asia.
Researchers explain how a skull and jawbone from a Laos cave helps push back the timing of modern humansโ migration into Southeast Asia.
We're excited to kick off our fall HOT (Human Origins Today) Topic free online events on Thursday, September 21 from 11:30 am - 12:30 pm ET with Texas A&M University's Heather Thakar discussing the domestication of maize! Preregistration required.
HOT (Human Origins Today) Topic - From ancient teosinte to modern corn: the domestication of plants and people [ONLINE] Acknowledgments Events Human Origins Program Team Broader Social Impacts Committee What We Do Members & Member Resources Members Thoughts on Science, Religion & Human Origins (vide...
Do the grammars of languages tend to evolve simpler when spoken by larger societies of strangers with many non-native speakers? A recent study led by Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology's Olena Shcherbakova says no, and shows that changes in grammatical complexity are not shaped by social environments.
A new study shows that changes in grammatical complexity are not shaped by social environments
Our ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฐ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ด๐ช๐ด and ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ณ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ด๐ช๐ด reconstructions in particular want you to know that this past Saturday, September 2nd, was World Beard Day. ๐ง
Reconstructed Faces Slideshows Bronze Statues Reconstructed Faces Videos Audio Reconstructed faces from the "What Does It Mean To Be Human?" exhibit. Paranthropus boisei, male. Reconstruction based on OH 5 and KNM-ER 406 by John Gurche Australopithecus africanus. Reconstruction based on STS 5 by Joh...
This week's Friday fun reading is a great recent overview of Neanderthals by archaeologist Rebecca Wragg Sykes.
Neanderthals are an extinct lineage of hominins that emerged around 400,000 years ago and died off around 40,000 years ago. They are the closest known human relatives and interbred with Homo sapiens.
A recent study led by Chinese Academy of Sciences's Xiujie Wu and Wu Liu suggests that 300,000 year old fossil remains found at Hualongdong, China, may belong to a yet unknown human lineage
A team of paleontologists at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, working with colleagues from Xi'an Jiaotong University, the University of York, the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences and the National Research Center on Human Evolution, has found evidence of a previously unknown human lineage. I...
A recent experimental archaeology study led by Kent State University's Michelle Bebber found that the use of atlatls (spear throwers) equalizes female and male projectile weapon velocity while hunting, supporting women's potential active role as prehistoric hunters.
A new study led by archaeologist Michelle Bebber, Ph.D., an assistant professor in Kent State University's Department of Anthropology, has demonstrated that the atlatl (i.e., spear thrower) functions as an "equalizer," a finding which supports women's potential active role as prehistoric hunters.
A recent detailed genetic study led by Fudan University's Ke Wang and Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology's Johannes Krause of รtzi, the 5,300 year old 'Iceman' found high in the Alps, determined that he had dark eyes, skin pigmentation darker than that commonly seen among modern inhabitants of Greece or Sicily, was going bald, and was descended from farmers who migrated from Anatolia, an area that is now part of Turkey.
Genetic analysis shows that รtzi was descended from farmers who migrated from an area that is now part of Turkey
A team led by Universitรฉ de Toulouse's Arthur Gicqueau and Universitรฉ de Bordeaux's Bruno Maureille recently determined that part of a fossil pelvis (hip bone) from Grotte du Renne cave in Arcy-sur-Cure, France, may have belonged to an early lineage of modern humans, ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฐ ๐ด๐ข๐ฑ๐ช๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ด, one subtly different from present-day modern humans - suggesting that a group often thought of as solely Neanderthals in Europe may have consisted of Neanderthals and modern humans living together.
Fossil found in France is not quite modern human and not quite Neanderthal.
It's National Hair Loss Awareness month! Modern humans have 'lost' a lot of body hair compared with earlier human species and other primates. In this week's Friday fun reading, find out about some of the possible explanations why in this Smithsonian Magazine article:
We are the naked apes of the world, having shed most of our body hair long ago
This Saturday is National Dog Day! How did this species come to be known as "human's best friend"? Check out our videos from past HOT (Human Origins Today) Topic programs with Dr. Audrey Lin on 5/15/21 https://ow.ly/E7xK50PB3T6 and Dr. Angela Perri on 5/18/23 https://ow.ly/whcC50PB3SX to learn more about our long history with dog domestication!
A recent study led by Marshall University's F. Robin O'Keefe of the remains of animals trapped long ago in the La Brea tar pits in whatโs now Los Angeles, California, concluded that warming, drying climate plus humansโ hunting and burning of the landscape led to large fires that precipitated the end-Pleistocene megafauna die-offs there around 13,000 years ago - and forever changed the ecosystem there.
Rapid drying combined with human-made fires changed Southern California forever, killing off ancient bison, dire wolves and five other megafauna species there.
A recent high-quality redo of the genome of รtzi the Iceman, who died ~5,300 years ago in the Italian Alps, led by Eurac Research's Albert Zink and Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology's Johannes Krause suggests he probably had male-pattern baldness, much darker skin than previously thought, and Antatolian-farmer ancestry.
Improved DNA analysis updates thinking on alpine mummyโs skin colour, ancestry and more.
This week's Friday fun reading celebrates International Orangutan Day tomorrow! From genomics to physiology to behavior, studies of these great apes can give us insight into the evolutionary history of primates - and our own lineage. Read more about these close evolutionary cousins of ours from the Smithsonianโs National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute:
Orangutans are the largest arboreal mammals and the most socially solitary of the great apes. All three orangutan species โ Bornean, Sumatran and the newly discovered Tapanuli โ are critically endangered, primarily due to habitat loss.
A new study led by Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology's Wolfgang Haak combined genetic, archaeological and social anthropological methods to analyze the remains of more than 100 dead individuals buried between 4850 and 4500 B.C.E. at the Gurgy โLes Noisatsโ cemetery in central France. They found that women older than a certain age left their family and place of birth to reside with their reproductive partner elsewhere, while the men stayed near their biological family.
New archaeological finds offer a glimpse of family life 6,500 years ago
Check out this recent Big Think video featuring primatologist Frans de Waal who inadvertently popularized the term "alpha male." Now, heโs debunking common stereotypes to explain what an "alpha male" really is โ empathetic and protective.
Primatologist Frans de Waal inadvertently popularized the term โalpha male.โ Now, heโs debunking common stereotypes to explain what an โalpha maleโ really is โ empathetic and protective.
In a recent study led by Christian-Albrechts-Universitรคt zu Kiel's Daniel Unterweger, a research team has examined ancient and modern ๐ ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐ช๐ข ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ด (plague) genomes ranging from the Neolithic to the modern pandemic and found that it took up new genetic elements that increased the virulence of the pathogen.
The origins of the plague go back to the Neolithic Age, with the oldest findings of the causative pathogen Yersinia pestis coming from human bones around 5,000 years old. In the history of the plague, the late antique Justinianic plague from the sixth century and the so-called Black Death of the lat...
Yesterday was International Left Handers Day! Being left-handed is rare in the human fossil record, as it is today; studies of handedness show a preference for the right hand extending far back in our evolutionary lineage. Researchers can study ancient handedness by examining marks left on teeth during oral processing - essentially when using the mouth as a third hand.
Scientists have discovered one of the earliest examples of handedness in an ancient human
This week's Friday fun reading is about a recent study led by UCSF's Alex Pollen which focused on gene function to help identify genetic changes that made us human - and may provide unique clues into how humans and chimps have evolved, including how humans became able to grow comparatively large brains.
Humans split away from our closest animal relatives, chimpanzees, and formed our own branch on the evolutionary tree about seven million years ago. In the time sinceโbrief, from an evolutionary perspectiveโour ancestors evolved the traits that make us human, including a much bigger brain than ch...
A recent study led by Universitรฉ de Bordeaux's Maรฏtรฉ Rivollat and Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology's Wolfgang Haak used ancient genomics to build the largest-ever genealogy of a prehistoric family, providing a snapshot of life in an early farming community dating to about 6,500 years ago in France.
Unprecedented genealogical tree reveals details of prehistoric social relationships.
It's National Book Lovers Day! Check out some of our recommended reading material on human evolution here: https://humanorigins.si.edu/education/recommended-books.
Recommended Books Introduction to Human Evolution Lesson Plans For College Students Fun Facts Human Origins Glossary Teaching Evolution through Human Examples Frequently Asked Questions Recommended Books Mystery Skull Interactive When scientists discover a fossil skull, they compare it to skulls tha...
Today is International Cat Day! Some evidence points to our domestication of cats as far back as 9,000 years ago, while some researchers argue cats still aren't truly domesticated. You can read about some of our history with cats and the genomic insights into domesticity in this Smithsonian Magazine post:
There is little genetic difference between a tabby and a wild cat, so scientists think the house cat is only domestic when it wants to be
Yesterday was National Friendship Day! Social relationships have played an important role in human evolution. Strong, lasting bonds help us navigate the complexities of human society. Learn more about the evolution of human social interactions on our website here: https://humanorigins.si.edu/human-characteristics/social-life
This week's Friday fun reading is about field research currently being conducted in Tanzania by Arizona State University anthropologist Kathryn Ranhorn. She studies human behavior and social lives primarily through understanding stone tool use - and she prioritizes cultivating relationships with the people who live near the sites where she works and whose lives can be most impacted by her team's research.
Thereโs a place in Tanzania called Kondoa thatโs known for its ancient rock paintings that cover a granite cliff. The district overlooks the Maasai Steppe โ a semiarid grassland where giraffes, zebras and wildebeest roam freely. It's a place where anthropologist Kathryn Ranhorn is conducting r...
The Museum Is Located At The Intersection Of 10th Street And Constitution Avenue
Washington D.C., DC
20560
| 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 |
Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Smithsonian's Human Origins Program posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Send a message to Smithsonian's Human Origins Program:
NSF REU Site: Natural History Research Experi
Constitution Avenue NWSummer Institute in Museum Anthropology
Constitution Avenue NWSmithsonian National Museum of Natural Histor
Street & Constitution Avenue NWDepartment of Entomology, NMNH, Smithsonian I
Street Nw At Constitution Avenue NWInvertebrate Zoology, Smithsonian National Mu
& Constitution Avenue
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural Histor
Street & Constitution Avenue NW
National Museum of American History
Street and Constitution Avenue
Smithsonian National Postal Museum
Massachusetts Avenue NE
National Museum of the United States Navy
Sicard Street SE
Smithsonian National Museum of African Americ
Constitution Avenue NW
Naval History & Heritage Command
Kidder Breese Street SE
The Smithsonian's Lemelson Center
Street and Constitution Avenue
#}
