Sometime around six or seven million years ago, the first members of
our human family, Hominidae, evolved in Africa. They spent much of their
time in trees, as did their close primate relatives, the ancestors of
today's chimpanzees and gorillas. But unlike other primates, these early
hominids walked readily on two feet when on the ground--a trait
scientists often use to define the human family.
Between the time of the first hominids and the period when our species, Homo sapiens,
evolved in Africa more than 150,000 years ago, our planet was home to a
wide range of early humans. To piece together their story, scientists
rely on a wealth of evidence, including fossils, artifacts and DNA
analysis. The web of clues is difficult to unravel, and experts often
disagree about which species lived when and where. But it is clear that
the human family has a rich evolutionary history--a past that has shaped
who we are today.
A Walk Through Time
As you make your way through this
gallery, you'll be walking through millions of years of human history.
But just as human evolution did not follow a straight line, neither
should you. The exhibits have been arranged in chronological order.
Inside the Bones
The
pattern covering the walls of this hall is based on a digital image of
bone tissue from the famous 3.18-million-year-old "Lucy" fossil. This
picture was made using confocal scanning microscopy, a technology that
allows scientists to "see" microscopic details inside fossils without
cutting and damaging them. The sets of concentric circles, the largest
of which are the width of a human hair, contained a blood vessel in
life. Images like this help show how bone structure and function have
changed in the course of human evolution.
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