David H. Koch Hall of Human Origins

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

What Does it Mean to be Human?

Meet your closest ancestors and relatives in this interactive exploration of human evolution. This 15,000-square-foot gallery invites you to explore the scientific evidence of human origins over the past 6 million years and traces how we evolved the unique traits that distinguish our species.

Discover fascinating stories of extinction and survival, and learn about some of the features that set us apart from other species: from walking upright to using tools, from our big brains to our ability to use symbols and language.

Did you know?

Homo sapiens and Neanderthals lived at the same time

Look For

evolution in faces of fossils to humans — Eight lifelike head reconstructions created using pioneering forensic techniques and fossil analysis

An image of Neanderthal bones on display in the Human Origins exhibit. — A real Neanderthal—the only original fossil Neanderthal skeleton housed in the United States

Line of human skulls in case — A display of more than 75 exact replicas of the most complete early human fossil skulls from around the world

Things To Do

Compare five touchable early human skulls to discover how the size and shape of our braincases and faces have evolved over millions of years.
Visit a "morphing" station to find out what you'd look like as an early human, and e-mail yourself a copy of the picture to keep.
Explore Stone Age art, music, and jewelry from around the world.

Human Origins

Our Common Ancestry

Travel to a time past when human ancestors walked the Earth. This website offers a greater exploration of the subjects found in the Hall of Human Origins.

Explore

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An illustration of a Pteranodon with fossil shadow on a yellow background.

FIRST FLOOR | EXHIBIT

David H. Koch Hall of Fossils - Deep Time