First things first—humans are not descended from chimpanzees! Modern humans are the result of millions of years of evolution—from ape-like ancestors to Homo sapiens.
Neanderthals were not simple brutes, but much
more intelligent and developed than long thought, and even
modern humans, Homo sapiens, evolved in Africa and populated the world from there. The new permanent exhibition at the Natural History Museum clears up these and other misconceptions
and shows the
history of human evolution from the first primates to
modern humans.
Face to face with our predecessors: lifelike reconstructions of the busts of early humans such as Homo neanderthalensis and Homo heidelbergensis bring our ancestors to life in an impressive way. A particular eye-catcher is the full-body replica of "Lucy," probably the most famous fossil find in the history of research. Australopithecus afarensis, as it is scientifically known, was, according to current knowledge, the first early human species to walk upright on a regular basis.
For a long time, this fascinating topic was not represented in the museum's exhibitions – but now there is a new permanent exhibition area dedicated to human evolution. The exhibition is compact yet clearly laid out: the evolution of humans is traced in chronological order using selected representatives of the genus Homo and their ancestors. The most important evolutionary changes over the last seven million years are explained in three key areas: the development of upright walking, changes in diet, and cognition and its further development.
Modern humans are the result of millions of years of evolution—from ape-like ancestors to Homo sapiens. Four-legged creatures became early human species that walked on two legs, initially only occasionally, but later permanently. Gradually, they spread from Africa across the entire globe. Ultimately, Homo sapiens, modern humans, remained the only human species.
But when and where did this development begin? When did which human species exist, and where did they live? What paths did early humans take on their migrations? Since when have modern humans existed? And how do we know all this? The new permanent exhibition answers these and other questions. With replicas of original fossil finds and impressive models of different human species, audio stations, and a large-screen presentation, the exciting history of "human evolution" is vividly illustrated.
