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Welcome to the EAL
Virtual Paleoanthropology Exhibit!

Created by Kiran Kowlaski (’23), Avnish Kulkarni (’24), Nick Bowman (’23), and Nina Hirai (’23) for the purposes of helping courses including ARCP204: Intro to Archaeology, ARCP203: Ancient DNA, and more, this exhibit displays a range of hominins throughout evolutionary history. The exhibit includes a collection of 3D scans of hominin fossil casts from Bones Clones that are part of the Archaeological and Anthropological Collections. Each scan is accompanied by an overview of the hominin’s biological and archaeological features, as well as remaining questions about the hominins that paleoanthropologists are still researching. Enjoy!

Australopithecus (Paranthropus) robustus
Australopithecus (Paranthropus) robustus
Australopithecus (Paranthropus) robustus AAC Catalogue Number:  2004.11.7 Dates: 1.8-1 million years ago Geographic Range: South Africa Anatomical Features:  Large teeth with thick enamel for chewing…
Australopithecus africanus
Australopithecus africanus
Australopithecus africanus AAC Catalogue Number: 2005.2.2 Dates: 3 – 2.2 million years ago Geographic Range: South Africa Anatomical Features:  Relatively short compared to other hominins,…
Homo erectus
Homo erectus
Homo erectus AAC Catalogue Number: 2004.11.39 Dates: 1.9 – 0.5 million years ago Geographic Range: Africa and Eurasia Anatomical Features:  Much larger brains and smaller teeth compared to…
Homo floresiensis
Homo floresiensis
Homo floresiensis AAC Catalogue Number: 2007.1. Dates: Original Date: 95,000 – 12,000 years ago; Revised Date: 700,000 – 50,000 years ago  Geographic Range: Flores, Indonesia  Anatomical Features:  Homo…
Homo habilis
Homo habilis
Homo habilis AAC Catalogue Number: 2004.1.18 Dates:  2.3-1.7 million years ago Geographic Range: East Africa Anatomical Features: Apelike, consistent with other semi-arboreal australopithecines. Technology Used: Homo habilis utilized Mode I…
Homo heidelbergensis
Homo heidelbergensis
Homo heidelbergensis AAC Catalogue Number: 2005.2.1 Dates: 900,000-130,000 years ago Geographic Range: Africa and Eurasia Anatomical Features:  Large forward projecting face with large brow ridges  Large brains Large teeth…
Neanderthal
Neanderthal
Neanderthal AAC Catalogue Number: 2004.11.40 Dates: 127,000-30,000 years ago Geographic Range: Europe and Western Asia Anatomical Features:  Large brains Rounded crania Small back teeth, heavily worn front teeth…
Proconsul africanus
Proconsul africanus
Proconsul afticanus AAC Catalogue Number: 2004.11.37 Dates: 14-23 million years ago Geographic Range: Eastern Africa, likely inhabited rainforests and woodlands. Anatomical Features:  No brow ridges, which is dissimilar…
Sahelanthropus tchadensis
Sahelanthropus tchadensis
Sahelanthropus tchadensis AAC Catalogue Number: 2005.1.4 Dating: 6-7 million years ago Geographic Range: East Africa Anatomical Features: The foramen magnum is located under the skull…
Australopithecus afarensis
Australopithecus afarensis
Australopithecus afarensis AAC Catalogue Number: 2004.11.38 Dates: 3.6 – 3.0 million years ago Geographic Range: East Africa Anatomical Features:  Evidence of bipedalism indicated by the…
Homo sapiens (Modern human)
Homo sapiens (Modern human)
AAC_2004.11.17A_Homo_sapiens_skull by Wesleyan University on Sketchfab
Pan troglodytes (Modern chimpanzee)
Pan troglodytes (Modern chimpanzee)
Pan troglodytes (Chimpanzee) AAC Catalogue Number: 2004.11.41 Dates: 1 million years ago – Present Geographic Range: Congo River Basin and Sub-Saharan West Africa Anatomical Features:…

Citations:

Boyd, Robert, and Joan B. Silk. How Humans Evolved. W.W. Norton & Company, 2018.

Hendry, L. (n.d.). Australopithecus afarensis, Lucy’s species. Retrieved April 01, 2021, from https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/australopithecus-afarensis-lucy-species.html

Scarre, C. (2018). The Human Past: World History & the Development of Human Societies (Fourth Edition) (Fourth ed.). Thames & Hudson.

“The Smithsonian Institution’s Human Origins Program.” The Smithsonian’s Human Origins Program | The Smithsonian Institution’s Human Origins Program, humanorigins.si.edu/. 

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