Skip to NavigationSmithsonian National Museum of Natural HistoryThe Smithsonian Institution's Human Origins ProgramFacebookTwitterFAQSupport Our WorkSearch this site:Anthropocene:    The Age of Humans    Learn moreInteractive TimelineLearn moreDigital CollectionLearn moreAdventures in     the Rift Valley    Learn moreSupport Our WorkLearn moreHall of Human OriginsLearn moreWhat's Hot in Human Origins?View Human Origins News >>Facebook Human Origins ProgramSmithsonian's Human Origins Program#ICYMI, a new analysis of the 3.4 million year old butchered animal bones from Dikika, Ethiopia came out recently. Here's what our own Dr. Briana Pobiner has to say about it.              Ancient marks on 3.4-million-year-old animal bones were not caused by trampling — a finding that raises the odds that they were made by deliberate cutting by human ancestors.        Human Ancestors May Have Butchered Animals 3.4 Million Years Ago          1 week 21 hours ago.EventsView All Events >>September 3, 2015 - 12:00pm - 2:00pm    The Scientist is In: Jennifer ClarkSeptember 17, 2015 - 12:00pm - 2:00pm    The Scientist is InSeptember 25, 2015 - 4:00pm - 5:00pm    HOT (Human Origins Today) TopicOctober 1, 2015 - 12:00pm - 2:00pm    The Scientist is InFeatured ResearchView more Human Evolution Research >>Olorgesailie, Kenya    Fieldwork at Olorgesailie, Kenya, seeks to understand the life and times of early humans in the East African Rift Valley over the past 1 million years.'Hobbits' on Flores, Indonesia    Research on the island of Flores, Indonesia, helps unravel the life and extinction of the smallest and most enigmatic fossil human species.Human Evolution:Religious PerspectivesRead More >>Human Evolution: Religious Perspectives    The Hall of Human Origins offers a welcoming place to explore one of the most exciting areas of science, the study of human evolution. Despite strong public interest in the science, however, many people find this topic troubling when viewed from a religious perspective. Representatives of diverse religious communities encourage a larger, more respectful understanding of both the scientific evidence and religious belief.Fun FactsThe short-haired human!    While other primates are furry, human skin is exposed to the elements. It’s not that we’re ‘naked’ – our hair is just really short over much of our bodies. In the warm places where our ancestors lived, evaporation of sweat from exposed skin was a great benefit in cooling our entire bodies. Our brain runs so ‘hot’, in fact, that sweating and cooling proved vital for evolving our big brain.Our eyes say it!    Compared to other primates, humans have huge ‘whites of the eyes’, or sclera. This means that humans can easily read each other’s gaze. In experiments, great ape infants usually follow a gaze only when the experimenter also turns his head. But human infants follow the gaze when the experimenter moves only his eyes. The whites of our eyes may help a lot i