The hall explores human biology and anatomy, traces the path of human evolution, and examines the origins of human creativity. Featuring four life-sized tableaux of Homo ergaster, Homo erectus, Neanderthals, and Cro-Magnons, the Spitzer Hall of Human Origins shows each species in its habitat, demonstrating the behaviors and capabilities that ...

Accurate fossil dating methods show that evolution proceeds at variable rates and is not always gradual. And sophisticated studies of wild populations provide insights into how new species are formed.

Authored by world-class biologists, this six-week online course draws on the Museum’s long-standing leadership in paleontology, geology, systematics, and molecular biology to illuminate the fundamental concept that underlies all life sciences.

In evolution, the fate of an individual depends on which features it has. Each human, for example, inherits a unique combination of thousands of different features, such as eye color, blood type and sensitivity to certain tastes.

Nov 19, 2005 · Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection underlies all modern biology. It enables us to decipher our genes and fight viruses, and to understand Earth's fossil record and rich biodiversity. Simple yet at times controversial, misunderstood and misused for social goals, the theory remains unchallenged as the central concept of biology.

Watch seven million years of human evolution, told through the fossils of our hominin ancestors like the now-extinct genera of Australopithecus and Paranthropus.

The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Orientation Center introduces visitors to the key concepts presented in the Museum’s fourth-floor Fossil Halls, where more than 600 specimens, 85 percent of them actual fossils, are arranged as a giant “family tree” defined by evolutionary relationships.

This close whale relative, a member of the hoofed mammal group that includes hippos and whales, is known from a single skull discovered in 1923 during a Museum expedition to Mongolia and China. The rarely displayed specimen is now on exhibit in Whales: Giants of the Deep.

American Museum of Natural History 200 Central Park West New York, NY 10024-5102 Phone: 212-769-5100. Open daily, 10 am–5:30 pm. Closed Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. Directions »

The Hall of Vertebrate Origins traces the evolution of vertebrates, or animals with backbones, back more than 500 million years. Explored here are groups within the vertebrate family that exhibit crucial physical developments, including animals with jaws (gnathostomes), limbs (tetrapods), openings in the palate (sauropsids), openings in front ...