A cast of the skull of the Homo erectus known as ‘Peking Man’ – the earliest human remains yet found in China.
It’s not often that we go to a museum for a family reunion, but that’s how our last visit to the Natural History Museum felt, as we wandered around their new Human Evolution gallery.
Carly had some annual leave to use up – and there’s no better way to use holiday than to visit a museum, right? – so off she went with a likeminded friend on the day that the permanent exhibition opened.
It’s quite a small space, tucked away at the back of the museum – near the escalator up into the geological displays, and next to one of Carly’s other favourite exhibits, ‘Sophie’ the stegosaurus – but absolutely crammed with information, and both Carly and companion were completely spellbound.
The gallery begins with a ‘family tree’ of different human species, represented by casts of skulls. Some of these subspecies walked the earth at the same time – it’s a strange thought that we’re now the only ones left, I wonder what it was like to have Neanderthal neighbours?
Inside, you’re met by an astonishing wealth of artefacts and fossils – all mindblowingly old – as well as casts of other specimens, and some startling lifelike, lifesized reconstructions. One of these, a Homo sapiens with screwed up eyes and a bit of twig held in his mouth, we named ‘Flint Eastwood’.
One of the Gough’s Cave skull cups
There is plenty more for archaeology fans to feast their eyes on – both famous finds such as the first Neanderthal skull ever excavated (dubbed ‘Gibraltar 1’, it was found in 1848 and belonged to an adult female) and the Gough’s Cave skull cups (14,700-year-old bowls crafted from human crania – evidence for cannibalism among our ancestors?), and exciting new discoveries, bringing the research story right up to date.
These include displays about ‘the Hobbit’ (not that one- Homo floresiensis), a strikingly small subspecies that was identified in Indonesia a few years back, and casts of the skull and hand of Homo naledi, another extinct subspecies whose existence was only discovered a couple of years ago, with the recovery of bones from Rising Star Cave in South Africa.
That’s the amazing thing about palaeoanthropology – all of a sudden new branches are added to our family tree that we never dreamed existed before.
Flint Eastwood!
Other areas of the gallery look at tools, evidence for art, burial customs, ritual practices – lots of interesting insights into what made our ancestors tick. These ancient objects are complemented by an amazing array of scientific research – there’s a particularly fascinating video about the latest DNA analysis, which suggests that most of us are a little bit Neanderthal.
Come and meet the ancestors – they’re not as different to us as you might think.
All images: Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London
More information:
Entry is free.
Website: www.nhm.ac.uk
Address: Natural History Museum, Cromwell Rd, London SW7 5BD
Open daily 10.00am-17.50pm
Nearest Tube station: South Kensington
Twins on Tour 