ArchaeOLogy > What's This? Early Humans

More than 15 tons of bones from 95 extinct mammoths were used to build the actual hut this model is based on. This scene shows modern humans (Homo sapiens) who lived during an Ice Age 15,000 years ago in what is now Ukraine. During this period, Earth was much colder than it is today. So humans interlocked the bones to keep cold air out.

Did you know that during this Ice Age, the ground in northern Europe was always frozen? Frozen soil is called permafrost, and it was useful to early humans. When they hunted more meat than they could eat, they dug holes in the permafrost to store and preserve the food. It was an ancient freezer!

To stay warm, humans wore clothing made from skins of fur-covered animals. They used bone needles to sew the hides into protective clothing.

This is a model of a Neanderthal (Homo neanderthalensis) living 50,000 years ago in what is now western France. Neanderthals were not ancestors of modern humans, but are an extinct relative. Neanderthals were clever toolmakers. They chipped one stone against another to make them razor-sharp. The stones were handy for scraping animal hides clean and sharpening branches into hunting spears. Fossil Neanderthal skulls often have very worn front teeth. This may be evidence that Neanderthals used their teeth as tools!

These stone tools were found in Kenya. They are 790,000 years old and were advanced for the time.

They were carefully shaped to fit in the palm. The hand axes (right) have two cutting edges on opposite sides. Scientists think early humans used these tools to dig roots, cut meat, and scrape hides.

This scene shows Homo ergaster, an extinct ancestor of modern humans. This species lived 1.8 million years ago near what is now Lake Turkana in eastern Africa.

Surviving in this harsh, hot environment took creativity. Homo ergaster chipped stones into sharp flakes to butcher animals for food. The stones may have also helped ward off scavengers — animals who eat remains.

Each scene from the Museum’s Hall of Human Origins shows how early humans may have lived. “The scenes are like time machines that capture moments in the past,” says Steve Quinn , senior project manager of dioramas. He and a team of artists sculpt the figures and create scenery—from grass to snow to soil. Working closely with scientists, they base as many details as possible on scientific evidence such as fossils and tools. Details with less direct evidence, such as skin color and clothing design, require a bit of imagination!