• Babies, Birth, and Brains

    We have big brains, but are we born with big brains or do they get big as we grow up? It turns out that it’s a little bit of both. Learn about how our incredible brains grow and find out what limits our brain size.
    Also in: Español

Ask An Anthropologist

Ask An Anthropologist is an educational resource for students, teachers, parents, and life-long learners. We encourage anyone interested in anthropology to make use of its content.

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Becoming human brings together interactive multimedia, research and scholarship to promote greater understanding of the course of human evolution.

Photo of Darwin

In 1859, Charles Darwin published a book called On the Origin of Species that completely changed our understanding of how biodiversity arises.

Tales of Teeth - photo of ancient tooth

You are sitting in a dark movie theater. You are trying to enjoy the movie, but you keep thinking about a pesky piece of popcorn stuck between your molars, the back teeth. After fumbling for a toothpick in your pocket, you dislodge the popcorn.

bipedality illustration
How do you move from one place to another? Well, most humans walk. Walking on two legs is a very human trait. Learn how the evolution of bipedal walking changed the course of our history.
Do humans have big brains? image

We have big brains, but are we born with big brains or do they get big as we grow up? It turns out that it’s a little bit of both. Learn about how our incredible brains grow and find out what limits our brain size.
Also in: Español