Category: Human Origins
Darwin and the Smithsonian’s Racist Brain Collection
The motivation for the brain collection was to document how some people were supposedly lower on the evolutionary ladder than others.
Maura: The Woman Whose Brain Was Stolen and Stored by the Smithsonian
Maura was brought from the Philippines to the U.S. in 1904 to take part in one of the public displays of indigenous people at the St. Louis World’s Fair.
Smithsonian’s Racist Brain Collection Exposed by Washington Post
These human specimens were collected in large part to dramatize how non-white peoples were supposedly lower on the evolutionary ladder than whites.
Asking Questions Demonstrates Human Exceptionalism
This human trait of question-asking begins almost as soon as we learn to talk. Young children can confound their parents with their rapid-fire questions.
Fossil Friday: Another Prediction Vindicated
The virtual ink for my article had hardly dried when a story about a new discovery hit the news.