Mock Smithsonian Exhibit! Human Origins: What Do We Not Know that We Think We Know"

Imagine you are interning at the Smithsonian.  Rocked by a series of archeological discoveries in the last two to three years, the Executive Director wants to mount an exhibit entitled, “Human Origins: What Do We Not Know that We Think We Know.”  This exhibit could include references to PHYSICAL REMAINS (such as bones), PRIMARY SOURCES (such as artifacts like tools or art), as well as references to SECONDARY SOURCE interpretation such as dueling theories of rival archeologists.  The point of this exhibit is to challenge CONVENTIONAL WISDOM (what is widely accepted to be true) by challenging SO-CALLED facts or unfounded interpretations.   

You’ve decided to look at a run-of-the-mill textbook (World History: Patterns of Interaction) -- THIS IS THE BIG SHEET YOU GOT IN CLASS -- to determine what historians and textbook publishers are presenting to students today as widely accepted to be true.  You are going to challenge it using the new discoveries of the past three years to answer the question, what do we NOT know about the origins of humans (that we think we know)?   

Your work product will be a 1-page summary of how you would answer this question in your exhibit. What primary and secondary sources would you use?  How would you use them?  What are you challenging? 

Your research sources are as follows:

• The NYTimes article, Who Apes Whom? http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/15/opinion/who-apes-whom.html
• What Does Cave Art Mean? 
• In South Africa, People Painted with Cow Milk Long Before They Domesticated Cattle
• Rock (Art) of Ages: Indonesian Cave Paintings Are 40,000 Years Old
• The Cave Art Debate
• Things that Humans Did Not Invent (Including Art) 
• The Origins of Modern Culture
• The History through Art selection, Cave Paintings 

As you read, think about: What are the main points of these Smithsonian articles?  What do they suggest about what we don't know about human origins?   What parts of the GET PAST are most under challenge? 

This is worth 15 points in the Home and Class Work portion of your grade (2.5 class periods of work time plus homework).

• With examples, do you show you understand the difference between a fact and an interpretation? (5 points)   
• With examples, do you identify which widely accepted ideas about early humans have been challenged recently?  (5 points) 
• With source references, did you organize and write up your summary well? (5 points)