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For most of us, science arrives in our lives packaged neatly as fact. But how did it get that way?
Science is an active process of observation and investigation. Evidence: How Do We Know What We Know? examines that process, revealing the ways in which ideas and information become knowledge and understanding. A CASE STUDY IN HUMAN ORIGINS In this case study in human origins, we explore how scientific evidence is being used to shape our current understanding of ourselves: What makes us human—and how did we get this way? This online exhibition requires a monitor resolution of 1024 x 768, the Flash 9 player , and a high-speed Internet connection. |
Articles, photo essays, and video transcripts, with links to Flash videos
What behaviors separate us from our primate relatives? Tool use? Intelligence? "Human" kindness?
The answers may surprise you.
INTRODUCTION > Only by carefully observing a system can we learn enough about it to ask meaningful questions. . . .
VIDEO > Evolutionary geneticist Svante Pääbo explains that culture—long thought to be developed only by humans—is evident among other primates as well. [VIDEO TRANSCRIPT]
ARTICLE > Culture —learned patterns of behavior that vary from group to group — was long thought to be an exclusively human trait. . . .
Primatologist Christophe Boesch demonstrates and discusses several aspects of chimpanzee behavior.
VIDEO > Leaf Clipping [VIDEO TRANSCRIPT]
VIDEO > Ant Dipping [VIDEO TRANSCRIPT]
VIDEO > Hive Raiding [VIDEO TRANSCRIPT]
VIDEO > Nut Cracking [VIDEO TRANSCRIPT]
VIDEO > Culture Loss [VIDEO TRANSCRIPT]
Psychologist Felix Warneken explains how his research found answers to this question.
VIDEO > Altruism: The Instinct to Help [VIDEO TRANSCRIPT]
VIDEO > Observing Altruism: Field vs. Lab [VIDEO TRANSCRIPT]
VIDEO > Do chimps cooperate even when they’re not related? The traditional answer is no, but primatologist Linda Vigilant explains how genetics is revising this belief. [VIDEO TRANSCRIPT]
ARTICLE > Historically, cooperation between unrelated individuals was assumed to be something rarely seen in non humans. . . .
Primatologist Josep Call discusses research designed to test primates’ ability to plan for the future and solve problems. He also explains why it would be interesting to know if primates can remember and repay favors.
VIDEO > Planning for the Future [VIDEO TRANSCRIPT]
VIDEO > Solving Problems [VIDEO TRANSCRIPT]
VIDEO > Repaying Favors [VIDEO TRANSCRIPT]
Are you a Homo erectus or a Homo sapiens ? Take the pencil test and find out.
INTRODUCTION > Scientists look for clues, too, in much the same way as detectives do, by visiting a scene and gathering evidence. . . .
Anthropologist Katerina Harvati explains how scientists from various disciplines work together to find fossilized human remains, and explains the importance of cast collections to the study of human evolution.
VIDEO > Finding Fossils [VIDEO TRANSCRIPT]
VIDEO > Collecting Casts [VIDEO TRANSCRIPT]
PHOTO ESSAY> Search a geological map of Ethiopia for fossils.
VIDEO > Various features of a fossil skull help anthropologists determine what species it belongs to. Here, anthropologist Katerina Harvati explains how a pencil can be used to distinguish between ancient species. [VIDEO TRANSCRIPT]
PHOTO ESSAY> Explore a timeline of homind fossils.
Some 30 – 35,000 years ago, Neanderthals became extinct. Climate change and a taste for steaks may be to blame. (Sound familiar?) Anthropologist Katerina Harvati explains, and dispels popular myths about Neanderthals.
VIDEO > Adapting to Change [VIDEO TRANSCRIPT]
VIDEO > Neanderthals: Fact vs. Fiction [VIDEO TRANSCRIPT]
VIDEO > Anthropologist Jean-Jacques Hublin gives evidence suggesting that humans and Neanderthals exchanged culture and technologies. [VIDEO TRANSCRIPT]
ARTICLE > Now extinct, Neanderthals were our closest relative — so close, in fact, that some have argued that they should actually be considered members of our own species. . . .
Are Neanderthals our ancestors? Why can only humans speak?
Genetics tells us how — and when — we became human.
INTRODUCTION > Much trickier are evaluating the data, figuring out how one piece of information relates to another, and deciding what it all means. . . .
PHOTO ESSAY> Explore the process of ancient DNA extraction.
VIDEO > Evolutionary geneticist Svante Pääbo explains that analysis of ancient Neanderthal DNA is very tricky work, thanks to fragmentation and contamination of genetic material. [VIDEO TRANSCRIPT]
ARTICLE > Genetic information — DNA — is composed of strands of amino acid pairs called base pairs, strung together like beads on a necklace. . . .
VIDEO > Evolutionary geneticists Wolfgang Enard and Svante Pääbo discuss the genetic underpinnings of speech and language. [VIDEO TRANSCRIPT]
ARTICLE > Is a single gene, FOXP2, the secret to human speech?. . .
VIDEO > Geneticist Mark Stoneking describes a special type of genetic material called mitochondrial DNA which is passed directly from mother to child. Largely unchanged from generation to generation, this genetic material gives researchers a way to track populations back in time. [VIDEO TRANSCRIPT]
ARTICLE > Inside each cell in your body is a nucleus that contains your DNA, your unique genetic material. . . .
VIDEO > Evolutionary geneticist Ed Green discusses the key questions researchers hope to answer by analyzing the Neanderthal genome. [VIDEO TRANSCRIPT]
ARTICLE > Scientists study the Neanderthal genome not just to learn about Neanderthals. . . .
Our life stories are written in our teeth. How can we read them?
INTRODUCTION > The measurements that scientists make allow them to identify patterns and variations in those patterns, both of which can tell useful stories. . . .
VIDEO > Anthropologist Tanya Smith explains that invisible microstructure inside teeth creates a durable record of life history, including events such as birth, illness, famine, stress, and death. [VIDEO TRANSCRIPT]
ARTICLE > Have you ever seen someone with dark horizontal lines in their teeth?. . .
PHOTO ESSAY> Explore the insides of fossil teeth at a microscopic level.
MAGNIFY IMAGE > Zoom into a fossil chimp tooth.
VIDEO > Anthropologist Jean-Jacques Hublin explains what scientists can learn from bones and teeth. [VIDEO TRANSCRIPT]
ARTICLE > Bones seem solid and unchanging, but in fact your bones are constantly being destroyed and recreated. . . .
Most fossils are found broken and incomplete, but hi-tech reconstruction can undo the ravages of time. What can we learn from them?
INTRODUCTION > When evidence is unavailable or incomplete, theories and models let us test out ideas that we can't yet prove. . . .
VIDEO > Anthropologist Philipp Gunz explains the process of virtual fossil reconstruction, a technique that can reverse the damage done to fossils by time and the elements. [VIDEO TRANSCRIPT]
ARTICLE > Traditonally, paleontologists used clay to reconstruct the missing parts of fossils. . . .
Building a Virtual Skull
PHOTO ESSAY>
Explore the process of reconstructing a skull
as a 3-D model.
VIDEO > Anthropologist Katerina Harvati explains the rare convergence of circumstances that are necessary for the discovery of a fossil specimen. [VIDEO TRANSCRIPT]
ARTICLE > Pick up a fossil skull and you'll notice it's surprisingly heavy — as heavy as a rock. That's because it is a rock, more or less. . . .
VIDEO > Anthropologist Jean-Jacques Hublin discusses the role of conflict in the scientific process. [VIDEO TRANSCRIPT]
ARTICLE > Science is a collective effort. Individuals around the world contribute their findings and debate their significance. . . .
PHOTO ESSAY> Explore the elements of a scientific paper.
A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO THE PROCESS OF SCIENCE
ARTICLE > Scientific research builds on itself, and it's often the case that one research question will lead naturally to another. . . .
ARTICLE > Designing an experiment is a crucial part of the scientific process, and trickier than it might seem. . . .
ARTICLE > Most scientific research requires a convergence of collaborators, facilities, equipment, and funding. . . .
ARTICLE > Data is at the heart of the scientific process, and the methods used to collect it are subject to the tools and trends of the times. . . .
ARTICLE > Collecting data is one thing; deciding what it means is another. . . .
ARTICLE > The ultimate test of any experiment is reproducibility. . . .
ARTICLE > Justly or not, the health of a scientist's career is often assessed by the frequency of his or her publications. . . .
ARTICLE > It's not unusual for scientists to be thinking about their next question even before the current one is answered. . . .
7 QUESTIONS TO ASK ABOUT ANY SCIENTIFIC CLAIM
INTRODUCTION > Screaming headlines abound in our media-saturated world. . . .
ARTICLE > Simple as it may sound, the first step toward weighing a scientific claim is to establish what it is, as well as what it isn't . . . .
ARTICLE > They say you're only as good as your reputation . . . but who is "they"? . . .
ARTICLE > Evidence is the bread and butter of science . . . .
ARTICLE > Where data collection is concerned, the devil is in the details . . . .
ARTICLE > No one — not even an astrophysicist — works in a void. . . .
ARTICLE > Sometimes, it's not the research methods or the data that are flawed, but the interpretation of the data . . . .
ARTICLE > There are always people interested in the outcome of scientific research . . . .
DOWNLOAD BOOKLET> This folded booklet contains all 7 questions in a handy to-go format.
What makes you believe in ghosts? Why do you think the earth is round? MyEvidence is a Web engine that let you "map" and examine the evidence you've used to construct your view of the world. This complex online tool has sophisticated community applications that lets users categorize information, share and compare beliefs, and save and retrieve information about the life experiences that have helped shape their scientific knowledge and understanding.
MyEvidence requires a monitor resolution of 1024 x 768, the Flash 9 player, and a high-speed Internet connection.
LAUNCH MY EVIDENCE >
Interviews and Science News: Thoughts on the pursuit of scientific knowledge
In the early 1900s, German meteorologist Alfred Wegener suggested that the earth's continents were once a single landmass that had somehow split into pieces, drifting their separate ways. Geologists the world over called his idea preposterous. Decades later, their ridicule shifted to admiration as new tools developed by the military to map the ocean floors revealed the engine that drives the continents' movement. Geology professor Mel Zucker tells the story of this brilliant earth scientist and how, long after his death, science finally caught up with Wegener's crazy idea.
DOWNLOAD OR LISTEN TO PODCAST > An interview with Mel Zucker, Professor of Geology, Skyline College, San Bruno, California, Run time: 24:49 minutes
It's not enough to know that a nutcracker works; a scientist needs to know why. Historian Richard Carrier recounts how, in ancient Greece, pondering the nutcracker led to the physics of levers. He describes how Aristotle and others shaped the beginnings of Western scientific thought: the notion that knowledge of the natural world relies on being able to question, test, reproduce, and improve the accuracy of what's believed to be true. He explains why he sees science as a practice rooted in values, how it protects us from our own erroneous tendencies, and why questioning authority helps foster scientific thinking.
DOWNLOAD OR LISTEN TO PODCAST > An interview with science historian Richard Carrier, Run time: 11:17 minutes
When astronomer Isabel Hawkins began exploring the astronomical work of Native Americans, their knowledge broadened her view of the night sky. She has since discovered several scientists incorporating the work of native people, both modern and ancient, into their current-day research. Isabel describes how she sees science as a cultural construct, the value of learning from personal experience, and that evidence comes in many forms.
DOWNLOAD OR LISTEN TO PODCAST > An interview with Isabel Hawkins, Co-director/Research Astronomer, UC Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory; Co-director, NASA Sun-Earth Connection Education Forum, Run time: 15:28 minutes
Asking questions and sharing ideas
ARTICLE > The scientists and research profiled in the human evolution case study featured in this Web site are all associated with the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. . . .
About the Project : How Do We Know What We Know?
ARTICLE >
This project uses case studies to examine how scientists construct a functional understanding of the world by gathering, assessing, and making use of scientific evidence. . . .
ARTICLE > At the Exploratorium, no one works alone. Without the help of the Exploratorium staff, as well as those in the scientific community who shared their work with us, this site would not have been possible. . . .
How Do We Know What We Know? Resources for the Public Understanding of Scientific Evidence
is made possible by a grant from the
National Science Foundation
, with the additional generosity of the
Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
, The Jim Clark Endowment for Internet Education, and the McBean Family Foundation.
© 2009 Exploratorium | The museum of science, art and human perception
at the Palace of Fine Arts, 3601 Lyon Street, San Francisco, CA 94123