Image left: Caddo potter Jeri Redcorn

“One of the greatest strengths of the anthropology collections at NMNH is their historical depth,” says Daniel Rogers, anthropology department chairman at the Natural History Museum. “Ms. Redcorn’s contemporary pottery is providing NMNH anthropologists with a modern connection to early Caddo traditions.”

The Caddo people of Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma have maintained many of their traditional ways and actively work to preserve their unique tribal cultural today. One example is the pottery of Jeri Redcorn.

“Ms. Redcorn’s pottery represents the modern reflection of a tradition that goes back more than 1,200 years,” says Rogers.

Redcorn, a native of Oklahoma, began her study of the legendary Caddo pottery after many years of admiring the work of her native people. In 1991, she vowed to learn how to carry on the tradition and officially began her study of the Caddo pottery.

Early Caddo pottery was made of coiled clay commonly mixed with a temper (a material that strengthens the clay) made of bone or pottery shards. The shape of the vessels varied considerably in form and decoration, but as seen in Redcorn’s work, pottery was commonly decorated with incised (drawn into wet clay) lines forming complex circular and rectangular designs that covered a large portion of the vessel.

Image right: These three vessels by Jeri Redcorn were recently added to the collections of the Anthropology Department of the National Museum of Natural History. (Photo by James DiLoreto)

In 2007 Ms. Redcorn was commissioned to make three pots for the National Museum of Natural History.  The end result was three beautiful examples that represent a combination of traditional designs with a modern interpretation.  The three pots were brought to the Smithsonian in 2009. Ms. Redcorn has also participated in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian programs and in 2009 First Lady Michelle Obama chose one of Ms. Redcorn’s pots for display in the White House.

“Ms. Redcorn is a modern-day cultural interpreter of a very long tradition,” says Rogers, “We’re happy to have Ms. Redcorn’s pottery join the Smithsonian collection.”--Jessica Porter

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Image left: A hyper-realistic bust of Homo neanderthalensis by artist John Gurche in the David H. Koch Hall of Human Origins.

Based on decades of cutting-edge research, the 15,000-square-foot Hall of Human Origins offers visitors an immersive, interactive journey through 6 million years of human evolution that spells out how defining characteristics of the human species have evolved during millions of years in response to a changing world. Inside are stories of survival, extinction and evidence of how environmental change may have shaped the evolution of new adaptations and the origin or extinction of early hominin species, as well as the emergence of our species, Homo sapiens. Visitors connect with their distant ancestors through life-size forensically reconstructed faces of early human species and learn about major milestones in the origins of human beings.

Other key features in the exhibition include interactive snapshots in time based on actual field sites where research is being conducted, a display of more than 75 skulls (exact replicas), an interactive human family tree showcasing 6 million years of evolutionary evidence from around the world, a “One Species Living Worldwide” amphitheater show and a special “Changing the World” gallery, in which visitors can address questions and issues surrounding climate change and the impact of humans on the Earth.

Video: Curator Rick Potts talks about the new David H. Koch Hall of Human Origins

“The theme of the exhibition, ‘What Does It Mean to Be Human?,’ is one of the most profound questions humans have asked over thousands of years and is informed by philosophy, religion and the arts and sciences,” said Rick Potts, director of the Human Origins Program and curator of anthropology at the museum. “Our goal is to provide a solid foundation for the public to explore the scientific contributions to answering this question.”

Image right: A bust of Australopithecus afarensis by John Gurche.

“What our exhibit does, is something that no other exhibit in the world does,” Potts continues. “ It’s not just about the discovery of a particular fossil human, it’s not just about debates that rage in scientific circles about our family tree and who was related to whom of the early species of fossil humans.” Rather this exhibit is “about the emergence of human characteristics, the things that define every single human being on earth today and it allows people the chance to explore the antiquity of walking upright on two legs, when we started making tools and the changes in technology over time, when our brains became large, the origins of art and our ability to use symbols and language. It allows the visitor to explore that deep antiquity and to see that everything didn’t happen all at once but rather things occurred over a 6-million year period in accumulating the characteristics of what it means to be a human being today.”

Image left: An evolutionary comparison (from left to right: Homo erectus, 1 million years old; Australopithecus afarensis, 2.5 million years old; Homo neanderthalensis, 100,000 – 32,000 years old)

Also, the exhibition contains a series of interactive stations to help visitors explore scientific evidence about the lives of early human ancestors and have fun while doing it. For example, there is a face-morphing station where visitors can see their faces transform into an ancient species of their choosing. Other features include interactive snapshots in time using the actual field sites where research is conducted; an interactive human family tree showcasing 6 million years of evolutionary evidence; a “One Species Living Worldwide” theater show; and a special “Humans Change the World” gallery.

Visitors can dig deeper online through the Human Origins Web site, http://humanorigins.si.edu, which features the Human Origins research program, collections and field sites—including podcasts and diaries from the field. They can engage onsite and online with science and scientists and go behind the scenes into the field, the lab or a unique, interactive museum experience that illuminates the major milestones in the origin of human beings.

By presenting the scientific findings and process of discovering how our species has evolved over time, the exhibition, “Human Origins: What Does It Mean to Be Human?,” takes the most comprehensive perspective on human beings of any Smithsonian exhibition.

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A rhesus macaque at the California National Primate Research Center nurses its infant. (Photo by Kathy West/CNPRC).

The study, conducted by anthropologist Katie Hinde and psychologist John Capitanio, used large groups of rhesus macaque monkeys living in an outdoor enclosure at the California National Primate Research Center at Davis. Researchers collected milk two different times from 59 mothers: once when their infants were one-month-old and again when the infants were 3.5-months-old. Researchers recorded the quantity of milk produced by each mother and the energy value of each monkey’s milk was analyzed for its content of sugars, proteins and fat. These figures were combined to calculate the available milk energy generated by each individual mother.

Although all of the monkeys in the experiment were fed regularly, the researchers found natural variation in the quantity and richness of the milk generated by the 59 mothers. Milk from mothers who weighed more and had had previous pregnancies, the study found, contained higher available energy when their infants were one month of age. Lighter, less experienced mothers produced milk with lower available energy.

 Photo right: A rhesus macaque infant and its mother at the California National Primate Research Center. (Photo by Kathy West/CNPRC).

At 3-4 months each infant was temporarily separated from its mother and assessed according to its behavior and temperament. The study found that infants whose mothers had higher levels of available milk energy soon after their birth, coped more effectively (moved around more, explored more, ate and drank) and showed greater confidence (were more playful, exploratory, curious and active) with this new situation. Infants whose mothers had lower milk energy had lower activity levels and less confidence when separated from their mother (they were less exploratory, playful, active and curious). Mothers and infants were reunited immediately after the experiment.

“This is the first study for any mammal that presents evidence that natural variation in available milk energy from the mother is associated with later variation in infant behavior and temperament,” Hinde says. “Our results suggest that the milk energy available soon after birth may be a nutritional cue that calibrates the infant’s behavior to environmental or maternal conditions.”

The milk the infant is getting at the time of its behavioral assessment does not predict its behavior and temperament, Hinde emphasizes. It is the milk it gets at 1 month, when the infant first becomes behaviorally active, that has an organizational effect on its behavior. “Whether or not this behavior is persists into adulthood is an important question and one we are in the process of addressing,” Hinde says.

An early view version of this scholarly paper by Hinde and Capitanio reporting these results was recently published in the American Journal of Primatology. —John Barrat

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Image right: Anthropologists at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History clean and measure the body of William White after his coffin was opened. (Photo by Chip Clark)

White, who was a student at Columbian College from Accomack County, Va., died of pneumonia and complications from a mitral heart defect. When his coffin was unearthed, his identity was a deep mystery. Only through the diligent work of a multi-disciplinary team of Smithsonian staff, student interns and external specialists was White’s identity finally established. After a number of blind leads the team was able to track down White’s living relatives through historical records. They then used DNA analysis to confirm that the designated relatives were indeed related to White.

White’s relatives erected a headstone for him at a family cemetery on Virginia’s Eastern Shore and donated his remains, clothing and coffin to the Natural History Museum’s Department of Anthropology.

“The results of the multidisciplinary and collaborative research that led to the identification of William T. White is a testament in the interaction of the Smithsonian departments and the abilities of the experts involved,” says David Hunt, collections manager of the Physical Anthropology Division at the Natural History Museum.

Future studies of White’s coffin, clothing and well-preserved remains will further support DNA research by museum staff, as well as research on cast iron coffins and Civil War-era clothing.

“The addition of this accession to the Natural History Museum’s Anthropology Department fills a void for pre-Civil War iron coffin types and the remains of a documented known age and sex sub-adult skeleton,” Hunt says. “This acquisition is a ground-breaking addition to the Smithsonian collection and will further promote Smithsonian research.” —Jessica Porter & John Barrat

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Photo: Nine-year-old N!ai cradles an infant relative. The John Marshall Ju/’hoan Bushman Film and Video Collection contains extensive footage of many individuals, including N!ai. 

UNESCO’s Memory of the World program aims to preserve and disseminate valuable archive holdings and library collections worldwide. The Memory of the World Register features documentary heritage identified by an International Advisory Committee and endorsed by the Director-General of UNESCO as corresponding to the selection criteria for world significance. The 35 new additions bring the total number of inscriptions on the Register since 1997 to 193.

The John Marshall Ju/’hoan Bushman Film and Video Collection, held at the Smithsonian Institution’s Human Studies Film Archives in the National Museum of Natural History, is one of the seminal visual anthropology projects of the 20th century. It provides a unique example of sustained audiovisual documentation of one cultural group, the Ju/’hoansi, of the Kalahari Desert in northeastern Namibia, over half a century. It is an unparalleled historical record not only of an indigenous people’s traditional way of life and ties to the land but of the transformation of their life in the rapidly changing political and economic landscape that developed in concert with the struggle for Namibian independence. Click this link to view a new educational Web exhibition on the collection: “A Million Feet of Film/A Lifetime of Friendship: The John Marshall Ju/’hoan Bushman Film and Video Collection.”

“The career of John Kennedy Marshall spanned a remarkable 50-plus years during which he became an innovator in the technical production of films as well as a leading voice in the ethics of ethnographic filmmaking,” said Jake Homiak, director of the museum’s Anthropology Collections and Archives Program. “During his lifelong association with the Ju/’hoansi (Bushmen) he became an advocate for those he documented, using his films as tools for education and empowerment.”

Photo: John Marshall talks with his Ju/’hoan friends as he films their daily activities. During the 1950’s, Marshall immersed himself in Ju/’hoan life, going hunting with the men, gathering with the women, learning to speak the language, and participating in Ju/’hoan social and ritual life. 
 
Marshall’s work among the Ju/’hoansi culminated in 332 hours of film, 433 hours of video, 309 hours of audio, and supplementary paper documentation as well as 23 edited films and a five part video series, A Kalahari Family (2002). The latter details the Ju/’hoansi’s story over time, Marshall’s own evolving and innovative filmmaking style, and reveals his personal commitment to the Ju/’hoansi and their struggles. It is of note that Marshall created a foundation to aid their development and dedicated most of his adult life to advocacy on their behalf.

Among the other new items added this year to the Memory of the World Register are the Diaries of Anne Frank (Netherlands), the Magna Carta, (United Kingdom), and the League of Nations Archives, 1919-1946 (United Nations Office at Geneva.)

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Image: This illustration depitcs a section of the exhibit that highlights how modern humans are the one remaining species of a diverse family tree.

The $20.7 million hall will be complemented by ongoing human origins research and education programs, which are all key components of the museum’s broader initiative, “Human Origins: What Does It Mean to Be Human?” The initiative focuses on the epic story of human evolution and how the defining characteristics of the species have evolved over 6 million years as its ancestors adapted to a changing world.

 Visitors to the 15,000-square-foot Hall of Human Origins will be immersed in a unique, interactive museum experience illuminating the major milestones in the origin of human beings and the drama of climate change, survival and extinction that have characterized humans’ ancient past. On entering the exhibition from the Sant Ocean Hall, visitors will travel through a dramatic time tunnel depicting life and environments over the past 6 million years. Visitors will also engage with life-size forensically reconstructed faces of early human species, all designed to provide visitors with a sense of personal connection as they look into the eyes and faces of their distant ancestors.

Image: This illustation shows a section of the exhibit that communicates the message that human characteristics evolved over millions of years.

Other key features in the exhibition include interactive snapshots in time using the actual field sites where research is being conducted, a display of more than 75 skulls (cast reproductions) and an interactive human family tree showcasing 6 million years of evolutionary evidence from around the world, a “One Species Living Worldwide” amphitheater show and a special “Changing the World” gallery, in which visitors can address pressing questions and issues surrounding climate change and humans’ impact on the Earth.

 “The study of human origins is among the most vibrant fields of science and one that draws much public curiosity,” said Rick Potts, director of the Human Origins Program and curator of anthropology at the museum, whose research and vision is the foundation of the Smithsonian’s Human Origins Initiative. “Our hope is that the exhibition will expand knowledge and understanding about our defining cultural and biological characteristics and how those traits emerged during the past 6 million years—one of the most dramatic eras of environmental change in our Earth’s history.”

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Photo: An archaeological site on California’s San Nicolas Island contains the remains of two dogs buried side-by-side some 600 years ago. (Photo by Rene Vellanoweth)

Today, dogs have been removed from all but one of the islands, yet during the early Holocene Native Americans came to the islands bringing with them small, short-faced dogs for hunting, companionship and protection, says Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Anthropologist Torben Rick.

Over time, the dogs increased in numbers and inevitably had a strong impact on the bird and sea mammal populations living on the islands, killing some and driving great numbers to offshore islets and other isolated areas.

Data for the study by Rick, lead researcher on the project, and his colleagues was collected through a careful review of published and unpublished scientific papers containing accounts of dog bones found at archaeological sites on the islands. Accounts of some 96 dogs from 42 archaeological digs on six of the eight islands were identified by the researchers. Evidence ranged from burned bones of dogs that had been eaten and complete skeletons of dogs that had been ritualistically buried, to pins made from a dog’s tibia and ulna.

“Overall, the data suggest that dogs generally were not consumed, except perhaps during times of scarcity,” Rick notes. “Native villages and their dogs were present across much of the islands, especially around the coastlines and near good water sources. Dogs, along with island foxes and humans, influenced the biogeography and breeding behavior of birds, marine mammals and other animals.”

Documenting the activities of ancient people, and the animals they introduced, can improve models of ancient island ecosystems and enhance managing and restoring these habitats by providing baseline data on how island ecosystems may have been structured in the past.

“Given the lengthy presence of people and dogs on the islands,” modern ecological conditions on the islands appear to be radically different than what existed for much of the Holocene,” Rick says.     —John Barrat

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