AN EXCEPTIONAL INTERNATIONAL
EXHIBITION TELLING US WHERE WE
CAME FROM AND HOW WE MANAGED
TO POPULATE THE ENTIRE PLANET
Curated by Luigi Luca Cavalli Sforza and Telmo Pievani
HOMO
SAPIENS
THE GREAT HISTORY
OF HUMAN
DIVERSITY
Rome, Palazzo delle Esposizioni
November 11, 2011 | February 12, 2012
Under the High Patronage of the
President of the Italian Republic
THE FIRST EXHIBITION IN THE WORLD THAT
TELLS THE STORY OF MANKIND THROUGH A
LARGE MULTIDISCIPLINARY FRESCO:
AN INTERNATIONAL PROJECT INVOLVING
MORE THAN 50 MUSEUMS, UNIVERSITIES AND
LIBRARIES FROM 9 DIFFERENT COUNTRIES
HOMO
SAPIENS
THE GREAT HISTORY
OF HUMAN
DIVERSITY
Rome, Palazzo delle Esposizioni
November 11, 2011 | February 12, 2012
Venice, Venetian Institute of Arts and Sciences,
March | June 2012
Trento, Tridentine Museum of Natural Sciences,
October | December 2012
EACH VILLAGE IS A MICROCOSM
THAT TENDS TO REPRODUCE
THE MACROCOSM OF ALL MANKIND,
ALBEIT A BIT DIFFERENT
IN PROPORTIONS
LUIGI LUCA CAVALLI SFORZA
Homo Sapiens. The great history of human diversity is an international exhibition, conceived entirely in Italy, dedicated to the ambitious interdisciplinary
research project founded, among others, by the Italian geneticist, professor
emeritus at Stanford University, Luigi Luca Cavalli Sforza, who for decades
has probed the most hidden recesses of the depths of the history of human
diversity, uniting molecules, fossils, cultures and languages in a coherent
overall framework of evidence.
Today for the first time, an international group of scientists has begun to connect the paths of ancient history that led our species to leave a small valley in
Ethiopia less than 200,000 years ago to colonize the whole planet, region after region, spreading to form a wide variety of peoples and different cultures.
This exhibition tells where we came from and how we managed, migration by
migration, to populate the entire planet, constructing a kaleidoscopic mosaic
of current human diversity.
MANY OTHER HISTORIES BEFORE THE “HISTORY”: WE WERE NOT ALONE
What happened in that long and mysterious period of time between the birth
of our genus Homo in Africa and that of the human history written with a
capital ‘H’ that we study in school? Where did the many populations whose
successors are living in every region of the Earth come from? We, as a human
species, have only been on this planet for a very short time.
If an extraterrestrial anthropologist had come down to Earth a few thousand
years before the construction of the Egyptian pyramids, he would have come
across at least five species of the Homo genus: our ancestors of the Homo
sapiens species spread all over the world, along with the robust and intelligent Neanderthals in Europe and Asia, to perhaps another species of Homo
discovered in 2010 in southern Siberia, to the later form of the species Homo
erectus that survived in the valleys on Java, and the small hobbits (Homo floresiensis) who lived on the island of Flores in Indonesia: another surprising
and very recent cousin of modern man, discovered in 2004 – small pygmylike humans with a brain no bigger than a chimpanzee’s, but possessing the
same advanced technology as Homo sapiens.
Yet not long afterward, modern man would remain as the only specimen of
humanity on Earth at the end of a process of diversification of the various
species of the genus Homo that had begun two million years earlier: a process
that had produced the first completely biped exemplars of Homo, such as the
charming little boy of the Turkana, then followed by a series of “out of Africa”
expansions, with sites inhabited by ancient species of the genus Homo in
Georgia, Pakistan, China, Indonesia, Spain and throughout the “old world”.
We descend from a history of walkers and small tribes that expanded their
territories to survive. Not only that, but we are the products of six million
years of hominid diversification, adaptations, innovations and explorations
of different biogeographical areas, of a variety of bipedal forms (two of which
already walked on the volcanic ash at the Laetoli site 3.5 million years ago!)
that inspired the paleoanthropologist Tim White to use the metaphor of the
intergalactic bar, borrowed from Star Wars. In the end, however, after a long
period of prehistoric encounters of different types (perhaps with some hybri-
Map of H.Sapiens migration through time based on genetic data analisys
dization between homo sapiens and native species) and after the emergence
of the cognitively modern sapiens during the “Paleolithic Revolution” which
is not yet fully understood, we were alone. It is difficult to know if our visitor
from outer space would have bet on this outcome or not, but we can’t deny
that our species, being the only one left, has differentiated itself in an unprecedented variety of groups and cultures. A species that is biologically and
cognitively young, but immensely different in its cultural expressions.
FROM ONE OF THE WORLD’S
MOST IMPORTANT GENETICISTS
A LOOK AT THE HISTORY
OF HUMAN DIVERSITY
TO UNDERSTAND
THE BIOLOGICAL AND
CULTURAL IMPORTANCE
All relatives, all different: despite physical and cultural
differences we all belong to the same race
Reconstruction of “Mitochondrial Eva”, the common ancestor
of all humanity (sketch by L. Possenti)
EXHIBITION OF A NEW PARADIGM OF
SCIENTIFIC COMMUNICATION
The research behind the exhibition makes it a very innovative and exciting
challenge in the field of science communication: for the first time ever,
researchers around the world belonging to quite different disciplines - such
as genetics, linguistics, anthropology and paleoanthropology - have established a cooperative project to systematically reconstruct the roots and routes of human populations. A multidisciplinary and international approach
is reflected both in the contents of the exhibition and in the composition of
the Scientific Committee, for the first time offering the public an overview
of the field research and the results achieved.
THE DISCOVERY OF THE ORIGINS OF MODERN MAN: A SCIENTIFIC
BREAKTHROUGH OF PROFOUND EDUCATIONAL VALUE
Flores Woman
Examining the data and comparing the results of the genetic comparisons
applied to the DNA of the present inhabitants of our planet, researchers
were able to outline the great historical-geographical map of migration that
led to the spreading of modern humans worldwide and to discover traces of
expansions, drifting, hybridization and the replacement of populations that
generated the biological and cultural diversity in each region, and probably
once and for all, strengthening the hypothesis of a recent single African origin of the human species.
The seven billion men and women who populate the entire globe at the
beginning of the 21st century are descended from a small group of several
thousand founders, separated by speciation from an African ancestor less
than 200,000 years ago and who were then able - thanks to their cultural and
technological adaptations - to migrate across the African continent, expand
throughout the Old World, through the Middle East, the coast of the Indian
Ocean and the steppes of the Caucasus, reaching the Far East on the one
hand and Western Europe on the other, only then passing to the “new world”
of the Americas and Australia, never before colonized by humans.
NEW FRONTIERS AND THEIR CONSEQUENCES: A DIFFERENT
PERSPECTIVE ON HUMAN MIGRATION
Incised bone artefact,
Mesolithic, “Riparo
Gaban”, Italy
The history told by the genetics of populations becomes even more fascinating - especially as told through objects, fossils, artifacts, tools, models,
reconstructions, documents, videos and pictures – when it goes into detail
and speaks to us, for example, of the epic of man in Australia and the Pacific
islands, lands colonized many thousands of years earlier than had been believed, showing that navigation had already been discovered tens of thousands
of years ago, perhaps in the Mediterranean and certainly in the South Seas by
the ancestors of the Aborigines, who then created a culture that was comple-
tely original in its relationship with the natural environment and the intertwining of its invisible “Songlines”. Environmental differences between the
islands of the Pacific (in terms of resources, topography, climate and so on)
produced a range of totally different cultures, from urban empires to simple
societies of hunters and gatherers.
The genetics of populations reveals the advance of the first great American
frontier, during which groups of hunter-gatherers from Siberia in the northeast crossed the lost and icy continent of “Beringia”, now submerged, venturing down aisles free of ice and bursting onto the endless American prairies
teeming with large mammals, appetizing prey completely unprepared to cope
with this new hunter. It also tells of how five centuries ago other conquistadors wiped out the descendants of those early natives not only with swords
but also with typhoid and measles. These and other diseases were a result of
the coexistence with the large mammals in Africa and Asia, which the newcomers were accustomed to, while the Native Americans were not. Thus the
history of human migration also includes the development of various diseases
and immune systems.
A MOSAIC OF DIVERSITY, A MESSAGE OF UNITY
But this planetary history also tells us why some languages, such as Basque,
appear to be different from any other language in the world and why, on the
other hand, some languages as distant from one another as Turkish and Japanese are offspring of the same mother: strange cases of planetary distribution
and affinities, a large scale process under which the branches of the populations (and the genetic mutations of which they were carriers) sometimes
coincided with the diversification of families of languages and cultures. As
Darwin had already predicted, the tree of the diversification of the Earth’s population could allow us to understand the structure of the tree of languages.
The message, once again, is a message of unity - we are a young species
descended from a small group of African forefathers - and of diversity, inasmuch as from such a small beginning so great a history of innovation and
proliferation of ingenious adaptations has grown.
Homo Sapiens tells us how enemies today, the Arabs and Jews living in
Palestine, are children of the same history. It speaks of the bitter paradox in
which the regions most troubled today by bloody conflicts, such as Afghanistan, the Caucasus and Iraq, were passageways and originally places of trade
and the most important hybridizations of the human race. They are the true
crossroads of mankind. This exhibition is about human groups who pushed
themselves, perhaps for reasons related to an unquenchable spirit of exploration, to extreme ramifications around the world, and towards the last areas to
be occupied and inhabited by humans, the Arctic, Iceland and New Zealand,
confirming their ability to adapt to any place.
AN EMOTIONAL, DRAMATIC
AND PROFOUND NARRATIVE.
AN INNOVATIVE AND EXCITING
CHALLENGE IN THE FIELD
OF SCIENCE COMMUNICATION
Sanskrit manuscript, 1630 A.C.
(Courtesy of Dr. Elena Preda, Bologna University)
GUIDED TOURS FOR ALL AGE
GROUPS, EDUCATIONAL WORKSHOPS
AND A CALENDAR OF INTERNATIONAL
MEETINGS AND EVENTS
The exhibition, designed for a wide and heterogeneous audience, offers paths
of reading designed specially to meet the needs of different age targets and
levels of scientific literacy and can be interpreted at different levels of education and workshops: the evolution of man, our extinct cousins, the movement of the sapiens species, adaptations to the greatest variety of ecosystems,
genetic and linguistic comparisons, the subject of human races and racism,
the tangle of civilization, the contemporary migrations, the cultural hybridization, the current biological and cultural diversity …
For these reasons, the exhibition will have a specific educational project - an
interactive and engaging approach based on discovery and shared experiences - dedicated to the preparation of guides and assistants, in carrying out
educational proposals and internal connections with external institutions and
social networks.
The educational project will be designed for people of different ages, from
children up to age 18 to adults and the elderly. Special attention will ultimately be devoted to guided tours for schools.
A full calendar of international events will offer the public an opportunity
to deepen and broaden their knowledge of the themes of the exhibition and
participate in topical discussions with personalities from the science, art,
journalism and entertainment worlds.
Reconstruction of “Lagar-Velho child”, hypothesized
Neanderthal-Sapiens hybrid (Portugal). Sketch by L. Possenti
A FASCINATING JOURNEY IN 6 STAGES
ON THE TRAIL OF OUR ANCESTORS
AT THE DAWNING OF THE CONQUEST
OF THE WORLD
THE PROJECT EXHIBITION: A GREAT HISTORY THAT COMES FROM A
MIX OF EXPRESSIVE LANGUAGES
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The exhibition consists of an emotional, dramatic and profound narrative
that is continuous, with an interdisciplinary approach to human evolution and the history of human diversity. It follows a chronological order of
events and situations, with each section based on a mix of different forms
of expression: the valuable original objects (a fossil, a tool, an artifact, an
ethnographic object) in plaster casts and copies; reconstructions of scenes
and stories, spectacular models of hominids and huge extinct animals,
interactive displays, immersive video and photo installations; geographical
maps, topographic maps, and maps. Environmental lighting and sounds
then complete the installation, enriching it with artistic suggestions.
The captions and explanatory panels will be concise and simple in English
and Italian, with an abundance of graphics that help highlight a reading at
different attention levels. These will often be accompanied by explanatory
texts (quotes, evocative phrases) on the wall spaces, creating a charming
and engaging narrative dimension.
Like the exhibition for the bicentenary of the birth of Charles Darwin,
(www.darwin2009.it) that was highly successful with a total of more than
220,000 visitors, the “Homo Sapiens” exhibition is also aimed at a general audience, with particular interest given to the younger generation for
which teaching tools and languages have been developed ad hoc.
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THE FIRST EXHIBITION ON THE HISTORY OF MANKIND: AN ITALIAN
PRODUCT EXPORTABLE AROUND THE WORLD
Thanks to its display features of interactivity, the high levels of dissemination of its original texts, its close connections with very recent scientific
results in different fields, and the absence of any significant precedent
on this issue, the exhibition is intended as an international project that is
exportable for presentations and museums in various countries around the
world, and specific regional sections can easily be integrated. The general
catalogue in English and the website will be useful tools for future developments of the project.
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SECTIONS OF THE EXHIBITION
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LONGING FOR AFRICA
LONELINESS IS A RECENT INVENTION
GENES, PEOPLES AND LANGUAGES
TRACES OF LOST WORLDS
ITALY, UNITY IN DIVERSITY
ALL RELATIVES, ALL DIFFERENT:
THE INTERTWINED ROOTS OF CIVILIZATION
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Neanderthal Man reconstruction.
Drawing by Mauro Cutrona
HISTORICAL FINDINGS AND 3D
RECONSTRUCTIONS
INTERACTIVE EXHIBITS DESIGNED AD HOC
IMMERSIVE INSTALLATIONS
Turkana Boy Exhibit
The Agricultural Revolution Gallery
Paleolithic Revolution Gallery
The exhibition has been organized by Azienda Speciale
PalaExpo and Codice. Idee per la Cultura, with the scientific
partnership of Istituto Geografico DeAgostini
and in collaboration with the Institute for Human
Evolution, University of the Witwatersrand;
the Venetian Institute of Science Literature and Arts; ISITA Italian Institute of Anthropology;
Ministry Science and Technology, of South Africa,
the Giuseppe Sergi Museum of Anthropology (Rome),
and the Tridentine Museum of Natural Sciences (Trento).
Curators: Luigi Luca Cavalli Sforza, Stanford University;
Telmo Pievani, University of Milan Bicocca
Consultants for specific sections: Marco Aime
(ethnography), Nicola Grandi (linguistics),
Giorgio Manzi (paleoanthropology), Elisabetta Nigris
and Sergio Tramma (educational).
The International Scientific Committee is composed
of some of the most important scientists and researchers
in the fields of human evolution, human genetics,
anthropology, archeology, linguistics, demography,
sociology, history and the philosophy
of science: Emanuele Banfi, Guido Barbujani,
Gianfranco Biondi, Aldo Bonomi, David Caramelli,
Carla Castellacci, Francesco Cavalli Sforza,
Maria Enrica Danubio, Rob DeSalle, Giovanni Destro Bisol,
Niles Eldredge, Bernardino Fantini, Louis Godart,
Massimo Livi Bacci, Nicoletta Maraschio,
Jacopo Moggi-Cecchi, Olga Rickards, Fabrizio Rufo,
Ian Tattersall, Claudio Tuniz, Ilaria Vinassa de Regny,
Rita Vargiu, Tim White, Spencer Wells and Monica Zavattaro
For more information
Codice. Idee per la cultura
Via G. Pomba, 17
10123 Torino (Italy)
tel + 39 011 19700579
fax + 39 011 19700582
mail to: [email protected]
www.codicecultura.it