How did we become the people we are today? When and where can we first grasp the beginnings of humanity? To answer these questions, the interactive exhibition looks at the earliest period of human cultural development in Africa, i.e. the period from about 3.3 million years ago to about one million years ago.
The oldest stone tools of mankind from Lake Turkana in Kenya, the earliest fossil evidence of our own genus Homo as well as the first indications of the use of fire date from this period. Material culture unfolded from the production of simple knock-offs to the production of entire series of artefacts to hand axes that served as multipurpose tools for over 1.4 million years despite constant development. Around 2 million years before today, Homo began to spread into previously uninhabited areas outside Africa, while other human-like species such as Australopithecus and Paranthropus were still roaming around in East and Southern Africa. Since about a million years before today, Homo has been the only remaining human species on Earth, colonising extensive areas in East and Southeast Asia as well as Europe, in addition to Africa. What are the basics, and what made these early innovations possible? What steps led to the further development of human culture beyond what we know from animals? In short, where do the beginnings of humanity lie?
Can humanity be defined by biological, social, ecological or cultural characteristics? Is it manifested physically, in thinking, in behaviour? If we look at the long history of mankind, it becomes clear how many different developments over millions of years have contributed to making us the diverse species that populate the entire earth today.
In addition to the presentation of original objects, education is a central element of the exhibition.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
