Hall of Vertebrate Origins

At the American Museum of Natural History, the Anne and Bernard Spitzer Hall of Human Origins traces the long arc of human evolution through fossils, casts, and reconstructions that place anatomy beside environment and migration. The galleries move from early hominins to the global spread of Homo sapiens, with attention to the tools, diets, and climate pressures that shaped survival. In a city built by waves of arrival, its story of movement and adaptation lands with particular resonance. The presentation is clear, though it sometimes leans on tidy timelines for a subject that remains contested.