The Politics of Paleoanthropology: An Evaluation of Human Evolution Museum Exhibits

Abstract

Museums are authorities for disseminating scientific information to the public. Human evolution exhibits address questions of who we are, where we come from, and why we are here, with modern human diversity and race intimately intertwined within these questions. How and why do natural history museums in differing cultural contexts present the story of human evolution, modern human diversity, and race to the public differently? I travelled to six natural history museums in three countries to document each human evolution exhibition: The American Museum of Natural History in New York City and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C. representing the sample from the United States, the Maropeng Visitor Centre Museum at the Cradle of Mankind World Heritage Site in Gauteng and the Iziko South African Museum in Cape Town representing the sample from South Africa, and the Natural History Museum in London and the Oxford University Museum of Natural History in Oxford representing the British sample. I examined the mediums, language, and design used in the creation of the exhibitions and analyzed the existing literature on museum exhibition design as well as the history, curators, funding, and other internal factors that impacted decisions in the exhibition creation process. In each nation, a key theme emerged between the representative museums. American museums focus on evolution prior to Homo sapiens, largely avoiding deeper conversations on modern human diversity and the concept of race. Instead, both worked to reconcile religiosity and evolution for their audience. South African museums highlight current and historical issues within anthropology, focusing on a shared African heritage and the meaning of self-identity in a post-apartheid era. British museums tend to have more focus on nationalism but are more so defined by their explicit avoidance on discussions of race and diversity, at times erring on racial insensitivity. Museums both reflect the cultural and political worldviews of their countries whilst simultaneously acting as mediums by which to shape it. As a result, human diversity, race, and evolution are interpreted and displayed uniquely around the world and remain important spaces for increasing racial literacy, science education, and social justice awareness.