Rome, Palazzo delle EsposizioniNovember 11, 2011 | February 12, 2012

Under the High Patronage of the President of the Italian Republic

HOMO SAPIENSTHE GREAT HISTORY OF HUMAN DIVERSITY

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

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

HOMOSAPIENSTHE GREAT HISTORY OF HUMAN DIVERSITY

Rome, Palazzo delle EsposizioniNovember 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 REPRODUCETHE 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 exhibi-tion, 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 con-nect 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 af-ter 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 intelli-gent 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 flo-resiensis) who lived on the island of Flores in Indonesia: another surprising and very recent cousin of modern man, discovered in 2004 – small pygmy-like 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

FROM ONE OF THE WORLD’S MOST IMPORTANT GENETICISTS A LOOK AT THE HISTORY OF HUMAN DIVERSITY TO UNDERSTAND THE BIOLOGICAL AND CULTURAL IMPORTANCE

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 unpre-cedented variety of groups and cultures. A species that is biologically and cognitively young, but immensely different in its cultural expressions.

All relatives, all different: despite physical and culturaldifferences we all belong to the same race

Reconstruction of “Mitochondrial Eva”, the common ancestor of all humanity (sketch by L. Possenti)

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 establi-shed a cooperative project to systematically reconstruct the roots and rou-tes 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 VALUEExamining 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 ori-gin 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 The history told by the genetics of populations becomes even more fasci-nating - 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 belie-ved, 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 in-tertwining 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 north-east crossed the lost and icy continent of “Beringia”, now submerged, ventu-ring 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 conquista-dors 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 new-comers 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 UNITYBut 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 Japa-nese are offspring of the same mother: strange cases of planetary distribution and affinities, a large scale process under which the branches of the popu-lations (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 po-pulation 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, ina-smuch 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 Afghani-stan, 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 explora-tion, 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

EXHIBITION OF A NEW PARADIGM OF SCIENTIFIC COMMUNICATION

Flores Woman

Incised bone artefact, Mesolithic, “Riparo Gaban”, Italy

Sanskrit manuscript, 1630 A.C.(Courtesy of Dr. Elena Preda, Bologna University)

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 edu-cation and workshops: the evolution of man, our extinct cousins, the move-ment 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 hybridi-zation, 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 experien-ces - 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 ultima-tely 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.

GUIDED TOURS FOR ALL AGE GROUPS, EDUCATIONAL WORKSHOPS AND A CALENDAR OF INTERNATIONAL MEETINGS AND EVENTS

Reconstruction of “Lagar-Velho child”, hypothesizedNeanderthal-Sapiens hybrid (Portugal). Sketch by L. Possenti

THE PROJECT EXHIBITION: A GREAT HISTORY THAT COMES FROM A MIX OF EXPRESSIVE LANGUAGESThe exhibition consists of an emotional, dramatic and profound narrative that is continuous, with an interdisciplinary approach to human evolu-tion 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 gene-ral audience, with particular interest given to the younger generation for which teaching tools and languages have been developed ad hoc.

THE FIRST EXHIBITION ON THE HISTORY OF MANKIND: AN ITALIAN PRODUCT EXPORTABLE AROUND THE WORLDThanks to its display features of interactivity, the high levels of dissemina-tion 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 deve-lopments of the project.

LONGING FOR AFRICALONELINESS IS A RECENT INVENTIONGENES, PEOPLES AND LANGUAGESTRACES OF LOST WORLDSITALY, UNITY IN DIVERSITYALL RELATIVES, ALL DIFFERENT: THE INTERTWINED ROOTS OF CIVILIZATION

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HISTORICAL FINDINGS AND 3DRECONSTRUCTIONS INTERACTIVE EXHIBITS DESIGNED AD HOC IMMERSIVE INSTALLATIONS

Turkana Boy Exhibit Paleolithic Revolution Gallery

The Agricultural Revolution Gallery

Neanderthal Man reconstruction. Drawing by Mauro Cutrona

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 culturaVia G. Pomba, 17

10123 Torino (Italy)tel + 39 011 19700579fax + 39 011 19700582

mail to: info@codicecultura.it

www.codicecultura.it