Tip: Press ctrl and F (or apple and F on a Mac) to perform a keyword search of this page. To keyword search all Best of History Web Sites pages use the search engine located on the home page. This page was last updated June 5, 2007.

 Evolution (PBS)
The PBS Evolution web site compliments a seven-part, eight-hour television broadcast series. This rich and impressive site features video clips from the series, simulations, animations, interactive timelines, expert commentary, primary sources, and extensive links to evolution-related learning resources worldwide. Among the special educational features are a free, 40-page teacher's guide available and an eight-session course for high school teachers, four 15-minute videos that highlight the teaching of evolution in real classrooms around the country, online lessons that use multimedia formats to enhance students' understanding of evolutionary and a multimedia library that provides Web access to more than 150 multimedia resources and concepts.

  Becoming Human
Presented by the Institute of Human Origins, Becoming Human is an impressive site that explores human evolution in "a broadband documentary experience" with video, articles, news and debates in paleoanthropology and a Web guide. Watch an introductory video overview of evolution with guide Donald Johanson, read paleoanthropology news and book reviews, and visit the learning center for educational activities and lessons. The site also features a glossary of terms and recommended web sites. Note: Becoming Human does explore the impact of the Toumai find in Chad, but the last news article posted at the site is from February 28, 2003.

  The Human Origins Program
Hosted by the Smithsonian Institution, this site offers a "Hall of Human Ancestors" featuring movies of fossil skulls in the Smithsonian's collection. The Resource Guide explains various subjects of human evolution and there is a Q&A section. Current Topics section is not up to date, however, and only covers topics through 2002. Hence, no discussion of Toumai.

  The Talk Origins Archive: Exploring the Creation/Evolution Controversy
Talk.origins is a newsgroup devoted to the discussion and debate of biological and physical origins. Most discussions center on the creation/evolution controversy, but other topics of discussion include the origin of life, geology, biology, catastrophism, cosmology and theology. The Talk.Origins Archive is a collection of articles and essays.

These are "cool" sites for use in a Prehistory/Ancient History classroom:

  Genesis: Ideas of Origin in African Sculpture
The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Genesis: Ideas of Origin in African Sculpture explores the following questions: How did the world begin? What is our ancestry? What is the source of agriculture, kingship, and other societal institutions? The exhibition explores how artists in distinct African cultures have interpreted these ideas and sought to answer these questions, with a focus on classical sculptural form, the ci wara antelope headdress of the Bamana people. You can see videos illustrating headdress performances and read the transcript of a lecture presented in conjunction with this exhibition.

  The Cave of Lascaux
A slick site produced by the French government that offers a visual tour of the famous cave art at Lascaux