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Page from On the Fabric of the Human Body
An intricately labelled diagram of the human muscles from Andreas Vesalius' (1514-1564) celebrated book on anatomy, On the Fabric of the Human Body, first published in 1543. (Wellcome Images)
Definition
David Hume
David Hume (1711-1776) was a Scottish philosopher, writer, historian, and important figure in the Enlightenment. Hume presented a positive view of human nature but a sceptical view of religion's usefulness. His Treatise of Human Nature was...
Definition
Denisovan
The Denisovans are an extinct group of fossil humans who, along with their sister group the Neanderthals, also share an ancestor with Homo sapiens. Thus far, they are known only from Denisova Cave in the Altai Mountains in Siberia, where...
Definition
Homo Sapiens
Homo sapiens ('wise man'), or modern humans, are the only species of human still around today. Despite having invented countless ways of labelling the world around us, we have so far done a surprisingly poor job at defining ourselves. Originating...
Article
The Neanderthal-Sapiens Connection
In May 2010, after years of intense discussions surrounding possible fossils of mixed Homo sapiens and Neanderthal descent floating around the scientific community, a team led by Svante Pääbo of the Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary...
Article
Natural Rights & the Enlightenment
The idea of natural rights is the concept used in philosophy and legal studies that a person has certain rights from birth and which, because they were not awarded by a particular state or legal authority, cannot be removed, that is, they...
Article
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence is the foundational document of the United States of America. Written primarily by Thomas Jefferson, it explains why the Thirteen Colonies decided to separate from Great Britain during the American Revolution...
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Title Page, Treatise of Human Nature
The title page of Treatise on Human Nature by the Scottish philosopher David Hume (1711-1776). A key text of the Enlightenment, it was first published in 1740. The quote from Tacitus reads: "It is the rare happiness of these days that one...
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An Essay on the Inequality of the Human Races
Original edition of Arthur de Gobineau's (1816-1882 CE) An Essay on the Inequality of the Human Races. 1853 CE. Library of the National Museum of Natural History, Paris.
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Homo Heidelbergensis Reconstruction
Reconstruction of the head of an adult male Homo heidelbergensis. It is on display in the Hall of Human Origins in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.