Evolution of Hominins (aka March of Progress)

3D Model

A display showing six steps of hominin evolution. The earliest is the common ancestor between us and chimpanzees, this is followed by intermediate species before reaching Homo sapiens. The shape and size of each skeleton is based on real fossils.

The progressive image of evolution showing changes from our primate ancestors to Homo sapiens (that’s us!) is a staple of popular culture. It is based on an outdated concept explored in the 1965 book The March of Progress by Rudolph Zallinger. Zallinger’s image is a great way to visualize evolutionary change over millions of years, but it gives the impression that such changes were progressive and oriented along a straight line. This theory, referred to as orthogenesis, is considered outdated because our evolutionary history is more complex. We now know different species often coexisted at the same time.