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Human Evolution SimulatorFrom ape-like ancestors to you, in 3D.
About this human evolution simulator

Human Evolution Simulator: watch natural selection happen

How did humans evolve? Walk through 7 million years with our ancestors in 3D and watch the body change as you go: standing up, a bigger brain, a flatter face. Line up chimpanzees, Lucy, Homo erectus, Neanderthals and us. Evolve a band of early humans as the forests shrink and food gets richer. Follow people out of Africa across a globe, see why skin colour follows sunlight, and watch milk, malaria and high-altitude genes spread through a village.

3D savanna where eight members of the human family walk in a line, from a knuckle-walking chimpanzee through Australopithecus, Homo habilis and Homo erectus with stone tools and a spear, to an upright modern human

How to use the human evolution simulator

  1. Ask a question. Each one opens the right scene: our ancestors on the savanna, the spread of people around the globe, or a village whose shirts show which gene variants people carry.
  2. Drag the timeline under the 3D view to travel in time, or press play. Use 4× or 16× to go faster.
  3. Tap a person or skull to read about the species. The Settings tab changes the landscape, tools, fire, sunlight, diet or population.

The band, skin colour and gene questions are real simulations: nothing is scripted except the dates and fossils.