Darryl Leja, NHGRI
Human Origins Program, Smithsonian Institution
Genomics is the newest tool for looking deep into our genomic ancestry.
Belen Hurle, Ph.D NHGRI
Our genomes have been changing in small ways that link our ancestors to times and places.
As you explore the exhibit, you may start to wonder about human origins and your own family’s genomic journey. Fossils and other archaeological evidence provide many clues about where humans came from, but the picture is far from complete. Genomics helps us find the missing pieces of our distant past by looking at genomic differences between people living today. These small genomic changes that were passed down connect us to our ancestors – preserving the story of their journey in our DNA.