Neandertal, the compelling exhibition at the Musée de l’Homme in Paris

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Published by · Photos by · Published on January 16th, 2018 at 12:21 p.m.
Discover the Neanderthal Man at Paris Musée de l’Homme. For this second major exhibition, the museum focuses on another human species that disappeared over 35,000 years ago, after living on the Earth for over 350,000 years.

The Musée de l’Homme takes us 380,000 years back to meet the Neanderthal men. Throughout an incredible exhibition, the Musée de l’Homme offers us to observe this ancestor that hides many more secrets.

Living on the Earth for over 350,000 years, the Neanderthal Man disappeared over 35,000 years ago by leaving physical traces, rediscovered in the 19th century and analyzed by researchers worldwide. These traces, skeletons, skull bones, Lithic tools have been preserved for some at the Musée de l’Homme (a museum managed by the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle) and now presented through a major exhibition.

Suited for kids, this exhibition offers to live out several experiences, combining the rigor of scientific speech to a playful museography and workshops: evolving around 3 parts, we can discover how was the daily life of the Neanderthal men, how much time they lived and finally, the exhibition will give us pieces to answer the big question “How did the encounter between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens go? Was it hostile or did an interbreeding happen?”

To answer these questions, prehistorian and head of research at the CNRS (National Center for Scientific Research) attached to the “Man and environment” department of the Muséum National d’histoire Naturel Marylène Patou-Mathis and prehistorian, paleolithician and local manager pf the INRAP (French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research) Pascal Depaepe gathered over 180 items (fossils and contemporary documents) that change the prejudices about Neanderthal Men!

Of course, this Neanderthal exhibition will present famous bones including Neander’s skull, the Old Man from La Chapelle Aux Saints, the child from Pech-de-L’Azé, the woman from Saint-Césaire and will even reveal the daily life of the nomad hunter-gatherers with the reconstitution at scale 1/1 of the camp of La Folie Poitiers.

These archaeological items will be accompanied by paintings, texts, documents that will return of the varied welcomes this being received during the discovery of the first skull bone in the Neander valley in Germany (Tal in German), hence the name, Neanderthal Man!

Works of art, religious or scientific texts, the Musée de l’Homme presents the way the wrong reputation of Neanderthal in the 19th century has been made, this “Other” archaic brute being has nothing to see with the Modern Man at the time where Christianism used to struggle against the Theory of Evolution.

As for its first exhibition “Us and Them”, the Musée de l’Homme is about to offer many activities to give us the keys to understand this exhibition, between guided tours on Sundays and visits-workshops for kids on Saturdays and even short-movies to be discovered on Wednesdays and Sundays with your family!

A wonderful exhibition likely to meet a huge success, book your ticket from February 2018.

Practical information:
Neandertal, the exhibition at the Musée de l’Homme
From March 28, 2018 to January 7, 2019
Venue: Musée de l’Homme
Opening hours: from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. except on Tuesdays, May 1 and December 25
Rates: €12, €9 (reduced), free for people under 18 years old

Please note that it's been over 4 years since our last visit, so the place and experience may have changed.

Practical information

Dates and Opening Time
From March 28th, 2018 to January 7th, 2019

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    Location

    17 place du Trocadero
    75116 Paris 16

    Accessibility info

    Prices
    tarif réduit: €9
    tarif normal: €12

    Official website
    www.museedelhomme.fr

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