Musée de l'Homme, Anthropology museum in Trocadéro, France
The Musée de l'Homme is an anthropology museum in the Palais de Chaillot in the 16th arrondissement of Paris that explores biological and cultural human evolution. The galleries spread across several floors and present skulls, tools, jewelry, and skeletons in thematic halls with interactive stations.
Paul Rivet founded the institution in 1937 and brought together collections from the former Musée d'Ethnographie du Trocadéro, which opened in 1878 after the World's Fair. Following a complete renovation, the museum reopened in 2015 and has since presented its holdings in redesigned spaces.
The name derives from the French word for human and reflects the focus on human diversity across the world. Visitors today see ethnographic objects from every continent displayed in modern cases that show daily life and rituals of different societies.
The museum sits in the western wing of the Palais de Chaillot and opens Wednesday through Monday, including public holidays. The exhibitions are arranged across multiple floors, so plan a visit with time for breaks between levels.
The collection of Paleolithic fossils ranks among the largest in Europe and includes replicas of famous finds such as Lucy, an Australopithecus afarensis from Ethiopia. Less known is that during World War II the museum became a center of French Resistance, and several staff members actively fought against the occupation.
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