Social Innovation

The proof of evolution, as seen on your body

The replica of a neanderthall skull is displayed in the new Neanderthal Museum in the northern Croatian town of Krapina.

The proof of evolution that you can find on your own body Image: The replica of a neanderthall skull is displayed in the new Neanderthal Museum in the northern Croatian town of Krapina. REUTERS/Nikola Solic

Henry Taylor
Previously, Lead, Product and Innovation, Digital media, World Economic Forum Geneva

"Your body is a temple, but it's also a museum of natural history," starts a fascinating video from Vox on the ancestral leftovers we all retain in our bodies.

Called "vestigial structures", these things no longer retain a specific purpose but remind us of where we've come from.

One example is the tailbone – known as the coccyx. Humans obviously don't have tails to help us move through the treetops and balance on long branches, but a common ancestor did.

Not all of our vestigial structures are as hidden away as the coccyx. Watch Vox's video to see more evidence of millions of years of evolution, on your own body.

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