The Department of Life Sciences

Although there is a dedicated archaeological collection at UWI there are a few specimens in the Zoology Room including the following:

Banwari Burial

The most famous object in the collection is the Banwari burial. This is a human skeleton which was excavated in 1971 from a site near San Francique in southern Trinidad. It is estimated to be 5000 years old making it the earliest human remains in the West Indies.

For more information click here or click here

Human Evolution

As well as the genuine archaeological specimens we also have a series of replica skulls showing the evolution of human beings - Homo sapiens sapiens, Homo sapiens neanderthalensis, Home erectus, Homo habilis, Australopithecus boisei and Australopithecus afarensis along with chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) and gorilla (Gorilla gorilla) skulls for comparison. These skulls were a gift from a visiting research scientist, Dr Judy St. Omer. 

For more information on these specimens click here

Last updated 28 June 2018