Assignments to hand in: Hominid Order Chart [Word Version]
Key Characteristics of Five Hominids Chart [Word Version]
Ape to Man Video Assignment: Uncovering History's Mysteries [Word Version]
(Thanks to Mr. Howman for the video assignment)
Essential Question 1 - Why do people live and move where they do?
Essential Question 7 - How do we know what we kno about human history?
Shared Learning Target:
What will I be able to do?: You will place five different hominids in chronological order based on looking at archaeological evidence. You will also be able to explain the differences between each hominid and what they were capable of and list the fossil evidence that supports it.
What idea, topic, or subject is important for you to learn and understand so that I can do this?: You will learn about the time period each hominid lived in, the fossil evidence that backs up what we know today, what they looked like, and what their capabilities and skills were. You will also learn to infer/hypothesize from limited evidence to complete the story of each hominid.
What I will do to show that you know this?: You will complete two charts. One will show your knowledge of chronological order and inference of each hominid's capablities and skills, while the other will also provide the evidence, what they looked like, and more.
Introduction:
Paleoanthropology is the study of early humans. It involves the discovery
and interpretation of physical evidence left behind by human ancestors, or hominids.
Paleoanthropologists search for and interpret physical evidence, such as fossils and artifacts. After excavating, reconstructing, dating, and
measuring the physical evidence, paleoanthropologists hypothesize about what it
tells us about our human ancestors. They try to describe when and where the
hominids lived, their appearance, and their capabilities and skills.
Paleoanthropologists base their hypotheses on the physical evidence they find,
their knowledge of anatomy,
and their observations of human and animal behavior in the modern world.
The names we use to delineate human ancestors come from a scientific system of categorizing
animals and plants called taxonomy. Taxonomy, which was invented by Swedish naturalist Carolus
Linnaeus in 1758, assigns to each living creature a two-part Latin name. The
first part indicates the genus to which the creature belongs and the second part
indicates the species. Some of the earliest human ancestors belonged to the
genus Australopithecus. Later human ancestors and modern humans belong to the
genus Homo. Paleoanthropologists have assigned human ancestors to a variety of
species. A species is a distinct population with a specific shape, size,
behavior, and habitat. Species assignment is not always easy because the
differences in anatomy between two species can be small. As paleoanthropologists
unearth new hominid fossils and artifacts, and reanalyze familiar ones using new
technologies, they sometimes name new species and often questions old species
and genus assignments.
The Theory of Evolution Made Simple (BBC video clip on YouTube)
Consider what the video explained and look at the human family tree below. Refer to this throughout this activity. Also, understand that as we find more and more fossil, DNA, and other evidence, this family tree changes.
Step 1: Which came first? - Determine the Chronology - Look at the Description Placards (below) of each type of the five hominids and the tools they used. Making your best educated guess, place them in chronological order from the first arrival on earth to the latest in our evolutionary timeline. Hint: Look at the level of skills/tools of each. Record your answers in this Hominid Order Chart [Word Version]
Homo Erectus
Australopithecus Afarensis
Homo Sapiens Sapiens
Homo Sapiens Neanderthalensis
Homo Habilis
Step 2: Researching Five Hominids - Read the descriptions, look at the pictures of each of the five types of hominids provided below, read each description of them and fill in this Key Characteristics of Five Hominids Chart [Word Version]
Australopithecus Afarensis
This is the famous skeleton of "Lucy," an Australopithecus
afarensis individual who lived about 3.2 million years ago. This partial
skeleton was found at the Hadar site in Ethiopia, and most scientists believe it
belonged to an adult female.
This is an artist's rendition of australopithecines making
the famous footprints at Laetoli about 3.6 million years ago.
Australopithecus Afarensis Description/Notes
Homo Habilis
This is a skull of an adult Homo habilis male who lived
about 2 million years ago. The part of the skull pictured here is about 5 1/2
inches tall. It was found at the Koobi Fora site in Kenya.
This is an artist's rendition of a Homo habilis group at a
campsite.
Homo Habilis Description/Notes
Homo Erectus
This is an epoxy resin cast of the skeleton of a
12-year-old Homo erectus boy who lived about 1.6 million years ago. The original
skeleton measures 5 feet 6 inches tall, and it was found on the shore of Lake
Turkana in Kenya. In the cast shown here, green material fills in areas that did
not fossilize, such as the eye sockets, and white material fills in the area
where the original bones were damaged.
This is an artist's rendition of a Homo erectus group
engaged in daily activities.
Homo Erectus Description/Notes
Homo Sapiens Neanderthalensis
This is a burial site of a Homo sapiens neaderthalensis
young adult male who lived about 50,000 years ago. The burial site was found in
the Kebara cave in Israel.
This is an artist's rendition of a Homo sapiens
neanderthalensis group burying one of their dead.
Homo Sapiens Neanderthalensis Description/Notes
Homo Sapiens Sapiens
This is a cave painting of a horse made by Homo sapiens
sapiens about 17,000 years ago. It was found high on a wall in the Lascaux cave
in France.
This is an artist's rendition of Homo sapiens sapiens
making the cave paintings found in the Lascaux cave in France.
Homo Sapiens Sapiens Description/Notes
Summary: Look at the picture below and read the following text:
The locations around the world where hominid fossils have been discovered provide one clue as to how modern humans evolved. While the fossils of some species have been found on only one continent, the fossils of other species have been found on many continents. Scientists have used this information to trace the evolution and migration patterns of the various hominids. For example, since no Australopitheus afarensis fossils have been found outside of Africa, scientists have determined that these early human ancestors originated in Africa and never migrated off the continent. By contrast, scientists have discovered hominid fossils from the Homo genus on other continents besides Africa. Therefore, they speculate that some of these hominids evolved from the australopithecines and migrated out of Africa to other parts of the world.
Scientists continue to debate the origins of modern humans. Many scientists believe that Homo sapiens sapiens originated from a single source in Africa, perhaps an australopithecine or an earlier hominid. Fossil evidence suggests that sapiens sapiens migrated from Africa to the Middle East and then spread to Europe and Asia. From Asia, sapiens sapiens apparently crossed the water to Australia and crossed a land bridge into the Americas. This theory is known as the "out of Africa" theory. However, some scientists argue that Homo sapiens sapiens evolved in many different regions at the same time, instead of evolving solely in Africa. This theory is known as the "multiregional" theory. Both of these theories are heavily debated and based on limited fossil evidence.
Step 3: Ape to Man Video - Watch the video, Ape to Man, and complete the Uncovering History's Mysteries Assignment [Word Version]
Instructional Video Assignment: Watch Ape to Man (click to watch)
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