Unit 1 Section 8: Evolution: How does it Work? & Humans

Becoming Homo Sapiens

Did humans evolve from monkeys?

 

 

The word "hominid" refers to members of the family of humans, Hominidae, which consists of all species on our side of the last common ancestor of humans and living apes. Hominids are included in the superfamily of all apes, the Hominoidea, the members of which are called hominoids. Although the hominid fossil record is far from complete, and the evidence is often fragmentary, there is enough to give a good outline of the evolutionary history of humans. The time of the split between humans and living apes used to be thought to have occurred 15 to 20 million years ago, or even up to 30 or 40 million years ago. Some apes occurring within that time period, such as Ramapithecus, used to be considered as hominids, and possible ancestors of humans. Later fossil finds indicated that Ramapithecus was more closely related to the orangutan, and new biochemical evidence indicated that the last common ancestor of hominids and apes occurred between 5 and 10 million years ago, and probably in the lower end of that range (Lewin 1987). Ramapithecus therefore is no longer considered a hominid. The field of science which studies the human fossil record is known as Paleoanthropology. It is the intersection of the disciplines of paleontology (the study of ancient life forms) and anthropology (the study of humans).

 

AnthropologistBecoming Human - Click on the link to take a interactive tour through human evolution. Click on: Becoming Human The Documentary Move through each segment (Prologue, Evidence, Anatomy, Lineages, Culture) and view the information.

Hominid Species:

 

Sahelanthropus tchadensis Orrorin tugenensis Ardipithecus ramidus Australopithecus anamensis Australopithecus afarensis Kenyanthropus platyops Australopithecus africanus Australopithecus garhi Australopithecus aethiopicus Australopithecus robustus Australopithecus boisei Homo habilis Homo erectus Homo ergaster Homo antecessor Homo sapiens (archaic) (also Homo heidelbergensis) Homo sapiens neanderthalensis (also Homo neanderthalensis) Homo sapiens sapiens (modern)

Visit the link below to learn about each of the Hominid species listed above:

Hominid species

Assignment 1.8b - Evolution: How does it work? & Humans (Origins of Human Kind Activity)
Use the information above and provided on this link to answer the following questions.
 

Origin of human kind activity

1. How long ago is it estimated that early human ancestors diverged from apes?
2. What is the fossil evidence that makes up the Millennium Ancestor (Orrorin tugenensis).
3. How old is "Lucy"? What is her scientific name? When and where was she discovered?
4. How old are the first stone tools? Describe them? How do they differ from the bone digging tools?
5. Where was the java man fossil found? How old is the fossil estimated to be?
6. How long ago is it estimated that the first use of fire took place? What two hominid species is thought to have used it?
7. Did Homo Neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens exist at the same time? When is it estimated that the Neanderthalensis disappeared?
8. Who used the Mousterian Stone Tools? What where they used for? Where were they found? What is estimated to be the age of the tools?
9. What genus and species does the old man fossil belong too? How old is this fossil estimated to be? What did scientist find out about this hominid?
10. How old is the Cro-Magnon fossil? Where was it found?
11. Pick one Hominid species and write a summary about its characteristics, where it was found, when, how, by who and the information obtained from the fossil that adds to our understanding of human evolution (how was the information obtained).

    Honors biology: In place of number 11 above complete this question.

11. Pick 2 hominid fossils that you feel are important to our ancestry, compare and contrast the information scientist have obtained about them and explain why you think they are important to the puzzle of our ancestry. Pick two cultural events and do the same.

 

 

The science of human origins is called Paleoanthropology. Since its conception there have been many erroneous theories proposed because of individuals working in isolation and a lack of sufficient evidence. There are many misconceptions dealing with how man originated. One being that our ancestors were chimpanzees or other modern apes. Our ancestors were not chimpanzees or any other modern ape since humans and apes represent two divergent branches of the anthropoid lineage which evolved from a common, less specialized ancestor. A second misconception is that humans evolved in an orderly series of steps from an ancestral anthropoid to Homo sapiens. The current thinking suggests Human evolution contains a number of dead ends with several different species of humans coexisting at the same time. A third misconception is that various human characteristics evolved in unison. Mosaic evolution occurred with different features evolving at different times. For example some ancestral forms may have walked upright but had small brains.

It is hard to understand how Paleoanthropologists can obtain the information they have about human origins but through good science and investigation they have found and are still finding very interesting and amazing evidence about human evolution. From this information scientist are beginning to see a better picture of our origins and it is continually changing as new pieces to the puzzle are found.

Assignment 1.8c - Evolution: How does it work? & Humans (Riddle of the Bones)
Scoring criteria

The Riddle of the Bones

Check out the evidence from four different digs to see how Paleoanthropologists unlock the secrets of fossil remains. Link to Riddle of the Bones Use this information to answer the following questions.

1. Describe the Laetoli Footprints.
2. What is the first family?
3. What is the Hadar skull?
4. Describe Lucy.
5. Define species.

How did they move? (use each of the fossil finds to answer this question)

1. What evidence was found from the first family site to help answer this question? Explain your answer.
2. What evidence was provided from the Lucy site? Explain your answer.
3. What evidence was provided from the Laetoli Footprints? Explain your answer.
4. Use the "learn more" link: List two additional clues that paleoanthropologists found.

What did they look like? (use each of the fossil finds to answer this question)

1. What evidence was found from the Laetoli Footprints to help answer this question? Explain your answer.
2. What evidence was provided from the Lucy site? Explain your answer.
3. What evidence was found from the first family site? Explain your answer.
4. What information was obtained from the Hadar skull dig? Explain your answer.
5. Use the "learn more" link: How are teeth used to answer this question? How is sex and size of these hominid fossil determined? How can scientist develop a sense of facial characteristics?

Are they all the same species? (use each of the fossil finds to answer this question)

1. What information was obtained from the Hadar skull to help scientist answer this question? Explain your answer.
2. What evidence was provided from the Lucy site? Explain your answer.
3. What evidence was found from the first family site? Explain your answer.
4. What evidence was found from the Laetoli Footprints? Explain your answer.
5. Use the "learn more" link: Read the information. Do you think these fossils belong to the same species? Use information found on this site to support your answer. What species does Johanson and White believe each of these fossils belong in? (give Genus & species name)

When did they live? (use each of the fossil finds to answer this question)

1. First family:
2. Lucy:
3. Hadar skull:
4. Laetoli Footprints:
5. How do paleoanthropologists determine this information?
6. How did scientist date the Laetoli Footprints?

Human History:

• Hominid Evolution - Hunterian Museum at the University of Glasgow
• Family Hominidae - University of Arizona
• Handbook of Human Symbolic Evolution - By Andrew Lock and Charles R. Peters
• Human Evolution - The University of Leeds
• Human Origins Research - The Leakey Foundation
• Human Origins and Development of Culture - Mesa Community College
• Evolution at the Molecular Level - Arizona University
• Neandertal DNA - Dr. Mark Stoneking, Penn State University
• Fossil Hominids - The Talk.Origins Archive

Other:

• The Primate Gallery - Provided by Tim Knight, Seattle, Washington

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

This is a common misconception.
Man did not evolve from monkeys. They do have a common ancestor somewhere back on the family tree of evolution. At that divergence monkeys evolved in one direction while humans took a different path to where they are today.