Instruction
htt://www.pbs.org/ wabh/nova/evolution/becoming-human-part-1.htm/
Becoming Human worksheet
Part 1: First steps
1-what is the significance of the discovery of a fossil named “Salaam” or (“peace” in Ethiopian)?
2- Roughly when was salaam living and how do we know this?
3- what are the comparisons made between chimpanzees and Australopithecus and how are they significant?
4- What was the climate/ environment of Africa like many millions of years ago (Say 6 Mya)?
5-Acording to biomechanist Daniel Lieberman, why did human Ancestors become bipedal (walk upright)?
6- What is the molecular clock and how does it work?
7-What was the significance of the discovery of Sahelanthropus tchadensis?
8- what evidence is used to suggest that brain development was happening in early human Ancestors?
9-what was the climate of Africa like roughly 3 million year ago to 1 ½ million years ago?
10- How are these latest discoveries being used to challenge traditional conceptions of human.
htt://www.pbs.org/ wabh/nova/evolution/becoming-human-part-ll htm/
Becoming human worksheet
Part ll” Birth of humanity”
1-What species appeared about 2 million years ago and what were the significant changes from earlier species?
2what kinds of “big questions” can be answered with a nearly complete ancient Skeleton?
3- what is “brain endocast” and what can be learned from them?
4- In what ways are stone tools indicative of an increase in the “thinking power “of homo erectus?
5-what are the hidden cost of large brains?
6- what is homo erectus hunting?
7-how may the deeply social aspects of modern humans be explained through evolutionary development?
8- When did Homo erectus leave Africa and why?
9- What is Homo floresiensis (or the Habit)?
10- What is a possible scenario for the death of “Turkana Boy”?
htt://www.pbs.org/ wabh/nova/evolution/becoming-human-part-lll.htm/
Part III: “Last Human Standing”
1-In what order of descent did the species of Homo overtake one another and when?
2-what was discovered in the caves at Atapuerca, in northern Spain and what does this say about archaic Homo sapiens (Homo heidelbergensis in this case)?
3-What is “Excalibur” and What did it signify?
4-In what ways did our ideas about Homo neanderthalensis changes as the 20th century proceeds?
5- what recent discovery in the in the Meuse valley, Belgium helped to refine our views of Neanderthals?
6- what kind of research is going at the Max Planck institute in Leipzig, Germany, regarding evolutionary studies?
7-Why are children’s teeth so valuable to archeologist?
8-why was hunting such a risky business for Neanderthals?
9-Why did Neanderthals go extinct about 25,000 years ago?
10-What is “ the bottleneck effect”?