Download Standing on the Shoulders of Giants Curriculum

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Standing on the Shoulders of Giants Curriculum
EFLA TEACHING GUIDE
UNIT 1:
Ancient Africa (200,000 B.C.E. – 476 A.C.E.)
CLASS 1:
Out of Africa - The Origins of Humanity Part 1
OVERVIEW
According to modern science and historical evidence, the first human beings (homo sapiens) on
our planet originated in Africa approximately 200,000 years ago in the area which is now Ethiopia.
This “Out of Africa” or (OOA) theory is the most widely accepted theory of the origins of
mankind. There is but one "race" in the world - the human "race." Modern ideas of separate "races"
of people (i.e. black, white, Asian, Latino, etc.) are not rooted in anything scientific, but are social
constructions. Once speculative, this theory of a recent single origin hypothesis (RSOH) coming
out of Africa has been corroborated by present-day mitochondrial DNA, combined with evidence
based on physical anthropology of archaic specimens. Thus, history begins in Africa. Fittingly,
archeologists and geneticists affectionately refer to Africa as both the “birthplace of mankind” and
the “cradle of civilization.” Yet in America, we do not start the study of history in Africa, but with
Western Civilization, which arose literally thousands of years after the first major Nile Valley
civilizations in Africa such as Nubia and Kemet/Egypt. Why do you think this is?
Despite the fact that human beings originated in Africa and lived on the continent of Africa for
well over 100,000 years before any other continent, we know very little about African history, let
alone the first people in Africa - our common ancestors. These first human beings in Africa get
little attention in modern history books, yet the contributions they made to civilization were not
only pioneering – they allowed our species to survive. These early humans were the first to witness
fire and learn to cultivate and manipulate it. They were the first to observe logs floating on the
river and to translate that knowledge into the development of canoes and boats. They were the
first to fashion shelter from reeds and to make homes from dried mud; to domesticate plants and
animals; and to craft simple and complex tools for hunting, fishing, farming and building. They
were the first to observe the wisdom of animals and apply it to their own lives. They were the first
migrants, following herds of animals throughout the continent for new food and water sources.
They gave us our first knowledge of astronomy, our first drawings of animals, vegetation, and
human beings swimming. They made the world’s first weapons for taking down large prey,
including the spear with stone tip and the more sophisticated bow and arrow. Furthermore, these
early human beings in Africa established the first systems of human organization, including family
structure and the first forms of human worship and spirituality. And this was literally tens of
thousands of years before the first of the great ancient civilization of Kemet/Egypt was established
circa 4,000 B.C.E.
In the next two classes, you will analyze the prevailing theories on the origins of humanity and
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journey back in time to the first humans in Africa. What did they do in Africa for 100,000 years?
What did they learn? What did they pass on? When and why did they begin migrating out of
Africa? These questions will be probed as we begin our study of history, which begins with the
study of Africa.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, students will be able to:
ü Analyze the prevailing scientific theories on the origins of human beings.
ü Describe the reasons the first humans (homo sapiens) migrated out of Africa.
ü Discuss the contributions to civilization made by the first humans in Africa.
ü Chart the path of human migration out of Africa and discuss its impact on
human variation (i.e. skin/eye color, height, hair texture, etc.).
HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT
Read/View the following:
ü Natural History Museum: “Where did modern humans come from?” (7 min)
Link: http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/life/human-origins/modern-humanevolution/where/
ü Documentary: Journey of Man - The Story of the Human Species Part 1 (57:10 min)
ü Video: UNTOLD BLACK HISTORY: The Black Chinese: DNA test... Case Closed (2:11
min)
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QUIZ 1.1
Instructions
1. Give EFLA Document: Quiz 1.1 (below), at the start of each class. The quiz is based on
the homework assignment from Unit 1 Class 1. Give students approximately 15-20
minutes to complete the Quiz 1.1.
Why start class with a quiz each day? Quizzes at the beginning of class serve as an
excellent class and behavior management tool. All students understand that there is no
talking or disruption during a quiz. Therefore, each class begins with silence as students
quickly get to their seats to have as much time to complete the quiz as possible. This
also gives you, the teacher, 15-20 minutes to review the answers to the quiz and prepare
for the Quiz question/answer session, which completes the class.
2. Once the quiz is complete, call on student volunteers to provide the answers to each of
the questions. Facilitate a class discussion by reviewing the answers together. Allow
students the opportunity to grade their own quiz.
Why allow students to grade their own quizzes?! Self-graded quizzes are a great activity
to teach and build integrity. Explain to students that education is meaningless if it is
without a guiding value system. Define integrity to students and how it applies to the
self-graded quizzes. Collect and review graded quizzes periodically for accuracy and
place in student folder. Periodically give “open book/internet quizzes” (we recommend
making approximately 50% of the quizzes “open book/internet.” The object of the
daily quizzes is to ensure that students are actively engaging and learning the material.
Open book quizzes ensure that students find answers on their own and are able to
meaningfully participate in the Quiz question/answer sessions. Note: The first quiz
should be “open book,” or “open internet.” Sometimes you can even have “open
internet” for the first 5 or ten minutes of the quiz… Open book/internet quizzes will
also make you a popular teacher, which also helps with class management.
QUIZ QUESTIONS
From “Where Did Modern Humans Come From”
1. A. Define the three models of human origins: A. The Out of Africa Model B. The
Multiregional Model and C. The Assimilationist Model.
Answer. A. The Out of Africa Model showed that part of our genome, inherited only
through mothers and daughters, derived from an African ancestor about 200,000 years
ago. This female ancestor became known as Mitochondrial Eve. More genetic data both
from recent human people and Neanderthal fossils were collected supporting the
Recent African Origin model. The idea gained momentum and with it the view that
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when modern humans began to leave Africa around 60,000 years ago they largely or
entirely replaced other archaic human species outside the continent.
B. The Multiregional Model, by contrast, put forward parallel lines of evolution in
each inhabited region of Africa, Europe, Asia and Australasia, glued together by
interbreeding across the human range. Under this model, there was no real ‘origin’
for the modern form of Homo sapiens. A feature like a chin might have evolved in a
region such as Africa and spread through interbreeding, followed by selection if it
was an advantageous characteristic. Another feature, like our high forehead, might
have evolved elsewhere and then spread through interbreeding.
C. The Assimilationist Model, like the recent African origin model, this gave Africa a
key role as the place where modern human features evolved, but it imagined a much
more gradual spread of those features. Under this view, Neanderthals and archaic
people like them were assimilated through widespread interbreeding. This meant that
the establishment of modern human features occurred via a blending of populations
rather than a rapid replacement.
2. What model of human origins is the most widely accepted?
Answer. The Out of Africa Model is the most widely accepted.
From documentary “Journey of Man”
1. According to geneticists there are no separate "races" of people, all human beings
originated in Africa from one man and woman. True or False?
Answer: True
2. When did human beings first begin to migrate out of Africa"? B. What was the reason(s)
for this first major migration?
Answer: A. 50,000 years ago B. They migrated due to a major drought caused by a
drastic drop in global temperature, which caused the South African sea level to retreat
40 kilometers. They first went south and east across the Indian Ocean into Southern
Asia and Australia. 30:30
3. According to geneticists, the San Bushmen of Africa have some of the oldest DNA on
the planet. It was noted that looking at them was like "looking at a composite model of
every face from around the world: the eye shape of east Asians, the high cheek bones of
Mongolians, and the mid-brown skin color that can turn darker or lighter."
A. Is this true in your opinion? B. How does the skin color and physical appearance of
the San Bushmen contrast with what you have been conditioned to believe indigenous
Africans look like?
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Answer: A. Answers will vary but should be yes. If no, have student discuss why they
disagree B. Most students have been taught that all Africans are very dark skin to black
in complexion, with broad noses and large lips. As seen with the San people, the
physical diversity of indigenous Africans is enormous.
4. What is it that allows geneticists to trace human descent?
Answer: Mutations of the Y-chromosomes, which create unique markers. The San
Bushman's genetic markers are the oldest found in the world.
5. What is the unique element found in Sans Bushman language?
Answer: The San Bushmen speak with "clicks". None of the other world's languages
have this element of sound, a further testament to the tribe’s ancient lineage.
6. What was one of the newest technological advances made by Africans 50,000 years
ago?
Answer: They began to craft weapons out of bone and created the first "smart missile"
of its day. Bone was sharper and more efficient than stone.
7. Where was the first place Africans migrated to 50,000 years ago?
Answer: Australia. It is the first place where we find human bones outside of Africa.
8. What was the path Africans took to reach Australia?
Answer: They went south and across the Indian Ocean into Southern Asia along what
is now India. They traveled along the south coast of India and settled and remained in
isolation in Australia.
9. A. What percent (%) of the people who migrated out of Africa went the southern route
to India and Southeast Asia? B. What percent (%) went the northern route out of
Africa to become the people of Asia, Europe and North and South America?
Answer: A. 10% took the southern route B. 90% were part of the second Northern
migration out of Africa
10. A. Where did the first wave of Africans who took the Northern migration route end up
first? B. Where was the second wave of their migration after the Middle East?
Answer: A. The first wave of Northern migrants out of Africa went to the region what
is now the Middle East. B. The second wave split – the first group went south to what
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is now India and the second group migrated north to what is now China.
11. While people were populating Asia (the Middle East, India and China), where were the
Europeans?
Answer: At this time Europe had no history; Europe had yet to appear in the human
record.
From Video: UNTOLD BLACK HISTORY: The Black Chinese: DNA test... Case
Closed
1. What was the original hypothesis Chinese geneticist Jin Lee sought of to prove?
Answer. He sought to prove that the Chinese evolved independently from all other
humans from homo erectus in China.
2. What did the Chinese geneticist Jin Less say led him to believe that the Chinese
developed independently from all other humans?
Answer. He commented that, “through the education process [he] always believed that
there was something “special” about the Chinese.
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