Download Human Ancestors Comparison For a comprehensive look at all

Human Ancestors Comparison
For a comprehensive look at all human ancestral fossil evidence use this website as a reference
as needed. http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/homs/species.html
I. What does it mean to be Human? http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-familytree
1. What are some differences between the four “Branches” on the family tree of
humans?
2. Let’s look at each branch in more detail:
In each “branch” (there should be 4) Pick one representative fossil skull and find the
following information (a comparison chart might work here):
 Name, Nickname
 Two skull features
 Two body features
 One life style fact
 Where they lived
 When they lived
3. Let’s look at what it means to be human in more detail:
a. Use the ”Human characteristics Tab” and select “Walking upright” What
are four leg or body features that needs to be present before an organism
can walk upright?
b. In the same “Human Characteristics Tab” select “bodies”. How do bodies
and guts change to adapt to more northern and colder climates?
c. In the same “Human Characteristics Tab” select “Brains” How does brain
size relate to the evolution of humans?
d. What is the cost and benefit of a larger brain?
II. Comparing Skulls: http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/life/human-origins/modernhuman-evolution/3d-hominid-skulls/index.html
There is debate about the lineage of our own genus, Homo (“man”). Homo habilis, often simply
named “early man” lived in eastern and southern Africa from 2.5 to 1.6 million years ago. Homo
erectus populations left Africa in waves between 2 million and 500,000 years ago, for what reason,
is unclear. Our own species, Homo sapiens (“wise man”), arose from H. erectus ancestors.
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Build a comparison chart that looks at the skulls of: A. afarensis, H. erectus, H.
Neanderthal, H. sapiens, Pan troglodytes
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Comparing the teeth, Jaw structure, Cranium size and shape, and nose
Use a system of ++ to equal modern and – to equal primitive
1. What changes from primitive to advanced characteristics do you see in the evolutionary line
from A. afarensis to H. sapien?
2. What is the trend in nose bridge shape?
3. What is the trend in cranial capacity?
Fossil evidence, biochemistry, and genetic analysis indicate that chimpanzees and humans are the most
closely related of all living primates. In fact, comparisons of amino acid sequences of proteins and DNA
sequences show that chimpanzees and humans share about 99% of their genes! Other evidence shows
that the separation from the hominid line of the lineage that led to chimpanzees occurred no more than
4 to 6 million years ago.
4. How does the chimpanzee skull compare to the human skull with respect to primitive and
advance anatomical features
5. How does the chimpanzee skull compare to the skulls of more “apelike” hominid ancestors
from the Ardipithecus branch found at http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-
family-tree
6. Compare the slope of the forehead of chimpanzees with that of modern humans.
7. Do you believe humans are still evolving? If not, why not? If yes, explain in what ways
humans may be evolving.