Human Evolution Webquest

Human Evolution WebQuest

Instructions: Go to: http://www.mnh.si.edu/anthro/humanorigins/index.htm

The Smithsonian Institution Human Origins Program: In Search of What Makes Us Human

Click on: The Hall of Human Ancestors

Using the information provided in the website, answer the following questions.

1. What is paleoanthropology? 2. What characteristics do primates have in common? 3. When did the split between Old World monkeys and apes occur? 4. When is the common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees thought to have lived? 5. When did the complex behaviors such as the ability to adapt to a wide range of environments and cultural diversification emerge? 6. Describe the major features of a primate skull. 7. Describe the dentition of a primate. 8. What is the dental formula for Old World monkeys and apes? 9. How is the age of a fossil determined using teeth as evidence? 10. What is a phylogenetic tree? 11. When did Austrolopithecus afarensis live in Africa? 12. Why are the fossil footprints found at Laetoli by Mary Leakey important? 13. How do we know that the Laetoli footprints were made by a hominid? 14. When did Australopithecus africanus live in Africa? 15. What is special about the Taung child? 16. What is the primary behavioral difference between Australopithecus species and Homo species? 17. What is it thought that Paranthropus boisei disappeared from the fossil record? 18. Which species of Homo is thought to be the probable ancestor of later Homo populations? 19. What is the Achulean stone tool industry? Which Homo species is identified with the Achulean stone tools? 20. What is special about the Turkana boy? 21. When is it thought that Homo erectus diverged from Homo ergaster? 22. The fossils of H. erectus found near the Solo River in Java are only 50,000 years old. What does this suggest about recent Homo populations? 23. To what species of Homo do modern humans belong? 24. What are the two theories regarding the evolution of modern humans? Explain. 25. How old is the fossil evidence for anatomically modern humans? 26. When did Neanderthals inhabit Europe and western Asia? 27. What cultural advance did Neanderthals exhibit that was unique from all other species of Homo? 28. How has your understanding of human evolution changed during the course of this unit? What questions do you still have?