Evolution+Project+Notes+SLS

= NOTES: =


 * Allie:**

Types of Primates: Plesiadapis (56 million years ago) Notharctus (48 million years ago) Aegyptopithecus (30 million years ago) Proconsul (18 million years ago) Sivapithecus (8 million years ago)

Dating Game: Fossil age determined by placement in rock and how deep into the sediment that it’s found.

Radio Carbon Dating: Carbon-14 is stopped from being absorbed when you die. Age can be determined by the amount in the fossils.

Fossils = proof when a species evolved (when and where.) Paleontologist, geologists, anatomist.


 * Aubrey:**

La Micoque: scientists first gathered here in France to study fossils. → Pollen was preserved in the lake sediment, and from this they could hypothesize the environment.

Tools from ancient humans helped us understand what kind of environment the humans were living in as well as how long ago they lived.

Animal bones could tell us what they ate and what the humans ate. (Time period is determined by Carbon Dating.)

Humans and Chimps differ from each other because we can walk on two feet, in an upright stance (Arch foot.) The teeth from ancient humans also told us what they ate.

Humans were a lot smaller, and they ate small rodents – and we were prayed on by larger animals.

50,000-300,000 years ago: We were smaller, and did not have a whole lot of hair. We also had dark skin, and lower jaw bones.


 * Drew:**

Chimp and the bonobo are the closest relatives to the humans – 98.8% of DNA is identical to humans. (They all descended from one common ancestor.) The DNA changes led to the different behavior in humans and chimps.

The 1.2% difference in our DNA is equal to 35 million differences in the genes: 	a gene in the chimp could be turned down, while in the human they are turned upward. Possibly explaining the reason why humans brains are much larger and smarter. The fate of a person depends on their genes in their DNA: mutations could be harmful or beneficial to the human and it is determined in the DNA.

Tree Of Life: Diagram showing how all things are related to each other. How far apart the organisms are on the diagram, is how closely they are related.

All living things are related.


 * Nakia:**

The first humans came 6-7 million years ago, and walked the grasslands of Africa: Hominoids.

Little Foot was found in Africa in 1997 – first feet found of the spieces Australopithecus. → they only ate plants, insects and small animals.

The first tools that were found were tools used for meat cutting and building homes. Scientist believed that hominoids had small brains, and disproportioned bodies.

Turkana Boy: Eight-year-old boy skeleton was found near lake Turkana. (1.6 Million years old.) Up right at 5’, and had a better developed body than modern 8-year-olds today.


 * Jennifer:**

Home ergaster: Closest relative to the humans. Long legs, short arms, and some specimens have moderately large brains.

Homo habilis: “Handy Man” and Homo rudolfensis → little is known about these Hominoids.

Ron Clarke determined that the skull, and upper jaw were related to the same hominoids.

Genius Homo had a large brain, and they used 80% more of the brain than we do today.

The tools were used for digging roots and cutting meat. → They thought more about the structure of the tools meaning they were evolving.

Caucasus: Homo dmansi: They left Africa because of Homo ergaster, they have small brain and only brought simple tools with them.

Peking Man: Beijing China. The migration went through Asia and that is where they found Homo erectus.

The fossils were first thought to belong to dragons, but then they found that they belonged to humans.

1929: First complete skull cap was found by Chinese Scientists.

The biggest predators were hyenas (the size of large lions.) The common ancestral population of humans favors out of Africa.


 * William:**

Spreading Through Asia: Hominoids → Homo erectus. Migrated from Africa into Asia and there were fossils found in Indonesia. They were small people with tiny brains and they were called “Hobbits”.

Homo Floresiensis were smaller than modern day humans, and they were much smaller. The pressure during the hominoids evolution caused the small stature of the Homo Floresiensis.

The first ‘Europeans’ migrated 1 million years ago. They lived near the Mediterranean sea. They did cross the sea from Africa to Europe.

The New Migrants settled in Europe and Asia: Homo heidebergensis: the were 200 million years old.


 * Grant:**

Neanderthals: 200,000-500,000 years ago → Europe.

Pit of Bones: underground cave that holds the fossils of many different ancient species.

1856: Neanderthal fossil was found. Scientists have not been able to reconstruct a complete skeleton of the Neanderthal.

The differences between the humans and the Neanderthals have long and low brain cases, chest of the humans is barreled shaped, while the Neanderthals have a narrow rib cage. Modern humans have weak fingers and toes where the Neanderthals have strong ones.

Homo Sapiens are thought to have evolved in Africa → fossils that were found were being reconstructed to be compared with humans.

Near modern humans were involved in Cannabilism.

Arrival of Homo Sapiens: They were found in Jebel Qafzah cave, and they were all buried together. The first modern humans that were to walk the earth were given the name Cro-Magnons.


 * Molly:**

Ice Age: 15,000 years ago. Homo sapiens were living. They had to deal with cold temperatures, and made clothes out of animal skins. → they ate meats and plants, and they were getting taller.

The huts that they made were made out of mammoth bones, which took about 15 tons. Each hut had it’s own unique style for the family.

Fair skinned Homo sapiens lived in Europe, and they let in UV rays.

Tools: Stone blades, notched blades for cutting and piercing and tapered blades for cutting. → Microliths: Bone, ivory and antlers are difficult to shape.

Homo sapiens were found in Southern Austrailia. → The first humans migrated on foot and sometimes on water through Africa and Asia, as well as Australia.

First modern human was in Africa: The differences: -	high vertical forehead -	small navial -	chin -	cylindrical rib cage -	narrow pelvis

Art: Homo Sapiens would paint and engrave on stones in caves underground. *Cauvet Cave. Terra Cotta was molded into animal forms, and the main art would be wild horses.


 * Marie**:

The migrating humans ate seafood. 50,000-60,000 the Ancient humans crossed the open water to step into Asia.


 * Demarcus:**

New migrations, new environments, new foods, new customs, and new skin pigments. The water level was much lower back then. Fossils and DNA is used to find the origins of Homo sapiens. Through DNA we can see the diseases that were prevalent back then.


 * Monroe:**

The human brain has 100 meurons, and has been generally the same for the last 150,000 years. ← developed music and art. Symbolic awakening: We stopped thinking so much in Animal Instinct, and developed Free Thought.

Humans are unique in that they can make up their own language. Languages came 50,000 years ago to communicate.

Humans are naturally musically inclined. → Distinct evolutionary trait. Musical instrument are 30,000 years old – started out being made out of bone.

Art: Every human culture has art and animals cannot create art like we can. They started with cave paintings over 30,000 years old. Body painting is also an ancient form of art.


 * Fax:**

Tools and technology: Arrow heads (2.5 million years ago) -	Fish hooks -	Cutting tools -	Pottery -	Harpoon points -	Counting devices. The theory of evolution is controversial because it conflicts with religion, and it hasn’t changed that much since Darwin