Opener – 6 minutes
▪ Copy the following the terms & definitions into your notebook:
▪ Archaeology – scientific study of ancient cultures through the examination of artifacts,
buildings and other remaining material evidence.
▪ Anthropology – scientific study of humankind, especially the study of human ancestry
and culture over time and across the world.
▪ Human Evolution – represents the evidence-based, scientific understanding of the
origin and development of humanity.
▪ Hominid – humans and their closest relatives. (humans, chimpanzees, gorillas and
orangutans are all hominids).
▪ Bipedalism – form of motion where an organism moves by the means of its two rear
limbs.
Today’s Objectives:
▪ Understand how anthropologists work with archaeologists to gain
knowledge about early humans and their evolution.
▪ Understand the methods used to analyze evidence about human
beings in the past.
▪ Analyze how hominids/early humans have changed over time.
Human Ancestry
▪ Today we will be exploring the concept of evolution.
▪ Evolution is the science-based and disciplinary study of the origin
of life on this planet and thus includes the origins of human life.
▪ Many religions have their own narratives about the origins of
humanity.
▪ While evolution represents evidence-based, scientific
understanding of where humans came from as a species.
Human Ancestry
▪ Studying human history in an academic setting,
evolution is a necessary topic to understand and study.
▪ This is all together appropriate for our purposes here.
▪ Other views for human origins may be appropriate in
other settings and will also be addressed in this class in
the future.
The Cave Paintings of Chavet-Pont-D’arc
▪ We don’t know a lot about how early hominids lived.
▪ Why is it so hard to learn about their lives?
▪ What types of evidence might there be that could help us?
Create this chart in your notebook:
Historian’s Questions
Archeologist’s Questions
Anthropologist’s Questions
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2.
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2.
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3.
4.
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5.
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6.
Social Science Questions Graphic
Organizer
▪ What are the six “historical” questions?
▪ What questions might be asked by an archeologist?
– What is this item?
– How old is it?
– How might it have been used?
– What was if found near and what was found near it?
Archeologists vs. Historians - Notebook
Historians
Archeologists
1. What happened?
1. What is this item?
2. When did it happen?
2. How old is it?
3. Who was involved?
4. How did it happen?
3. How might have it been
used?
5. Why did it happen?
4. What was it found near?
6. Where did it happen?
5. What was found near it?
Anthropologists - Notebook
▪ What does an anthropologist study?
– human ancestry and culture over time and across the
world.
▪ Questions Anthropologists ask:
1. What are the ancestral roots of the human species?
2. Who were the first humans?
3. How did early humans live?
Social Science Questions
▪ Do you notice any questions on our lists that are very similar?
▪ Typically, archaeologists work with prehistoric artifacts, fossils, and early
humans.
▪ Anthropologists work with early AND modern societies.
▪ Since early humans have NOT left us any written records,
ANTHROPOLOGISTS are challenged to find other ways to answer their
questions.
Think like an Anthropologist
▪ What can we learn from bones or teeth that we find?
▪ What can we learn from cave paintings?
▪ What can we learn from animal bones?
– Are the skeletons intact or are they partial?
▪ What can we learn from tools?
– What kind of tools?
▪ How can carbon dating help to determine the age of bones/artifacts?
Hominid Skulls and Analysis
▪ You have been given copies of pictures of “Hominid Skulls” in your
packet.
▪ You have also been given some information about the six skulls.
▪ Anthropologists and Archaeologists use things like skulls to
determine how early people lived and how hominids may have
evolved.
Hominid Skulls Analysis Sheet
▪ You will need to analyze the information looking for
similarities and differences.
▪ You and your group will need to predict the chronological
order of the skulls.
▪ Your group has been given an extra copy of pictures of the
skulls. Your group will need to these pictures out to properly
arrange them in chronological order.
▪ You will have 15 minutes to complete the Analysis Sheet.
Document Camera
Human Ancestory
▪ Studies of DNA of modern, living humans, and apes suggest
that what became the human evolutionary line divided from
that of gorillas about 8 million years ago and from
chimpanzees 5 to 7 million years ago.
▪ Man did not evolve from monkey, but both man and monkey
share an ancestor.
Human Ancestry
▪ Scientists have dated the earliest hominid fossils through
carbon analysis to between 6 and 7 million years ago.
▪ Australopithecus and Homo fossils date back to about 1.5
billion years ago and have been found in Africa.
▪ What is the definition of HUMAN EVOLUTION?