BONES, STONES, AND GENES – The Origin of Modern Humans HHMI 2011 Howard Hughes Medical Institute www.biointeractive.org REVIEW Click Here For PDF Version of This Review The two DVD discs in this package focus on various aspects of human evolution. Three very good speakers present those aspects quite effectively. They are engaging, and their rich content presents multiple lines of compelling evidence all pointing to the reality of human evolution. Many students, with little understanding of evolution or science, may have some difficulties, because so many examples are given in fairly rapid succession. For that reason, if teachers use these materials, they should plan to either pace their presentation, with frequent stops for questions, clarifications and replays of critical segments, or only show selected parts in a context suitable for their students that helps them understand those parts. The eight selected Video Clips (on disk one) are convenient for doing this with some of the material. In addition, there are three “Click and Learn” modules on the second disk. Each one has a number (14-­‐24) of slides and short video clips arranged in a meaningful sequence. And each one has a short list of Key Concepts and Teaching Notes. These modules could serve as tutorials for individual study, or used interactively with the entire class. The third module “Using Science Process to Study Human Evolution” is an excellent example. It shows vividly how paleoanthropology involves the asking of questions and subsequent testing of the possible answers – nice examples of “historical” science, using one of the processes of science seldom pointed out in science classes, much less experienced there. Students will also notice that the usual “steps of the scientific method” are properly replaced with a simpler flow, and adapted to the historical science questions: Be curious à Ask questions à Collect & analyze data à Make logical conclusions (the last two being part of the “testing” process). Later, students are shown how logical conclusions often lead to asking more questions, and those new questions can be further tested, or send one to read the scientific literature and/or to consult experts. MAIN LECTURES Lecture 1 Human Evolution and the Nature of Science (30’) Prof. Tim White (of UC Berkeley) introduces the series. He provides an overview of the subject and its historical context. He also provides insights into the nature of science, its importance for understanding evolution in general, and human evolution in particular. Lecture 2 Chapters: Genetics of Human Origins and Adaptation (1 hr) Dr. Sarah Tishkoff (of the University of Pennsylvania) explores various aspects of how genetics and DNA knowledge provide insight to human evolution. She shows how these patterns parallel cultural and language patterns. She also discusses examples of natural selection in humans, especially the condition of lactose intolerance – or lactase persistence. Lecture 3 Chapters: Stone Tools and Evolution of Human Behavior (1 hr) Dr. John Shea (of Stony Brook University) shares the many aspects of archaeology and how stone tools and other artifacts shed light on how early humans probably lived. This includes how stone tools are recognized as such, how they’re classified, how they are made, how they’re dated, and how human tool use compares with chimp tool use. Lecture 4 Chapters: Hominid Paleobiology (1h 30’) Prof. Tim White (of UC Berkeley) shares his experiences in paleoanthropology and the many aspects of this study. He shows how fossils are found, processed, and interpreted. He shows how new discoveries relate to previous discoveries, and how the model of human evolution “evolves.” Many of the ENSI lessons provide experiences touching on all of these areas. Note especially the lessons under “Human Evolution Patterns” and Geological Patterns sections. Introducing your evolution unit with the ENSI “Skulls” lab (Hominid Cranial Comparison) and the Chronology Lab make for an exciting and engaging intro to evolution in general. And the “Click and Learn” Module #3 (on disk 2 of this HHMI set): Using Science Process to Study Human Evolution would provide either an interesting preliminary experience or follow-­‐up to the Skulls lab. Note: the Skulls lab works best if you can use full scale resin copies of the representative skulls (as described there), but until your budget can afford them, you can use the full scale 4-­‐view photos of those skulls (available in that lesson on the ENSI site). I know you will find this HHMI set of disks very useful, and will ease you into the most engaging and important parts of evolution – those dealing with our own evolution. I recommend them very highly – a real bargain at any price – and the set is free from HHMI. DETAILED LIST OF CHAPTERS FOR EACH LECTURE This can give you a good idea of content and sequence in each lecture, as well as an idea for where to go for specific segments to re-­‐show and discuss: Bones, Stones, and Genes – The Origin of Modern Humans Chapters in each of 4 lectures Lecture 1 Chapters: Human Evolution and the Nature of Science (30’) 1. Start of Lecture One 2. Profile of Dr. Tim White 3. Civilization’s attention span 4. Overview of the lecture 5. Where do we come from? 6. Ancient humans in the Western Hemisphere 7. What is science? 8. Relationship between medical science and evolution 9. Biomedical implications of human evolution 10. Basic classification of great apes and human origins 11. Difficulty of conceptualizing millions of years 12. Phases of human evolution Lecture 2 Chapters: Genetics of Human Origins and Adaptation (1 hr) 1. Start of Lecture One 2. Profile of Dr. Sarah Tishkoff 3. The human genome and how we differ from others genetically 4. What is our place in the tree of life? 5. Genetic variation is greater among apes than among humans 6. Fossil and genetic evidence inform us about human history 7. Nuclear DNA and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) 8. Tracking lineages by mtDNA to Mitochondrial Eve 9. Using genetic variation to reconstruct lineage history 10. The evidence for African origin of all modern humans 11. Human dispersal out of Africa and the founder effect 12. Other species of Homo left Africa earlier than Homo sapiens 13. Ancient mtDNA reveals human and Neanderthal genomes 14. Comparison of human and Neanderthal genomes 15. Q&A: How can different species admix? 16. Q&A: Why do ape species show more genetic diversity than humans? 17. Q&A: Can you speculate on the future of human evolution? 18. Types of genetic variability in nuclear DNA 19. Short tandem repeats (STRs) are highly variable genetic markers 20. Using STRs and other markers to study human genetic variation 21. African linguistic families and cultures 22. Challenges and ethics of human genetic studies in Africa 23. Human genetic diversity is greatest in Africa 24. Individual in the same region are more genetically similar 25. Different populations show characteristics of genetic admixture 26. Genetic diversity in Africa reveals admixture patterns 27. Lactase persistence as an example of human adaptation 28. Global distribution of lactose tolerance 29. A simple test for lactase persistence 30. The genetic basis of lactase persistence in Europe and Africa 31. The genetic footprint of recent natural selection 32. Lactase persistence: An example of gene-­‐culture coevolution 33. Other examples of natural selection in humans 34. Q&A: Why is lactose intolerance so low in my community? 35. Q&A: How does gene expression affect the lactose intolerance trait? Lecture 3 Chapters: Stone Tools and Evolution of Human Behavior (1 hr) 1. Start of Lecture Three 2. Profile of Dr. John Shea 3. The science of archaeology and the importance of context 4. Archaeology is the science of human residues 5. Stratigraphic principles of superposition and association 6. Demo: Stratigraphic Principles 7. Principles of radiocarbon dating 8. Principles of radio-­‐potassium dating 9. Uniformitarianism: The present as a guide to the past 10. Archaeological fieldwork at Omo Kibish site, Ethiopia 11. Introduction to stone tools 12. Video: Making Stone Tools by Flintknapping 13. Modern flintknapping experiments inform us about the past 14. Q&A: Are there any trends in the evolution of stone tools? 15. Q&A: What has been your most exciting discovery? 16. Narrative and comparative approaches to studying prehistory 17. Demo: Classifying Stone Tools 18. Archaeological evidence of complex human behavior 19. Snapshot of human prehistory: 5,000 years ago 20. Snapshot of human prehistory: 30,000 years ago 21. Snapshot of hominin prehistory: 500,000 years ago 22. Snapshot of hominin prehistory: 2 million years ago 23. Comparing human behavior in the snapshots of prehistory 24. Origin of distinctively hominin behavior 25. Video: Comparing Human and Chimpanzee Tool Use 26. Factors influencing the emergence of hominin stone tool use 27. The archaeological records of humans and early hominins 28. Hypotheses for the evolution of human behavioral complexity 29. Testing hypotheses on how human behavioral complexity evolved 30. Conclusion and message to potential archaeologists 31. Q&A: Is the type of stone tool associated with complexity of people? 32. Q&A: What is the evidence for controlled use of fire? 33. Q&A: What caused early hominins to trend toward carnivory? 34. Q&A: Why did humans begin to cook meat? Lecture 4 Chapters: Hominid Paleobiology (1h 30’) 1. Start of Lecture Four 2. Profile of Dr. Tim White 3. Introduction to Part 1: Our Last Four Million Years 4. Video: Rift Valleys of Africa and Plate Tectonics 5. Geography of the Afar Rift 6. A tour of the Middle Awash study area 7. Video: Floods Supply Sediments for Fossil Formation 8. “Drilling down” in the Middle Awash 9. Using volcanic rocks to date sediment 10. Scope of Middle Awash project 11. Sites and findings of the Middle Awash project research area 12. Zooming into Herto village, a site of hominid fossil discovery 13. Paleoanthropology: From discovery to publication 14. Building research capacity in Ethiopia 15. Testing a hypothesis by comparing skulls 16. Earliest Homo sapiens: Herto 17. Video: The Delicate Process of Excavating and Cleaning Fossils 18. Herto skull compared with modern human skull 19. Evidence of stone tool use by Herto man 20. Bodo man from 0.5 mya and Daka man from 1 mya 21. Invention of stone tools affected human evolution 22. Australopithecus from 2.5 mya used stone tools 23. “Lucy” and other australopithecines, 4.1 – 3.2 mya 24. Australopithecus lineage, 4.2 – 2 mya 25. Robust Australopithecus lineage, 2.7 – 1.2 mya 26. Homo erectus expands from Africa, 1.8 mya 27. Neanderthal lineage in Europe, 0.6 – 0.03 mya 28. H. florensiensis: An 18,000 year-­‐old extinct species 29. How many species are in the human family tree? 30. Did adaptive radiation occur in human evolution? 31. The big picture: Hominid evolution from ~4.2 mya to the present 32. Q&A: How has our diet changed from our ancestors’ diet? 33. Q&A: How can you tell the age of the individuals? 34. Q&A: How can you reconstruct a skull from an incomplete fossil? 35. Q&A: Advantage of a small brain for our most recent relative? (H. floresiensis) 36. Intro to Part 2: Ardipithecus and Our Place in Nature 37. Lamarck’s ideas as the roots of the savanna hypothesis 38. Darwin knew chimpanzees did not evolve into humans 39. Ardipithecus: A hominid close to the common ancestor 40. Central Awash Complex: Where Ardipithecus was found 41. Video: Dung Beetles and Their Fossilized Evidence 42. Fossils of many types of animals found at the “Ardi” site 43. Discovery of hominid bones from 4.4 mya 44. Video: Hardening Fragile Fossils for Extraction 45. Returning solidified fossils to museum 46. Reconstructing past environment from fossils evidence 47. Early hominid skeletons 48. Comparing “Ardi” with “Lucy” 49. Digitally reconstructing “Ardi” skull and what it tells us 50. Comparing pelvises: “Ardi,” “Lucy,” human, and chimpanzee 51. Comparing hands: “Ardi,” human, and chimpanzee 52. Comparing feet: “Ardi” and primates 53. Making sense of “Ardi’s” characteristics 54. Teeth as indicators of behavior 55. Chimpanzee-­‐human common ancestor was not a chimpanzee 56. Why human medicine must be evolution minded 57. Evolution’s perspective: Geographic range and preferred habitat 58. Humans are the sole surviving hominid species 59. Q&A: Procedures to be followed to get permission to dig? 60. Q&A: Why should validity of our beliefs be based on a theory? 61. Q&A: What will the chimpanzee-­‐human common ancestor be like? VIDEO CLIPS (Disc 1) From Dr. Shea’s Lecture: 1. Stratigraphic Principles (2:21) 2. Making Stone Tools by Flintknapping (1:23) 3. Classifying Stone Tools (3:04) 4. Comparing Human & Chimp Tool Use (0:29) From Dr. White’s Lecture: 1. Rift Valleys and Plate Tectonics (1:01) 2. Floods Supply Sediments for Fossil Formation (1:27) 3. Delicate Process of Excavating and Cleaning Fossils (0.39) 4. Hardening Fragile Fossils for Extraction (0:19) DISK 2 Interviews with speakers Profiles of young scientists working in labs Discussion of bitter taste perception (PTC) Reporting science results to public Click and Learn Modules on: 1. Recent Adaptations in Humans 2. Regulation of Lactase Gene 3. Using Science Process to Study Human Evolution New HHMI Holiday Lecture: BONES, STONES & GENES The Origin of Modern Humans October 2011 A REVIEW