Biology 101
Dr. Jaeson T. Fournier
Human Evolution: Take Home Quiz
Due 12/11/03
Procedure :
1. Print out the assigned questions.
2. Set aside at least 60 minutes to complete the assignment.
3. Go to Becoming Human.- http://www.becominghuman.org/
Expect delays since so many students are attempting to access this site at the same
time. If you are unable to "get on," try again later.
4. You will arrive on the site's homepage. Click on Becoming Human: The Documentary
(located in the left-hand panel) or click on the banner located in the upper right-hand
corner of the screen.
5. Click on Begin The Program to watch the Prologue. Answer the assigned questions
(Prologue) while watching this portion of the documentary.
6. By clicking on the controls in the upper right-hand corner you may pause, stop, rewind,
or advance documentary.
7. Select the other headings (Evidence, Anatomy, Lineages, and Culture) and answer the
appropriate assigned questions.
8. After ans wering all of the assigned questions under the above headings return to the
homepage and click on Learning Center (located in the left-hand panel). Select Building
Bodies under the heading Educational Activities.
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Biology 101
Dr. Jaeson T. Fournier
Questions:
Prologue (Documentary Clip)
What's the narrator's name?
What is his title/job description?
What did Homo sapiens develop that allowed them to survive and thrive?
Evidence (Documentary Clip)
Where is Hadar located?
In 1974, an early hominid was discovered. Why did they nickname it Lucy?
How old is Lucy?
What is Lucy's scientific name?
What was the environment like in this region (Afar region of Ethiopia) 3 million years ago?
How tall was Lucy?
Was Lucy a biped?
How would Lucy, and her kind, survive an encounter with a saber-toothed cat or hyena?
Evidence (same opening page used for the evidence documentary)
Click on "Related Exhibits" (red tab located at lower left corner)
Click on "Explore A Dig." Then click on "Join The Dig." Move your mouse to the edge (see Venture Forward) to
move the image and meet some folks that will describe their jobs at this particular dig.
1. First you will meet Kaye Reed (Paleoecologist). What does a paleoecologist, like Kaye, do after all of the animal
fossils have been found and identified?
2. Carl Vondra (Geologist). What role do geologists play at a dig like this one?
3. Gerald Eck (Paleoanthropologist). What's he doing with all of the maps and geographical positioning systems?
Why is it important that he does this? (provide a couple of reasons)
4. Describe the team members at this area of the dig.
5. Bill Kimbel (Paleoanthropologist). What does Bill say about the ability of technology to find fossils?
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Biology 101
Dr. Jaeson T. Fournier
Anatomy (Documentary Clip):
What naturalist proposed, in 1871, that humans and African apes mu st have shared a common ancestor?
What percent of our genes do we share with chimpanzees?
What is the correct way to explain this relationship?
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humans evolved from chimpanzees
chimpanzees will evolve in humans
humans and chimpanzees shared a common ancestor
What's an arboreal environment?
What happened to the arboreal environment 6 million years ago?
Unearthed in 1978 by Mary Leakey and her excavation team, the Laetoli footprints are unique and dramatic
evidence for one of the defining characteristics for being a hominid...... ________.
What is the major difference between a chimpanzee's foot and a human foot?
What's the advantage for a chimp if it assumes a bipedal posture?
How long ago did fossils assigned to Homo first appear?
Being a ______ allowed Homo erectus to push farther away from their homelands. And this was called "dispersal"
and not migration because unlike migration, these early humans ____________.
Anatomy (same opening page used for the Anatomy documentary)
Click on Related Exhibits
Click on #4 Big Brains. We really do have big brains for our body size. Given our body size, scientists have made
projections on how big they thought our brains should be, but actually our brains are ______ times larger than
predicted.
Why aren't we just born with larger heads to accommodate our big brains?
Click on #5 Bringing the Past to Life . What does John Gurche do?
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Biology 101
Dr. Jaeson T. Fournier
Lineages (Documentary Clip):
August 1856, in Germany, the remains of what early human was discovered?
Which skull has a little face that is tucked underneath the skull?
After 200,000 years of successfully inhabiting Europe Neanderthals suddenly went extinct. One explanation for this
may be the sudden, and rapid, appearance of another organism - _________
Lineage (same opening page used for the Lineage documentary)
Click on Related Exhibits (for Lineages)
Click on #7 The Missing Link? What's a missing link? Why is this a mistake?
Click on #8 Modern Humans Populate the Globe. Watch the two possible mechanisms. I will discuss these in
lecture.
Click on #10 A World of Diversity. Click on Skin Color. Which population has more melanin? Why?
Click on Lactose Tolerance. Why do some populations have lactose tolerance?
Culture (Documentary Clip):
How old are the finger impressions in the caves in the Nullarbor Plains in Australia?
This marks the dawn of _____________.
While early man in Europe was painting animals on cave walls, what were the aboriginals painting on their cave
walls?
Michel Lorblanchet (Archeologist/Artist) is trying to re-create ancient cave paintings.... what is his paint brush?
Building Bodies (under Learning Center and Educational Activities)
See Procedure for instructions on accessing this portion of the web site.
(After dragging the skulls into place...)
Where are the foramen magnums located for the chimpanzee and humans?
(After dragging the rib cage/spine into place...)
What is it about a human backbone that allows humans to stand up straight?
(After dragging the pelvis, legs, and feet into place...)
How are the big toes of chimpanzees different than humans?
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