Australopithecus Essays

  • Taung Child Essay

    1349 Words  | 6 Pages

    The Taung Child is the fossilised skull of a young Australopithecus africanus. When this 3 year child's skull was found in 1924, it was one of the first early human fossils to be found in South Africa. It was discovered by Raymond Dart through a local quarrymen. The Taung Child’s first molars had only just begun to rupture through the gum suggesting that the fossilized jaw belongs to a child. Upon closer inspection of the hominid’s dental development, crown formation, and root length suggest the

  • Afarensis Research Paper

    658 Words  | 3 Pages

    has reviled that the maxim cranial capacity is approximately 495cm3 to 550cm3, Still keeping it within the range of the Australopithecus genre. This skull has defined nuchal cresting and, with the new find, a more dish like face. Making it seem closer to that of the Paranthropus genera. The skull also gives us incite to how

  • Mesopotamian Civilization Essay

    888 Words  | 4 Pages

    When the first versions of ourselves appear between seven and six million years ago in the southern and eastern parts of Africa we brought a small era of human life into the world. When I say small I mean it compared to the universe. We only started to make and use simple tools 3.4 million years ago. Our early stages we were hunters and gatherers but then we planted crops because of the growing population. We only first develop International crop planting in 9000 B.C.E. in the Fertile Crescent.

  • New Kind Of Ancestor: Ardipithecus Unveiled By Anna Gibbons

    758 Words  | 4 Pages

    Article Review #3 The article “Ardipithecus ramidus: A New Kind of Ancestor: Ardipithecus Unveiled” written by Anna Gibbons, talks about how scientist learn many things about human evolution through artifacts of ancestors, DNA and bones. All of this helps reveals different things about our past and how we came to be. This article briefly mentions Lucy and it mainly focuses on the discovery of ardipithecus ramidus. In the short introductory paragraph, Gibbons mentions Lucy, a 3.2-million-year-old

  • Gorillas Essay

    1462 Words  | 6 Pages

    Up in the Rwandan mountain forests, renowned primatologist Dian Fossey studied and lived amongst the enigmatic silverback gorillas for as long as 14 years. A humble outpost was mounted in September 24, 1967. This remote outpost—also called the Karisoke Research Center—sat nestled between the volcanic Virunga Mountains. The study she would then conduct there was extensive: she diligently observed the mountain gorillas and wrote monthly reports. To gain the creatures’ trust, Fossey went to incredible

  • Paranthropus Robustus Essay

    371 Words  | 2 Pages

    Australopithecus africanus is one of the possible direct ancestor of Paranthropus robustus. separating new species in to cladograms is a very difficult task, the case of Paranthropus robustus is no different. The two most common arguments as to what is the direct ancestor of P. robustus is A. aferensis or Australopithecus africanus. Both of these two species have notable similarities and differences with P. robustus, and the answer to who is the ancestor is not cut and dry. The Pre Cranial morphology

  • Australopithecual Observation Report

    399 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of the first known human ancestors to be recorded, Australopithecus afarensis, is the main focus of BBC’ Prehistoric Autopsy finale. The show attempts to recreate the structure of a particular set of remains named Lucy. Lucy’s skeleton bears many similar physical characteristics to modern-day humans. Lucy’s remains present the question of why our ancestors left the safety of the trees, the first evidence of bipedalism in primates, and the cost of evolving towards bipedalism on the body. Before

  • Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds

    377 Words  | 2 Pages

    Donald Johnson had discovered an Australopithecus afarensis in Ethiopia during the year of 1974. Later to be named Lucy, this ape ended up being the, oldest potential ancestor for the hominid species, according to BBC. According to PBS, before her discovery, scientists had rationalized that the main trait that separated humans from apes was intelligence. This was based on the cranial capacity of the skull. Perhaps Lucy developed human-like features to hunt for food or possibly even to look over tall

  • Bipedalism In Anthropology

    2054 Words  | 9 Pages

    The world of anthropology is ever changing and each new discovery can discredit multiple other discoveries. Laetoli, Tanzania has been one site that has discovered and rediscovered multiple species of hominins, but the greatest discovery there was an ancient footprint trail left by our hominin ancestors. There have been other footprint trails discovered in other parts of the world, but none as old as the Laetoli trail. The Laetoli footprints are important because it lets us look into the species

  • Muntu Tribe

    727 Words  | 3 Pages

    It has been decades since paleoanthropologist Donald Johanson discovered the first fossilized bone of Australopithecus afarensis. Donald and his team had been surveying a remote area in Ethiopia when the discovery was made. Donald later unearthed vertebra, skull fragments, and a jaw bone further giving validity to a new hominid he would later name Lucy. It wouldn’t be for a few years, but the discovery would be labeled as the “missing link” between humans and a direct ancestor. The scientific community

  • How Could Australopithecus Have Benefited From Walking On Two Legs

    539 Words  | 3 Pages

    1. How could Australopithecus have benefited from walking on two legs? (Explain at least two benefits) The two benefits of bipedalism are flexibility and having more energy efficiency. Flexibility is a key benefit of bipedalism, because it allowed Australopithecus to take advantage of more/different environment rather than one. According to the book (p.8) “The rain forest abounded with fruits and nuts, but on the other hand the woodlands offered grasses and seeds.” Flexibility was key to obtaining

  • Causes Of Darwin's Theory Of Natural Selection

    1787 Words  | 8 Pages

    1. Darwin’s theory of Natural selection Charles Darwin and Wallace were two British Naturalists. These two Naturalists were vastly inspired by the scientific revolution. Darwin and Wallace encountered a believable mechanism for evolutionary change through careful observation of different species. Darwin also discovered the variation among species by observing their interaction with the environment. This believable mechanism for evolutionary change known as the Natural Selection theory transformed

  • Lab 105 Human Species Essay

    780 Words  | 4 Pages

    We measured the skulls of the fossil hominins: Australopithecus, Homo habilis, Homo erectus, and Neanderthal. We measured the length, height, width and orbit height of their skulls to calculate the estimated brain size and estimated body mass. Hypothesis 1. For Life History, humans will reproduce earlier than the primates and apes because of their body mass. Apes and primates will reproduce at a younger age than the fossil hominins: Australopithecus, Homo habilis, Homo erectus, and Neanderthal

  • Charles Darwin Accomplishments

    1062 Words  | 5 Pages

    The accomplishments of Charles Darwin have made contributions to three fields: evolutionary biology; the philosophy of science; and the modern zeitgeist. Charles Darwin and Alfred Russell Wallace each developed an explanation of why variations occur and basic mechanism of evolution. This mechanism is known as natural selection. Even though both Darwin and Wallace each developed explanation for natural selection; Charles Darwin gave a more thorough explanation and documented each theory to his book

  • First Of Our Kind Analysis

    437 Words  | 2 Pages

    First of Our Kind, Kate Wong explains why the fossils found by paleoanthropologist Lee Berger could challenge current notions about human evolution. Geologists dated the fossils to be 1.9 million-years-old which makes this species younger than Australopithecus africanus and contemporary with Homo habilis. This, along with the mix of Homo and Australopithecine traits, led Berger to the theorize that this species was a descendant of A. africanus because of its location, and ancestor to Homo ergaster

  • Evolution Lab Report

    406 Words  | 2 Pages

    Evolution, the definition of evolution is the process different kinds of living organisms that have developed and diversified from earlier forms during beginning of earth. Or gradual development of something from a simple form to a more complex form. The purpose of the lab is to help us understand how the skulls changed over time. It's also to help us understand what scientist observes. Scientists conclude that the evolution is an relatable theory because, they find the skulls and observe how the

  • The Cooking Hypothesis Essay

    717 Words  | 3 Pages

    ago. The bones were found to have been heated to a range of temperatures consistent with campfires. The presence of these burnt bones is the earliest direct evidence for use of fire by hominids in the fossil record. Although abundant remains of Australopithecus robustus and Homo erectus are found in Swartkrans, there is no evidence of fire, suggesting that the discovery of fire was made in the interval before A. robustus became extinct. 3. Paranthropus robustus Genus name: Paranthropus robustus Age:

  • Characteristics Of Human Bipedalism

    1545 Words  | 7 Pages

    centre of gravity over the knees and feet , allowing for more efficient balance and energy conservation. This is why chimps waddle back and forth when they walk because they must shift the centre of gravity to each leg. Examining the fossil of Australopithecus afarensis and extinct hominid ancestor, we can conclude that it was at least partially bipedal due to the presence of the valgus angle among other morphological characteristics. The human spine is curved slightly and is s-shaped, enabling human

  • Charles Darwin's Influence On Modern Science

    1123 Words  | 5 Pages

    Darwin studied Botany at the Cambridge University and was later offered to travel on the HMS Beagle which travelled around the globe to explore. One of the placed they travelled to, the Galapagos Islands, held many treasures for him as it was small and was rich with fauna and flora. He had many opportunities to observe the plants and animals on this island. One of the species he observed, were the Galapagos finches. He noticed that each breed of finch had different beak sizes. The finches with smaller

  • How Did Darwin's Theory Of Natural Selection Transformative To His Society?

    1997 Words  | 8 Pages

    Topic 1 Discuss some of the ways that Darwin’s theory of natural selection was transformative to his society. Natural selection is “the process whereby organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring.” (What is natural selection, n.d.) In other words the strongest genes are passed to their offspring. What did Darwin’s contemporaries think about his theory? Charles Darwin was the first to discover this theory. This theory(evolution) caused a lot of controversy