Know Thyself: Humans and Evolution

Know Thyself: Humans and Evolution

“Know Thyself: Humans and Evolution”

Resources for Teaching Human Evolution

From the 2011 Darwin Day Teacher Workshop

The 2011 Darwin Day Teacher Workshop was cosponsored by the Crow Institute and NESCent. The following collection of resources was designed to help instructors find classroom activities and additional background information on the topic of human evolution. These resources and others are also available on the Crow Institute site.

Human Evolution Sites

Atapuerca Live

A web site focusing on human evolution. Includes a digital time line and information about archaeology research. Available in Spanish and English.

Becoming Human

Becoming Human brings together interactive multimedia, research and scholarship to promote greater understanding of the course of human evolution

Forensic Anthropology

This site has links to many anatomy and anthropology resources, including several interactive skeletal activities.

The Genographic Project

National Geographic's "Genographic Project is seeking to chart new knowledge about the migratory history of the human species ...closing the gaps of what science knows today about humankind's ancient migration stories."

Hall of Human Origins

This site from the American Museum of Natural History has a collection of classroom activities for teaching human evolution.

Human Evolution: the fossil evidence in 3D

"Welcome to the UCSB online 3D gallery of modern primate relatives and fossil ancestors of humans. This gallery contains five modern primate crania, and five fossil crania. The crania can be rotated 360 degrees. Each cranium is accompanied by a short description of its relevance to human evolution, and a site map."

Human Origins

From the Dolan DNA Learning Center, this module explores human evolutionary history using a variety of approaches including phylogeny, behavior, morphology, and genetics.

The Meaning of Sex: Genes and Gender

This Holiday Lecture from HHMI focuses on sex determination, and in the process covers evolution of the Y chromosome. In addition to full lectures, there are short clips and animations.

The Smithsonian Institution Human Origins Program

An information site based on field work in paleontology. This site includes recent media coverage, information about paleontology research, and some interactive activities.

Evolution in the News stories

Evolution in the News stories are based on evolutionary biology research covered in the popular media. Stories include a text discussion of the key ideas and concepts, illustrations, podcasts, references, discussion questions and links to related activities.

Making Sense of Hominin DNA

July 2010

In 2008, a 40,000 year old pinky bone from a child was discovered in a Siberian cave. The bone was not enough to identify the species of its possessor, but since both Neanderthals and humans are known to have lived in the area at the time, scientists assumed it belonged to one of these two species. That all changed in March of this year, when German researchers announced that they'd managed to extract DNA from the fossil — and it didn't match up to the known genetic sequences of either humans or Neanderthals! Is the human family tree even bushier than we'd previously thought?

Evolving Evolution Aptitude

October 2010

Tibetan highlanders have no trouble living at 13,000 feet year in year out, and many Nepalese Sherpas (who are ethnically Tibetan) climb parts of Mount Everest without the supplementary oxygen most people require. How do they do it? New research makes it clear that Tibetan highlanders haven't just acclimated to their mountain home; they've evolved unique physiological mechanisms for dealing with low oxygen levels.

The evolutionary history of running

March 2010

Barefoot running may sound like just another fitness fad, soon to go the way of hula-hoops or jazzercise, but this trend has a surprising connection to evolution.

Evolution in the fast lane?

February 2008

Have humans, with all of our technological advances, exempted ourselves from further evolution? Perhaps not. This news brief examines genetic research which suggests that human evolution may have actually accelerated in our recent history.

Ghosts of epidemics past

October 2008

HIV and malaria both constitute global health threats, respectively affecting more than 30 million and 200 million people worldwide. This news brief describes new research that reveals an unexpected evolutionary link between the two.

When it comes to evolution, headlines often get it wrong

September 2007

Newly discovered fossils are prompting some scientists to consider a minor revision of the relationships shown on the human family tree. This news brief clarifies the occasionally misleading news coverage of the story.

Seeing the tree for the twigs

May 2007

Recent research has revealed that, in at least some ways, chimpanzees have evolved more than humans have. This news brief delves into this finding further and, in the process, debunks common misperceptions of human evolution.

Got lactase?

April 2007

The ability to digest milk is a recent evolutionary innovation that has spread through some human populations. This news brief describes how evolution has allowed different human populations to take advantage of the nutritional possibilities of dairying.

Genealogy enthusiasts mine DNA for clues to evolutionary history

November 2007

This news brief turns an evolutionary lens on businesses that use DNA for genealogy research and, in the process, illuminates what their genetic tests really track.

A fish of a different color

February 2006

This news brief describes how a mutated zebrafish gene may help us understand human evolution and the genes underlying human skin color. Humans and zebrafish both inherited the same pigmentation gene from their common ancestor.

Media Coverage

Articles and media collections from the New York Times Archaeology and Anthropology section :

Tools suggest earlier human exit from Africa

Nicolas Wade, New York times, January 28, 2011

Excavating Ardi

A slide show of the excavation site and process.

Envisioning our distant past

Video interview with Viktor Deak an artist who reconstructs physical and digital models of distant human ancestors. (5 minutes)

Siberian fossils were Neandertal’s eastern cousins, DNA reveals

Carl Zimmer, New York Times, December 22, 2010

“An international team of scientists has identified a previously shadowy human group known as the Denisovans as cousins to Neanderthals who lived in Asia from roughly 400,000 to 50,000 years ago and interbred with the ancestors of today’s inhabitants of New Guinea.”

Ardipithecus ramidus articles and multimedia

From the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), publishers of Science.

“In its 2 October 2009 issue, Science presents 11 papers…describing an early hominid species, Ardipithecus ramidus, and its environment. These 4.4 mya hominid fossils sit within a critical early part of human evolution, and cast new and sometimes surprising light on the evolution of human limbs and locomotion, the habitats occupied by early hominids, and the nature of our last common ancestor with chimps.

Science is making access to the extraordinary set of materials FREE (non-subscribers require a simple registration). ”

How evolution gave us the human edge

This collection includes radio stories on bipedalism, language, throwing, skin color and other aspects of human anatomy as well as delving into our ancient past and exploring human emotions and culture. The following list is a sampling of the stories:

Un-Natural Selection: Human Evolution's Next Steps

Evolving Culture: Where Do We Go From Here?

Autism Gives Woman An 'Alien View' Of Social Brains

Monkey Business: Fairness Isn't Just A Human Trait

From Grunting To Gabbing: Why Humans Can Talk

A Handy Bunch: Tools, Thumbs Helped Us Thrive

Baby Steps: Learning To Walk, The Hominid Way

The Human Edge: Finding Our Inner Fish

Classroom Activities

A tale of three lice

A case study on Phylogeny, Speciation, and Hominin Evolution

Clicker case by Erin Barley and Joan Sharp, Simon Fraser University

This “clicker case” explores the questions of when hominins lost their body hair and began wearing clothing by examining the surprising phylogeny of human head, body, and pubic lice. Students are led through the scientific process as they are asked to think about hypotheses, predictions, results, and conclusions, and learn about phylogeny, speciation, and hominin evolution. The case is presented class using a set of PowerPoint slides (~1.5MB) that includes multiple-choice questions students answer using personal response systems (“clickers”). It could be adapted for use without these technologies. Developed for a general biology class focusing on evolution and ecology, the case is also suitable for use in a non-majors introductory biology course.

Of Mammoths and Men

Nancy Schiller and Clyde Freeman Herreid, University of Buffalo

The discovery of a mammoth frozen in the Siberian tundra is the backdrop for this case study, which explores theories for the extinction of the great Ice Age mammals and Homo neanderthalensis. Students research evidence for and against the different hypotheses and then discuss in class the merits of each. The case was designed for use in a freshman evolutionary biology course, where it was used as the last case in the term after studying the general principles of evolution, genetics, and biodiversity. Instructors of courses in anthropology and paleontology might also find it appropriate.

The Dating Game: A case study in human evolution

Shoshana Tobias and Clyde Freeman Herreid, University at Buffalo

In this role-playing case study, students attempt to determine the identity of a variety of human fossils based on characteristics described during a “quiz show.” The case was designed to be used in a general biology class for freshman students where the focus is on evolution. It could also be used in an anthropology or paleontology course.

The Missing Link

M. Elizabeth Strasser, Sacramento State College

The setting for this case study is a paleontological dig in East Africa, where “Sam,” an American undergraduate student, has unearthed part of what appears to be an ancestral human skull. Students read the case story and then, in the lab, they examine a number of primate skulls and are asked to make up a phylogeny based on their observations. The is case study is designed for a lower division, general education laboratory course that accompanies a lecture course in physical (biological) anthropology.

“When Wilma Met Fred: A Human Evolution Case”

Clicker case by Bruno Borsari, Biology Dept., Winona University

Description: A travel study course led by “Dr. Heinen” in Tanzania aims at searching for human fossils in an effort to better understand where humans come from. Will Dr. Heinen and his students find the “missing link” between early hominins and non-human primates? The case story is complemented by a classroom game that mimics modern TV shows where people look for an ideal “soul mate.” Students are challenged to identify in the audience mates of the same species through clues disclosed by the instructor during the “quiz” show classroom exercise. The case and game facilitate learning about human evolution and the physical/cultural characteristics of a few, selected species of early hominins. Developed for a non-majors’ introductory biology course, the case is also suitable for courses in evolution, natural history, biological anthropology, and general biology for majors with modifications. Although designed as a “clicker case” for in-class presentation using PowerPoint slides (~1.3MB) punctuated by questions that students answer using electronic personal response systems (“clickers”), the case can be adapted for use without these technologies.

Books on Human Evolution

Your Inner Fish

Neil Shubin, 2006, Vintage

Human Evolution: A very short introduction

Bernard Wood, 2006, Oxford University Press

What Does It Mean To Be Human?

Richard Potts and Chris Sloan, 2010, National Geographic