TABLE 1: COMPARISON OF GORILLA, AUSTRALOPITHECUS, AND MODERN HUMAN SKULLS
GORILLA /

AUSTRALOPITHECUS

/ MODERN HUMAN

FACE AREA

BRAIN AREA
RATIO OF FACE AREA TO BRAIN AREA
CRANIAL CAPACITY
JAW ANGLE
DISTANCE ACROSS BACK OF JAW
DISTANCE ACROSS FRONT OF JAW
RATIO OF BACK TO FRONT DISTANCES
NUMBER OF TEETH IN LOWER JAW
NUMBER OF EACH TYPE OF TOOTH
SAGITTAL CREST
BROW RIDGE

Analysis Questions

Use your data to answer the following questions.

1. How did the size of the face (face area) change from gorilla to Australopithecus to modern human?

2. How did the size of the brain (brain area and cranial capacity) change from gorilla to Australopithecus to modern human? What does this measurement indicate about the intelligence of each individual?

3. How did the jaw angle change from gorilla to Australopithecus to modern human?

4. How did the shape of the jaw change from gorilla to Australopithecus to modern human? (Compare distance across back of jaw and front of jaw, and general shape formed.)

5. How do the number and types of teeth and the size of those teeth compare in gorillas, Australopithecus, and modern humans? What does this indicate about the type of diet each may have eaten?

6. What happened to the brow ridge and sagittal crest from gorilla to Australopithecus to modern human? Why do you think this happened? (Think about cranial capacity.)

7.List the characteristics that the gorilla and Australopithecus seem to share.

8.List the characteristics that Australopithecus and modern human seem to share.

9.What characteristics are common to all three primates?

10. Suppose you find a distorted jawbone and note that there are 16 teeth in it. Explain why this information may or may not be helpful in determining whether the fossil is from a recent or early human or gorilla.

11. Suppose you find a distorted jawbone with most of the teeth missing. The canine teeth, however are present and appear to be quite large. Which animal might this jaw be from?

12. Suppose you find only the top portion of a skull. No sagittal crest seems to be present, nor is there any evidence that one may have ever been present. Which animal might this skull be from?

13. Suppose you find a skull with 22 teeth. Might this skull be from a primate? Explain.