UNIT 4

EARLY HUMANS

Objectives
After learning this unit, you are expected to be able to:
1. recognize the topic of paragraph;
2. identify past simple tense and use them in sentences.

Pre-reading Activities

Archeology is also spelled archaeology. In that case the prefix is archaeo-.

Prehistoric means before the invention of writing. Since there is no written history, how do
archaeologists and paleoanthropologists learn about prehistoric people?

1. Do we know anything about the way prehistoric humans looked and walked?
2. Do we know anything about their lives?
3. How have we learned these things?
4. How did the earliest humans get meat and other food?
5. Did they raise meat animals such as cows?
6. Did they plant seeds and grow their own food?
7. What is the difference between the hands of primates (humans, apes, monkeys, etc) and the
front feet of animals like dogs and cats cannot?

Recognizing the Topic of Paragraph

When you read a paragraph you should always ask yourself, What is this about? That question
will lead you to the topic of the paragraph. Topic is the one thing the paragraph is about. The
topic is the unifying factor, and every sentence and idea contained in the paragraph related to the
topic.

Example: What is this paragraph about?

People have always been interested in bees. This interest may have begun with the honey
bees make. In fact, archaeologists have found evidence that people have been eating
honey, for many thousands of years. In the more recent past, people were interested in
the way bees made honey. They admired the way bees seemed to work so hard. Some
languages even developed expressions about people working like bees. In English, for
example, we talk about a busy bee. Now scientists have a new reason to be interested in
bees. They have discovered that bees are able to communicate with each other. Research
has revealed some surprising facts about this, but there are still many mysteries.

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Make a check after the best topic. Write too specific or too general after the other topics.

a. Expressions about bees in the English language

b. The story of bees
c. Peoples interest in bees

Answer: The best topic is c, peoples interest in bees. It tells best the paragraph is about. Choice a,
is too specific, this idea is only a part of paragraph. Choice b, is too general. It includes many
possible ideas that are not in the paragraph.

Reading Selection
Early Humans

Over the last hundred years or so, we have learned much about humanitys origins and
evolution. Both man-made objects (artifacts), such as tools of stone and bone, and skeletal
remains have contributed to this knowledge. Skeletal remains of human ancestors are not
plentiful: we would be in a much better position to trace our evolution if we were horses instead
of human beings! Tools and other remains are more common. While they do not tell us how these
early humans looked, they do tell us about their way of life.
The first important discovery was that of a skeleton in the Neander Valley of Germany in
1856.The skeleton was subsequently classified as Neanderthal man. Since that time, there have
been many other finds of Neanderthal remains in Europe, Asia, and Africa. In 1891, remains of an
obviously more primitive type were discovered in Java. This type was at first called Java man or
Pithecanthropus (which in English means ape man). Now it is regarded as one example of a
widely distributed human ancestor known as Homo Erectus (upright man). In 1925, a still more
primitive type called Australopithecus (southern ape) was discovered in South Africa. Since
then, a number of similar remains have been discovered in various places in Africa.
The earliest remains that have been classified by biologists as being in the same family as
human beings are in a few teeth and jaw fragments from Africa and India. They are said to
represent a type called Ramapithecus that lived some nine million to fourteen million years ago.
There is no way of knowing the brain size of Ramapithecus or whether it walked erect.
There is a long gap of time before the next human remains appears, those of the
southern ape, Australopithecus. These Australopithecus lived from one million to six million
years ago. Their brain size was about 440 to 700 cubic centimeters. (One quart is about 946 cc)
They walked on two feet like modern humans; in other words, they were bipedal. (Footprints
almost four million years old have been found in Africa.) Their arms were longer for their height
than those of modern humans, and their faces lacked a chin. There seem to have been at least
two and possibly more species of Australopithecus a slightly-built type that was ancestral to our
own species and a more heavily-built type that was an evolutionary dead end.
The next hominid (human-like creature) to emerge after Australopithecus was Homo
erectus. The average brain size of Homo rectus was about 1100 cc and could be as low as 750 to
800. Homo erectus had heavy ridges above the eyes and, like Australopithecus, no chin. Homo

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erectus-type remains have been found dating to as long ago as 1.3 million years and as recently as
300,000 years ago.
After Homo erectus, the next of our ancestors was a subspecies of humans called Homo
Sapiens Neanderthalis, or Neanderthal man. Neanderthal remains have been found dating from
250,000 to 40,000 years ago. It was originally thought that Neanderthals walked stooped over.
This mistaken idea was based on a skeleton of a Neanderthal who had been crippled with
arthritis. Anthropologists now say that Neanderthal man walked upright, not stooped over.
Although slightly different in appearance from modern humans (Neanderthals had the lack of chin
and, to a lesser extent, the pronounced brow ridges of Homo erectus), it had essentially the brain
capacity of modern man. The Neanderthals were replaced by our own subspecies Homo sapiens
sapiens (wise, wise man)-modern man.
The most two significant changes that characterized the evolution of humans from an
ape-like ancestor were the adoption of an upright posture and the development of a larger brain.
The upright posture came up early; the increase in brain size has been a steady and gradual one
from Australopithecus to modern man, Homo sapiens sapiens. The upright posture freed mans
hands for tool using. These hands already had the primate adaptation for grasping as primates
originally lived in trees and could grasps branches. As humans began to use tools, intelligence
became an important survival trait-more intelligent humans could make better use of tools.
When, some 40,000 to 30,000 years ago, modern humanity emerged, their way of life,
like that of their predecessors, was based on hunting and gathering-animals were hunted and wild
plants were gathered. A small number of humans still alive today live in this fashion, such as the
Bushmen of the Kalahari desert in South Africa. This very long period of hunter-gatherer tool-
using humans is referred to as the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. The Neolithic or New Stone Age
came into existence in the Mideast about 10,000 to 12,000 years ago. There was a change in the
type of stone tools used, but the most important changes were the introduction of the agriculture
and the domestication of animals. (Only dogs had been domesticated before this time as they
were useful in hunting.) With agriculture came settled communities and eventually the various
things that we associate with civilization.

NOTE: Most biologists no longer believe that Ramapithecus was in the human family.

Questions

Answer the following questions.

1. What is the topic of paragraph 2?

2. What is the topic of the last paragraph?

Answer the following questions by circling either True or False , or by circling the letter of the
correct answer.

1. In this sentence Both man-made objectsand skeletal remains have contributed to this
knowledge, the words this knowledge refer to
a. humanitys origins and evolution

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 b. what we have learned about humanitys origins and evolution.
c. Skeletal remains.

2. True or False There are more remains of early humans tools and other artifacts than
remains of early human skeletons.

3. True or False Neanderthal man was probably named Neanderthal because the first
remains were found in the Neander Valley.

4. In paragraph 3, in the sentence that begins They are said to represent a type , They
refers to
a. a few teeth and jaw fragments
b. human beings
c. biologists

5. True or False Biologists cannot decide if remains are in the human family unless they
have a complete skeleton.

6. True or False Australopithecus appeared shortly after Ramapithecus.

7. What does bipedal mean?

8. True or False Originally, Neanderthals walked stooped over.

9. True or False Modern day humans are Homo sapiens.
10. True or False Hunter-gatherer planted seeds to grow their food.
11. True or False There are no hunter-gatherer people today.

Vocabulary

Fill in the blank spaces with the correct word. Remember-sentence a of each pair of sentences is
from the reading. If necessary, look back at the reading to help you. Sentence b uses the same
word with the same meaning.

adaptation erect (adj.)

appearance extent
common lack
domesticated regarded
emerge various

1a. Tools and other such remains are more _______ (than skeletal remains).
b. Many people own personal computers now, but twenty years ago computers were not so
_______ Only a few people had them.

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2a. Now it is _______ as one example of a widely distributed human ancestor known as Homo
erectus.

b. People used to think that Neanderthal man walked stooped over, but that idea is now
_______ as incorrect. People now believe that Neanderthal man walked upright.
3a. Since then, a number of similar remains have been discovered in _______ places in Africa.
b. There are _______ ways to cook eggs. For instance, we can fry them, scramble them, or
boil them.
4a. There is no way of knowing the brain size of Ramapithecus or whether he walked
_______.
b. Most animals walk on four feet. They cannot stand _______ and walk on two feet.
5a. Their arms were longer for their height than those of modern humans, and their faces
_______ a chin.
b. I wanted to buy a book yesterday, but I could not. It cost $18.95 and I had only $15.00. I
_______ enough money to buy the book.
6a. The next hominid to _______ after Australopithecus was Homo erectus.
b. At first we could not see the view clearly, but then the sun began to rise, and more
precise shapes and colors began to ________
7a. Although slightly different in _______ from modern humans, it had essentially the brain
capacity of modern man.
b. Some twins look exactly the same. They are identical in _______
8a. (Neanderthal had the lack of chin and , to a lesser _______ the pronounced
brow ridges of Homo erectus)
b. My neighbor really likes to garden. He spends all of his free time working
in his garden. I like to garden too, but not to the ________ that he does.
I like to do different things in my free time.
9a. These hands already had the primate _______for grasping as primates originally lived in
trees and could grasp branches.
b. Millions of years ago, our human ancestors began to walk on two feet instead of four feet.
This _______ enabled them to use their hands for other things, such as using tools.
10a. Only dogs had been _______ before this time as they were useful for hunting.
b. Dogs and cats are _______ animals. Lions and tigers are not.

Fill in the blanks with the correct word from the list below:

adaptation
common
emerged
extent
various

1. There are _______ kinds of lettuce. My favorite variety of lettuce is bibb.

2. A characteristic that a plant or animal develops so that it can survive better in its environment
is called an ________ to that environment.

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3. In many European cities, a large number of people ride bicycles to work instead of driving
cars. However, this is not true of American cities. Bicycles are not as _______ as cars in
American cities.
4. Identical twins look exactly alike. Two brothers or two sisters sometimes look very much like
each other but not to the ________ that identical twins do.
5. In the morning, the weather was very cool because it was cloudy. But later the sun ________
from behind the clouds, and the afternoon was warmer than the morning.

Do the same with the following:

appearance
domesticated
erect
lacked
regards

6. You should dress neatly when you have a job interview because your _______ is important.
7. The older generation usually _______ the music of the younger generation as junk.
8. John did not realize his goal of graduating from the university in June because he ________
three courses for his degree.
9. A few people have _______ wolves and kept them as pets.
10. There was a violent rain storm last night, and most of the plants in my garden were damaged.
Some plants were bending over, and many of them were lying on the ground. Only a few
plants were still _______ and undamaged.

Grammar Focus

Past Simple Tense

Use
We use the Past Simple Tense to talk about finished actions and past situations.
Example:
a. Last year I worked on a farm during the holidays.
b. He died in France in 1519.
Form
Regular verbs: in the Past Simple Tense, we add ed to the infinitive. For verbs that end in y,
change y to ied. e.g. carry => carried.
In questions and negative sentences we use did or didnt + the infinitive without to.
e.g. I didnt see her.
Did you go to school yesterday?

I/You/He/She/It/We/They lived in Paris.

saw a ghost.
I/You/He/She/It/We/They didnt/did not live in Paris.

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 see a ghost.

Did I/you/he/she/it/we/they live in Paris? Yes/no, I/you/he/she/it/we/they

did/didnt.

I/He/She/It was/wasnt afraid.

tired.
You/We/They were/werent afraid.
tired.
Was I/he/she/it afraid?
tired?
Were you/we/they afraid?
tired?

Exercises
I. Read the story and put the verbs in the Past Simple Tense.
Maria Sklodowska-Curie (1) ___ (be) a physicist and chemist. She (2) ____ (begin) her studies in
Poland but in 1891 she (3) ___ (leave) for France. She (4) ___ (study) there and later (5) ___
(work) as a scientist at the Sorbonne in Paris. She (6) ___ (meet) and (7) ___(marry) a French
scientist, Pierre Curie. They (8) ___ (have) two children, Irene and Ewa. Maria and Pierre (9) ___
(discover) two radioactive elements, radium and polonium. Pierre (10) ___ (die) in 1906 in an
accident in Paris. Maria (11) ___ (get) two Nobel Prizes, in 1903 and 1911. she (12) ___ (die) in
1934.

II. Put the verbs in the correct form of the Past Simple Tense.
Dear Carol,
(1) Did you have (you/have) a good time in Scotland? (2) _________ (the weather/be) OK? (3)
_______ (the people/be) friendly? We (4) ____ (go) to New York for two weeks. We (5) ______
(see) shows on Broadway every night and (6) _______ (eat) really big pizzas! We (7) ________
(take) a boat trip to Liberty Island but we (8) ________ (not/go) up the Statue of Liberty. I (9)
________ (love) New York but I (10) ________ (not/like) the hot weather. Alex (11) ________
(not/want) to come back to England!

Writing Practice

Summarize the reading selection in approximately 200 words. You can refer to unit 1 for writing
a summary.
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Summary

1. The topic of a paragraph tells you the thing which is being talked about in one paragraph.
2. Past simple is the 2nd form of a verb used to indicate events occurred in the past.

Reflection
In this unit, you have learned how to identify the topic of a paragraph, make a descriptive
paragraph, and identify past simple and use them in sentences. Put a check on the column based
on your own self-assessment.

Objectives Achieved More practice

needed
To recognize a topic of
paragraph
To identify past simple and
to use it in sentences

For more practice on recognizing the topic of paragraphs you can access the following site:
academic.cuesta.edu
testprep.about.com

More practice on past simple tense can be obtained from:

www.myenglishpage.com