Short Film

Great Transitions: The Origin of Humans Educator Materials

 
 
IN-DEPTH FILM GUIDE
DESCRIPTION
Paleontologists have studied the fossil record of human evolution just as they have done for that of
other major transitions—including the transition from fish to tetrapods and dinosaurs to birds. The
short film Great Transitions: The Origin of Humans highlights the most important hominid fossil
discoveries of the past 50 years and the insights they provide into human evolution, focusing on three
key traits: bipedality, tool use, and larger brains.
KEY CONCEPTS
A. The fossil record details the history of life on Earth, including transitions from one major group
of animals to another.
B. DNA evidence indicates that the human lineage split from that of our closest relative, the
chimpanzee, about 7 million years ago—a timing that is consistent with fossil evidence.
C. Traits that distinguish modern humans from modern chimpanzees include bipedality (the
ability to walk upright on two legs), extensive tool use, and larger brains. Fossil evidence
provides information about when and where each of these traits evolved.
D. Tracing the evolution of distinct traits shows that, like other major transitions, the evolution of
humans from quadrupedal apes occurred in distinct phases.
E. Fossil evidence reveals that bipedalism arose over 4 million years ago and predates tool use
and the evolution of larger brains by at least a million years.
F. Fossils also provide evidence about the environment in which a species lived. For example,
bipedalism evolved when our human ancestors were still living in forests and climbing trees.
G. Finding and identifying fossils is difficult and time-consuming work. Almost every individual
that lived on Earth left no fossil evidence of its existence.
CURRICULUM AND TEXTBOOK CONNECTIONS
Curriculum Standards
NGSS (2013) MS-LS4-1, MS-LS4-2, MS-ESS1-4, HS-LS4-1
AP Biology (2012–13) 1.A.4, 1.B.2
IB Biology (2009; 2016) 5.4.2, D.3.5, D.3.6, D.3.7–3.10; 5.1
Textbook Chapter Sections
Miller and Levine, Biology (2010 ed.) 16.4, 19.1, 26.3
Reece et al., Campbell Biology (AP ed., 9th ed.) 22.3, 25.2, 34.8

PRIOR KNOWLEDGE
It would be helpful for students to
• be familiar with the tree of life and know that humans are part of the primate group and that
chimps are our species’ closest living relative
• have a basic understanding of the concept that species descend from other species, and
• know that scientists have methods to determine the ages of fossils.

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PAUSE POINTS
The Great Transitions film may be viewed in its entirety or paused at specific points to review content
with students. The table below lists suggested pause points, indicating the beginning and end times
in minutes in the film.
Begin End Content Description Review Questions Standards
1 0:00 5:02 • Larger brains, bipedalism, and tool use • Why did the Leakeys NGSS (April 2013) MS-
are traits that characterize humans. decide to look for LS4-1, MS-LS4-2
Each of these traits distinguishes living hominid fossils in AP Biology (2012–13)
humans from their closest living Africa? 1.A.4
primate relatives. • What evidence IB Biology (2009)
• Charles Darwin predicted that fossils suggests that more 5.4.2, D.3.5, D.3.6
would one day be found in Africa that than one hominid IB Biology (2016)
support the hypothesis that humans species was living in 5.1
and great apes share a common Africa 1.8 million years
ancestor. ago?
• The fossils of early hominids and the
tools they likely used were found in
Africa, just as Darwin predicted they
would be.
• Hominids living 1.8 million years ago
already had brains larger than those of
modern chimpanzees, were bipedal,
and used tools.
2 5:03 11:53 • Using biomolecules, including DNA, • What features of Lucy’s NGSS (April 2013) MS-
researchers have estimated that skeleton suggest that LS4-1, MS-ESS1-4
modern humans and chimpanzees she was bipedal? AP Biology (2012–13)
have been evolving independently for • Besides bones, what 1.A.4
almost 7 million years. other evidence is there IB Biology (2009)
• Only fossils and their ancient to suggest that 5.4.2, D.3.5
environments can address questions Australopithecus was IB Biology (2016)
about where and when the traits that bipedal? 5.1
distinguish humans first emerged. • Which evolved first
• The volcanic geology of eastern Africa among hominids: tool
enables geologists to accurately date use or bipedality? How
sediment layers and therefore fossils. do we know?
• Lucy (Australopithecus) lived 3.2
million years ago and was bipedal, but
she did not use tools or have a large
brain.
3 11:54 15:23 • Ardi (Ardipithecus ramidus) lived 4.4 • Why did Dr. Tim White NGSS (April 2013) MS-
million years ago, and like Lucy, she and his team search for LS4-1
had a small brain, did not use tools, fossils in sediments so AP Biology (2012–13)
and was bipedal—but unlike Lucy, much older than those 1.A.4
Ardi could climb well. in which Lucy was IB Biology (2009)
found? 5.4.2, D.3.5
• What evidence IB Biology (2016)
suggests that Ardi 5.1
could climb well?
• What does Dr. White
mean when he calls
Ardi a “mosaic”?

   

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4 15:24 19:44 • For a long time, scientists predicted • What evidence did Dr. NGSS (April 2013) MS-
that bipedality evolved in a grassland White’s team collect LS4-1, MS-LS4-2
environment, but fossil evidence that suggests Ardi lived AP Biology (2012–13)
suggests that it evolved while our in a woodland? 1.A.4
ancient ancestors were living in a • What are the three IB Biology (2009)
woodland habitat and still spending major phases of human 5.4.2, D.3.5
time in trees. evolution? IB Biology (2016)
• Stone tools enabled early humans • What does Dr. White 5.1
(genus Homo) to compete with mean when he says
scavengers and predators, to broaden that members of the
their diets, and to ultimately expand genus Homo are
their geographic range out of Africa. “technological
• Paleontologists continue to discover primates”?
hominid fossils that reveal further • How has paleontology
details about human evolution. informed us about how
• We now have thousands of hominid we became human?
fossils from the past 6 million years
that document how modern humans
evolved—through a series of small
steps, over a long geological time
span—from small-brained,
quadrupedal apes.

BACKGROUND
It wasn’t until the publication of The Descent of Man in 1871, 12 years after On the Origin of Species,
that Charles Darwin wrote about the evolution of humans. In The Descent of Man, he hypothesized
that humans and modern apes share a common ancestor that lived in Africa. He predicted that fossil
evidence would one day be found in Africa to support his hypothesis—and he was right. The film
Great Transitions: The Origin of Humans explores several key fossil discoveries from Africa and what
they reveal about human evolution.

What Are Humans?

Humans, along with familiar species such as lemurs, gibbons, and chimpanzees, are primates (Figure
1). Primates are hundreds of species that form a mammalian order, characterized by many traits,
including forward-facing eyes, generalized teeth, collarbones, and nails instead of claws on their
fingers and toes.  
In the film, Dr. Sean Carroll explains that members of our own species, Homo sapiens, are
distinguished from other primates by three primary traits: large brains, bipedalism, and tool use. These
traits must have evolved after the lineage leading to modern humans split from the one that would
eventually split into modern chimpanzees and bonobos, our closest living relatives.

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Scientists have examined the fossil

record to understand when and where
these three distinctly human
characteristics evolved. The film
describes fossils of species that were
either side branches of our immediate
family tree or ancestors on the
evolutionary lineage that led to
modern humans (Figure 2). In the film,
these species are referred to as
hominids (the nontechnical form of the
zoological family name Hominidae). As
used in the film and in this guide,
“hominid” is synonymous with the
alternative term “hominin,”
increasingly used in the scientific
literature and many textbooks.

Figure 1. The Primate Family Tree. Humans belong to the primate order, and Darwin had observed that humans shared
many similarities with the African great apes. DNA studies have since shown that chimpanzees and bonobos are humans’
closest living relatives; we shared a common ancestor with them about 7 million years ago.

The Earliest Fossil Finds

“On July 17, at Olduvai Gorge in Tanganyika Territory, at site FLK, my wife found a fossil hominid skull,
at a depth of approximately 22 ft. below the upper limit of Bed I.” This is the first line in a now-famous
paper written by Dr. Louis Leakey and published in the journal Nature in 1959 announcing the
discovery of the 1.76-million-year-old Zinjanthropus boisei (today classified as Australopithecus boisei
or Paranthropus boisei). For three decades, the Leakeys had been searching for evidence of human
evolution in the Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, but they found only stone tools. Finally, they thought they
had the toolmaker. In the Nature paper, Dr. Leakey proposed that this species was “the oldest yet
discovered maker of stone tools,” but later finds would soon cause him to rethink this inference.

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The Leakeys concluded that Zinjanthropus was the toolmaker because the skull was found with stone
tools in the same layer of sediment. Further analysis of the skull, however, indicated that its large back
teeth and sagittal crest for the attachment of large jaw muscles put it on a specialized and now-extinct
“side branch” of the human family tree.
Two years after the Zinjanthropus
Homo
Today Homo sapiens discovery, the Leakeys’ son, Jonathan,
(modern humans) discovered a new, slightly older (1.8
million years old) fossil, dubbed
“Olduvai Hominid Number 7,” or
1 mya “OH7.” The new fossil, with jaw and
skull pieces more similar to those of
Australopithecus
modern humans, led the Leakeys to
Homo habilis
conclude that this was the real
“toolmaker,” and they named it Homo
2 mya
habilis, or “handy man.”
How can we know for sure that Homo
Oldest stone habilis was the toolmaker? The answer
tools discovered is we cannot. The fact that Homo
3 mya habilis appeared to be more closely
Australopithecus afarensis related to modern humans and had a
(the same species as
“Lucy”) larger brain than Zinjanthropus made
it the more likely candidate for the
toolmaker. However, even today we
4 mya
cannot exclude the possibility that
Ardipithecus Zinjanthropus may also have been
Ardipithecus ramidus making and/or using tools.
(the same species as
“Ardi”)  
5 mya

6 mya

Estimated date of
~7 mya
common ancestor to
humans and chimps

Figure 2. Major Fossil Finds. The film describes three key hominid fossils: early Homo (Homo habilis), Lucy
(Australopithecus afarensis), and Ardi (Ardipithecus ramidus), shown here along a geological timeline. These three
species each belong to a group, or genus, that also contains other species not shown in this figure. Note: “mya” means
“millions of years ago.”

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The Importance of Stone Tools

The stone tools found by Louis and Mary Leakey were simple ones. There is evidence that early
humans shaped these tools to have sharp edges with which they could cut the meat off animal
carcasses and then smash the bones to get at the fat-rich marrow. Although other animals are known
to make and use tools, none of them modify stone in this fashion. The oldest firmly dated and
diagnostically identifiable stone tools made by hominids date back to 2.6 million years ago.
Lucy
On November 24, 1974, paleoanthropologist Dr. Donald Johanson discovered almost half of the
fossilized skeleton of a hominid that lived nearly 3.2 million years ago. He nicknamed the fossil “Lucy”
and later included it in a new species, Australopithecus afarensis.
Bones of this species indicated that A. afarensis was bipedal. The shape of Lucy’s pelvis and knees
allowed her to balance on one leg at a time, a requirement for efficient upright walking on two legs.
The discovery of two trails of 3.6-million-year-old fossil footprints (called the Laetoli footprints) found
on the edge of the Serengeti Plain in Tanzania lent more evidence to the conclusion that A. afarensis
was a biped.
As for brain size, Dr. Johanson and his colleagues analyzed the skull fragments of Lucy and other A.
afarensis fossils and determined their brain sizes to be 380 to 550 cubic centimeters (cc or cm3)—
larger than the average modern chimpanzee (about 400 cubic centimeters), but much smaller than
average for modern humans (about 1,300 cubic centimeters).
Ardi
An international team discovered the partial skeleton of 4.4-million-year-old Ardipithecus ramidus
(nicknamed “Ardi”) in 1994. In the film, Dr. White described the species as “neither a chimp, nor …
human.” What does he mean by that?
Ardi had a rigid outer part of the foot, likely used as a lever for pushing off during upright walking. In
contrast, the bones of chimpanzee feet are more flexible, allowing the feet to be used more like hands.
But surprisingly, Ardi’s feet also had an opposable large toe that could be used for grasping while
moving about in trees. The upper part of Ardi’s pelvis (the ilium) was flared out to each side, which
supported muscles necessary for an upright walker to maintain balance and forward motion.
However, the lower part of the pelvis (the ischium) was more like that of a chimpanzee than that of a
modern human, anchoring muscles important in climbing. Ardi’s skull was small, with a brain volume
of 300 to 350 cubic centimeters, similar to that of a chimpanzee.
Taken together, skeletal evidence suggests that Ardi was capable of bipedalism, but that she had
climbing abilities superior to those of Australopithecus. Dr. White and his team had not only pushed
back the origin of bipedalism to 4.4 million years ago, but they had also discovered that it evolved
while our ancestors were still spending time in the trees.
Other Important Traits
Some traits that were not discussed in the film but that also differ between humans and other great
apes include the shapes and sizes of teeth—and in particular the canines. Male chimpanzees have
prominent, pointed canines that they display to compete with other males for social status and for
females. In comparison, humans have stubby canines that are similar in size between males and

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females. Ardi’s and Lucy’s species had canines that were blunter than the chimpanzee’s but more
prominent than those of modern humans.
Table 1. Differences in Traits Among Hominids
Species Toolmaking Brain Volume Larger Canines Bipedal
(cm3) Adaptations
Modern humans Yes About 1,350 No Yes
Homo habilis Yes 650–680 No Yes
Australopithecus afarensis No 380–550 Yes Yes
Ardipithecus ramidus No 300–350 Yes Some

Savanna or Woodland?
Beginning as early as the 1800s, scientists reasoned that bipedality evolved in hominids adapting to
the open grasslands of eastern and southern Africa. Standing upright would have also allowed early
hominids to both see potential predators as well as defend themselves with handheld weapons—
advantages in an exposed, open area such as a savanna.
As early as 1981, however, anthropologist Dr. C. Owen Lovejoy suggested that, given the risk of
predation in the savanna ecosystem and the variety of habitats available to early hominids, the most
likely habitat for the evolution of upright walking was forest habitat or a combination of forest and
grassland, not grassland alone. The tens of thousands of plant and animal fossils recovered from the
ancient environment in which Ardi lived provided convincing evidence that her species was adapted
to a woodland existence.

DISCUSSION POINTS
• Are the fossils shown in the film the only hominid fossils that have been found? Explain to
your students that many more hominid fossils have been discovered. The film focuses on
three key fossils because they illustrate distinct phases in human evolution and also because
these fossils were remarkable in being nearly complete. Many times, scientists only find parts
of a fossil. Discuss with students how rare it is to find fossils. Most organisms are eaten or rot
away before they can become fossilized.
• Your students will likely pick up on the fact that modern humans (Homo sapiens) and other
hominids are not the only species that use tools. Primate biologist Dr. Jane Goodall was the
first to document wild chimps using modified twigs to extract termites back in 1960. Other
animals, such as dolphins, sea otters, and orangutans, have also been known to use tools, and
the characteristic isn’t even limited to mammals, as many birds and octopuses are tool users,
too. So how, then, can tool use be considered one of the hallmark characteristics of modern
humans? The multistep process early hominids used to make a stone tool by modifying the
object in a complex way set them apart and allowed them to expand their niche. Ask students
how human tool use differs from tool use by other animals. What would such use have meant
for the selective pressures operating on early hominids?

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• One of the other “human” characteristics—bipedalism—may also confuse students because
other species (birds, for example) also walk completely on two legs. Explain that there are
three major modes of locomotion on feet: unguligrade animals, such as horses, walk on the
tips of their toes; digitigrade animals, such as birds and cats, walk on the flat parts of their toes
(pads); and plantigrade animals, such as bears and humans, plant the entire surface of their
feet while walking. Indeed, many birds are bipedal, but they are not plantigrade. And while
bears and chimps are plantigrade like humans, they are not bipeds. Chimpanzees can walk for
short distances on their back legs, but they wobble because their legs come straight down
from their hips, they cannot put one foot in front of the other but must move their center of
gravity above the supporting leg when walking bipedally, and they do not have a lumbar
curve. Consequently, they are quickly fatigued when they do walk bipedally. Humans and their
bipedal ancestors have legs that come down at an angle from their hips and thus can place
one foot in front of the other, temporarily balancing on one leg at a time. Thus, human
locomotion is different from that of a bear, monkey, or ape. The same trait, bipedalism, like
many traits, arose more than once in the history of life. Along the human lineage, a peculiar
type of bipedality evolved as an arboreal ape adapted to life on the ground; along the bird
lineage, another.
• Students (and many teachers) may have only heard of the savanna hypothesis to explain the
selection for the evolution of upright walking in the ancestors of humans. Use this as an
example of science’s self-correction. Ask students whether the evidence presented in the film
by Dr. White has persuaded them to accept the woodland hypothesis. Get them to realize that
new evidence led them to abandon a once-entrenched idea. Ask them what future evidence
might cause the woodland hypothesis to itself be modified. What if, for example, an even
older hominid was discovered that was capable of bipedalism but lived in an open savanna?
What kind of evidence might lead your students to conclude that such a hominid actually
lived in open savanna rather than somewhere in the vicinity?
• Ask your students about the claim that Homo habilis, and not Zinjanthropus (now classified as
Australopithecus boisei or Paranthropus boisei), was the toolmaker. What evidence supports
this claim? The Leakeys concluded that Homo habilis was most likely the toolmaker given its
resemblance to modern humans, but both Homo habilis and Paranthropus boisei were found
in the same sediment layers as the stone tools.
• In the film, Dr. Tim White says, “Human feet, we’re all used to them, but they’re really strange.”
What does he mean by this? Here Dr. White is describing the discovery of the Laetoli footprints
that indicate that Australopithecus afarensis had the same kind of “weird feet” as modern
humans. Nowhere else among modern primates can we find feet with prominent arches and
no grasping big toe.

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Figure 3. Human feet are strange. Primate hands look similar but human feet look very different from those of
other primates, such as the chimpanzee and gorilla.

• Brain size is a good opportunity to discuss how many traits show gradual change over time
rather than being either present or absent. There is no threshold after which a brain is
considered “big” and all other brains are “small.” In general, brain size increased among
hominids through time from the 300- to 350-cubic-centimeter brain of Ardi to the, on average,
1,350-cubic-centimeter brain of modern humans. In particular, between 800,000 and 200,000
years ago, brain size increases began to outpace body size increases. Ask your students what
may have caused this period of rapid brain growth. Be on the lookout for any answers that
suggest traits (such as tool use) could be summoned on demand—large brains did not evolve
because humans needed to use tools! Larger brains, however, may have enabled more
complex problem solving and extensive tool use.
• More important, when thinking of the evolution of certain traits, both of bipedality and
enlarged brains, students tend to think only of benefits and not costs. Have them think of the
costs of these adaptations. For example, larger brains consume more energy. Some of the
costs of walking on two legs are discussed in the video “Your Aching Back”
(https://youtu.be/FKV_tvlsYA8).
• Learning about human evolution can be challenging for some students because it has the
potential to directly challenge nonscientific, but nonetheless important, ideas about human
origins. These students may find it easier to accept the facts of human evolution if the
evidence for human evolution from a primate ancestor is presented and interpreted just like
the evolutionary evidence for any animal. Emphasize what Dr. Carroll says at the end of the

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film: “Just as four-legged animals evolved from fish ancestors, and birds evolved from dinosaur
ancestors over a series of small steps over a long geological time span, we evolved from small-
brained quadrupedal apes over a long time span that is now well-documented in the fossil
record.” Ask your students, if they do not accept the inferences presented in the film, what
kind of evidence would be necessary for them to accept that humans have evolved from
quadrupedal apes.
ADDITIONAL BIOINTERACTIVE RESOURCES
Holiday Lectures on Science: Bones, Stones, and Genes: The Origin of Modern Humans
(http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/bones-stones-and-genes-origin-modern-humans-0). Dr. John
Shea of Stony Brook University, Dr. Sarah Tishkoff of the University of Pennsylvania, and Dr. Tim White
of the University of California, Berkeley, guide us on a global exploration spanning millions of years to
illuminate the rise of modern humans.
Click and Learn: Skeletons Reveal Human and Chimpanzee Evolution
(http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/skeletons-reveal-human-and-chimpanzee-evolution). This
interactive learning activity compares features of a 4.4-million-year-old fossil skeleton to those of
human and chimpanzee skeletons, shedding light on our evolutionary history.
Short Film: Great Transitions: The Origin of Tetrapods (http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/great-
transitions-origin-tetrapods). The fossil Tiktaalik has a mix of features common to fish and four-legged
animals, or tetrapods. A close look at these features helps us understand the transition from water to
land more than 375 million years ago.
Short Film: Great Transitions: The Origin of Birds (http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/great-
transitions-origin-birds). In the second film of the Great Transitions trilogy, paleontologist Dr. Julia
Clarke takes us on a journey to uncover the evidence that birds descended from dinosaurs.
QUIZ QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
This quiz was developed to supplement the viewing of the film Great Transitions: The Origin of
Humans. Before watching the film, students are introduced to some key concepts needed to fully
understand the importance of the evidence presented in the film. They then take a short prequiz, fill in
a small chart as they watch the film, and take a postquiz.
Procedure
1. Before watching the film, show students the phylogenetic tree in Figure 1 in this document. Guide
students on how to interpret the tree. Tell students that scientists have long recognized that
humans are part of the group of vertebrates known as the primates. Primates share characteristics
such as forward-facing eyes, generalized teeth, and nails instead of claws on fingers and toes.
2. Point out the lineage that leads from the split between humans and chimpanzees to humans. The
film highlights some of the most important fossil finds in this lineage. (Emphasize that the
illustration is a simplified version of the primate phylogenetic tree. The illustration shows the
lineage that led to modern humans, but it does not show any side branches to our immediate
family tree.)
3. Distribute the student handout and ask students to answer Questions 1–3 in the “Before Watching
the Film” section. Students may work in pairs or small groups.

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4. Show the film to students. Consider using the “Pause Points” listed on pages 2 and 3 of this
document to review content and answer any questions students may have. Encourage students to
fill in the chart (question 4) and take notes that they can refer to when answering quiz questions.
5. Assign students Questions 5–17 in the “After Watching the Film” section of their handouts.
• Alternatively, some teachers choose to have students answer questions as they watch the quiz
or when stopped at the “Pause Points.”
• Some teachers have students work in groups and stop and start the film as needed. If you
wish to have students in groups take unique “real time quizzes,” you can pick and choose from
use these questions to develop three different quizzes.
Answer Key
Before Watching the Film
1. Which physical and behavioral characteristics do you think distinguish humans from other
primates? List three key ones.
Be open to a range of student ideas that have to do with morphology, behavior, and
cognition. Eventually, students will learn that the traits that distinguish modern humans
from modern chimps (that we can find evidence for in the prehistoric record) include
relatively large brains, bipedalism, and extensive tool use.
2. Charles Darwin hypothesized that humans and the African great apes all descended from a
common ancestor. What evidence would you expect to find in the fossil record to support this
hypothesis?
Again, be open to a range of student ideas before they watch the film. Hopefully, students
will suggest that fossils would be expected to show a combination of traits, some shared
with modern humans and some shared with other great apes. The younger fossils would be
expected to share more features with modern humans.
3. A “tool” is defined as “an instrument or device that is held by the hands and used to perform a
particular task or function.” Think about the tools you have used so far today. What is the most
primitive tool you have used today and why? What is the most advanced tool you have used and
why?
Students may mention primitive tools such as forks, spoons, or shovels. Advanced tools will
likely involve electronics, such as cellular phones or laptop computers. You may want to ask
students to compare even these simple tools to the tools used by chimpanzees and other
animals such as crows to make the point that humans use tools extensively and are very
reliant on tools, as compared to other animals.
As you watch
4. For each fossil discovery, write the name of the scientist(s) who found it, its approximate age and
what combination of human characteristics it had.

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Fossil Scientist(s) Fossil Age Human Characteristic(s)

Ardipithecus ramidus (Ardi) Tim White 4.4 million years ago Bipedality

Australopithecus afarensis Donald Johanson 3.2 million years ago Bipedality

(Lucy)

Olduvai Hominid No. 7 (OH7) Louis and Mary Leakey 1.8 million years ago Bipedality, larger brain,
tool use

Zinjanthropus Louis and Mary Leakey 1.76 million years ago Bipedality, larger brain

After Watching the Film

5. At the beginning of the film, what are the three traits that Dr. Sean Carroll says make humans
unique compared to our primate relatives?
Traits that distinguish modern humans from modern chimps include relatively large brains,
bipedalism, and tool use.
6. What evidence was missing during Darwin’s time that would have supported his hypothesis that
humans evolved in Africa from ancestral primates?
At the time that Charles Darwin proposed his hypothesis that humans evolved in Africa from
ancestral primates, very few fossils of ancient humans had been discovered. Additionally,
evidence from DNA sequencing was not available until well over 100 years later.
7. What evidence has allowed scientists to conclude that the common ancestor of modern chimps
and humans lived around 7 million years ago?
a. Stone tool usage began showing up in the human lineage around 7 million years ago, and
chimps do not use stone tools.
b. From the changes scientists have observed in chimps over the past 200 years, they predict it
will take at least 7 million years for today’s chimps to evolve into more humans.
c. Biological molecules such as proteins and DNA reveal differences between humans and
chimps that would have taken around 7 million years to accumulate.
d. Scientists know from whale evolution that it takes around 3.5 million years for brain size to
double in volume in a species’ lineage, and chimp brains are 300 cubic centimeters, while
human brains are around 1,300 cubic centimeters.
Note: Answer b addresses a misconception about human evolution. Other common
misconceptions are listed in the Smithsonian Educators Guide at
http://humanorigins.si.edu/education/education-guide.
8. Which of the following trends is illustrated by human ancestors over time?
a. An increase in brain size
b. A decrease in body size
c. A reduction in the number of toes
d. An increase in the size of the molars and the canine teeth

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9. Which of the following is an anatomical feature that defines humans as bipedal hominids?
a. A hairless face
b. The absence of a prehensile tail
c. Opposable digits on all four limbs
d. A much shorter hip bone, broader front to back, that wraps around the side
10. Which conclusion about human evolution can scientists infer from the existing fossil evidence?
I. Humans and chimps shared a common ancestor around 7 million years ago.
II. Larger brains began evolving around 1.8 million years ago.
III. Humans began using tools at least 1.8 million years ago.
IV. Bipedality evolved at least 4.4 million years ago.
a. I only
b. II and IV only
c. II, III, and IV only
d. I–IV
11. Which conclusion about human evolution can scientists currently infer from molecular (DNA and
proteins) evidence?
I. Humans and chimps shared a common ancestor around 7 million years ago.
II. Large brains began evolving around 1.8 million years ago.
III. Humans began using tools around 1.8 million years ago.
IV. Bipedality in hominids evolved at least 4.4 million years ago.
a. I only
b. I and II only
c. II and IV only
d. I–IV
12. Ardipithecus ramidus (Ardi) is a hominid with a combination of chimplike and humanlike
characteristics. Describe these characteristics.
The Ardi fossil shared the following features with chimpanzees: a large toe that stuck out to
the side and evidence that she had extensive climbing abilities. The Ardi fossil had pelvic
and other anatomical evidence that suggests she was bipedal, like modern humans.
13. Before the discovery of Ardi, what kind of habitat did most paleobiologists hypothesize bipedality
evolved in?
Most paleobiologists hypothesized that bipedality evolved in open grasslands.
14. What did the discovery of Ardi suggest about the kind of habitat in which bipedality evolved? How
do we know?
Tens of thousands of plant and animals fossils found with Ardi suggest that she was living in
a woodland setting.

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15. How do scientists know how old the Ardi fossil is?
a. The differences between Ardi’s DNA and human DNA suggest that Ardi lived around 4.4
million years before modern humans.
b. The Ardi fossil was found in sediment that was sandwiched between volcanic deposits
that dated to 4.4 million years ago.
c. Ardi’s teeth reveal that she ate plants that went extinct around 4.4 million years ago.
d. The stone tools found in the same sediment as Ardi date to 4.4 million years ago.
16. Explain how the Laetoli footprints found in Africa support the conclusion that Australopithecus
was a biped.
The pattern of impressions of the Laetoli footprints is consistent with an organism walking
in a fashion similar in many ways to the way modern humans walk. The big toe was in line
with the other toes and there was evidence of arches in the feet. Also there was no evidence
of knuckle marks.
17. What are the hallmarks of what Dr. White calls the third phase of human evolution? Check all that
apply.
Broadened diets √
Evolution of big teeth _____
Evolution of bipedality _____
Evolution of genus Homo √
Expansion out of Africa √
Expansion within Africa _____
Reliance on culture √
Stone tool technology √
KEY REFERENCES

Becoming Human. “Australopithecus afarensis.” Last modified June 9, 2009.

http://www.becominghuman.org/node/australopithecus-afarensis.
Gibbons, Ann. “A New Kind of Ancestor: Ardipithecus Unveiled.” Science 326, no. 5949 (2009): 36–40.
Leakey, L. S. B. “A New Fossil Skull from Olduvai.” Nature 184, no. 4685 (1959): 491–493.
Leakey, L. S. B., P. V. Tobias, and J. R. Napier. “A New Species of the Genus Homo from Olduvai Gorge.” Nature 202 (1964): 7–9.
Lovejoy, C. Owen. “The Origin of Man.” Science 211, no. 4480 (1981): 341–350.
Lovett, Richard. “Butchering Dinner 3.4 Million Years Ago.” Nature (August 11, 2010). Accessed October 30, 2014.
http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100811/full/news.2010.399.html.
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. “What Does It Mean to Be Human?” Last modified October 24, 2014.
http://humanorigins.si.edu/.
White, Tim D., G. Suwa, and B. Asfaw. “Australopithecus ramidus, A New Species of Early Hominid from Aramis, Ethiopia.”
Nature 371, no. 6495 (1994): 306–312.

AUTHORS
Written by Paul Strode, PhD, Fairview High School; Stephanie Keep, consultant; and Paul Beardsley, PhD, California State Polytechnic
University
Edited by Laura Bonetta, PhD, HHMI
Reviewed by Briana Pobiner, PhD, Smithsonian Institution; background section reviewed by Tim White, PhD, University of California, Berkeley
Illustrations by Heather McDonald, PhD
Field Tested by Cindy Rust, Post Falls High School, Post Falls, ID; Sherry Annee, Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School, Indianapolis, IN; Jennifer
Kaltenbach, Ridge High School, Basking Ridge, NJ; Lisa Mueller, Lakeview High School, Battle Creek, MI; Stacey Strandberg, Divine Savior Holy
Angels High School, Milwaukee, WI; Judith Pinto, Bergen County Academies, Hackensack, NJ; Angela Lennox, Exeter High School, Exeter, NH;
Nancy Bates, Montclair Cooperative School, Montclair, NJ

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