Evolution: Human and Common Female Ancestor Essay example

Submitted By TheDoughnutKnight
Words: 1123
Pages: 5
Open Document
HW Human Evolution 8/1/15
Human Evolution has spanned approximately 85 million years, but Homo sapiens have only existed for the last 400,000 years. During this time we have changed our behaviors in many ways, due to changes in natural selection and physiology. This is most evident when comparing the current human skeleton to that of Lucy and Ardi's skeleton, two females who lived 3.2 and 4.4 million years ago respectively. The examples I am going to look into in this essay is the conscience, the use of modern courtship and the existence of the tail bone. There has always been controversy surrounding evolution, with 40% of Americans believing in young earth creationism and 38% believing that evolution has been overseen by God. This leaves a very small percentage of Americans which are supported by all scientific evidence in reasonable experimental conditions. In the courts, they frequently use the same line, that evolution is only a theory. That is true, and it is promising, because it could mean that they have read into the papers and challenged its conclusions with its own scientifically relevant evidence. More often than not this is not the case. Some disagree with the evidence of evolution because it has never been directly observed. In the words if the great George Carlin 'some people won't believe in evolution before they see a monkey give birth to a human'

Ardi is a fossil of Ardipithecus ramidus, an early form of hominid. She was discovered in Ethiopia and is believed to be 4.4 million years old. The skeleton displayed a mixture of features found in humans. This evidence included the structure of the feet, which showed that she had a large big toe to climb trees. She also had short legs and long arms, a brain the size of a chimp and a leg structure which suggested she walked upright but used her hands to help, like an ape.

Lucy is a fossil of the Australopithecus afarensis. She was also discovered in Ethiopia and is believed to be 3.2 million years old and shows development from Ardi. Lucy has arched feet which aids walking, rather than climbing. The size of her arms was more balanced, her brain was bigger and she walked upright, more effectively than Ardi.

The final example of fossil evidence is the group of hominid fossils found in Kenya by Richard Leakey, where he was born. He found the remains of a Turkana boy – a fossil skeleton of homo erectus. He had some ape-like features but is more human than Lucy. He has short arms, a brain size similar to that of a human and the structure of his legs and feet suggests he was better adapted to walking upright than Lucy.

This evidence was approved using carbon dating, where objects can be given approximate dates by measuring the decay of carbon atoms. It is a type of radiometric dating. The method uses the radioactive isotope carbon-14, most organic matter contains this firm if carbon. Carbon has different isotopes, which are usually not radioactive; 14C is the radioactive one, its half-life, or time it takes to radioactively decay to one half its original amount, is about 5,730 years.

These examples of fossil evidence are frequently cited as evidence to display the progression of human anatomy. This is shadowed by the progression of tools, but they cannot be carbon dated. They only say how old the rock is. As humans became more advanced, so did our tools. We moved to sharpen rocks and use fire. We also used handles and tied things with ropes. The ecology of human behavior is a discipline of psychology that holds that humans are basically behave as rational actors who tend to maximize their biological efficacy adapting to medium concrete living. Individuals act as if there were a genotype only human who gives us a mind able to develop different types of culture in terms of the different environments. Examples of these behaviours include being able to swim as a baby but then being needed to be retaught.

As modern humans were leaving Africa around 60,000 years
Show More

Related Documents: Evolution: Human and Common Female Ancestor Essay example

Essay on Creation vs Evolution

People also ask, “How did human originate?” This is an argument that has been fought for many years. Although there are several ideas, society mainly argues over two of them. The first idea is that man was created by God during his creation of the universe. This is the idea of creationism. It is supported by many religious people. Creationism is supported by religion. The second way that humans could have originated is through a process called evolution. Evolution is a theory proposed by scientists…

Words 2026 - Pages 9

Essay on Human Evolution and Homo Sapiens

Human Evolution Outline I. Evolution is directional change and is the primary way that we understand the biological history of humankind. 1. The processes of evolution shaped humans’ brains and bodies. 2. It has also shaped our capacity for culture. II. Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection proved the most convincing scientific explanation of the variety and history of life on earth. 1. Natural selection—the mechanism of evolutionary change; changes in traits of living organisms that…

Words 3863 - Pages 16

Comparative Anatomy Provides Structural Evidence Of Evolution

Question 2: -Comparative Anatomy Provides Structural Evidence of Evolution Appearance has long been used as an indicator of the relatedness of organisms. Structure, inexorably tied to function, also provides evidence of descent with modification. The elephant and the mammoth, for instance, clearly have similar anatomies and share a common ancestor. Unrelated Species in Similar Environments Have Evolved Similar Forms Evolution by natural selection also predicts that, given similar environmental…

Words 5314 - Pages 22

Introduction to Evolution Essay

biological fitness, and ultimately, to how natural selection, coupled with spontaneous mutations, could shape the characteristics of the survivors through succeeding generations, and how this could account for the diversity among the species and their evolution over sufficient periods of time. B - Lyell's new book, Principles of Geology (1830-3), profoundly influenced Darwin. Lyell offered not just a new geology but a new way of understanding nature. Lyell showed how tiny, slow, gradual and cumulative…

Words 1909 - Pages 8

Biological Anthropology

Anthropology is the study of human evolution and human variation. Not only do they study human, but also a category called near-humans, which includes: monkeys, apes, fossil ancestors and other primates (Palomar 1.) There are three specific areas that biological anthropologists research, these are: human biology, primatology and paleoanthropology. Human biology is mainly focused on human genetics and how they react to non-cultural adaptions. Primatologists study the non-human relatives. They observe…

Words 770 - Pages 4

Essay on Biology Notes

BIOLOGY EVIDENCE OF EVOLUTION 1. Outline the impact on the evolution of plants and animals of: - changes in physical conditions in the environment - changes in chemical conditions in the environment - competition for resources Changes in the environment of living organisms can lead to the evolution of plant and animal species. These environmental changed in condition may be physical, such as temperature changes, or chemical, such as changes in water salinity. Change may also…

Words 2869 - Pages 12

Essay on Evolution: Natural Selection and Human Behavior

Evolutionary psychology’s (EP) concepts focus on how phenomena occur and what they are for, as opposed to the Standard Social Science Model (SSSM), which proposes that the human mind resembles a ‘blank slate’ at birth, virtually free of content until influenced by the environment. EP, however, posits that a full explanation of a human behaviour requires both evolutionary and environmental explanations together. The SSSM is restrictive in its focus on the environmental influence on learning and behaviour…

Words 670 - Pages 3

Fossil Records: Hyenas

Fossil Records: Hyenas originated in Miocene 22 million years ago with their Feliform ancestors being directly descended from Viverridae. The ancestors of Hyaena and Crocuta existed separately since the Miocene. It is believed based on fossil deposits that hyaena and Crocuta had similar origins in southern Africa expanding from there. While Hyaena Brunnea was originated and stayed in southern Africa most likely because of competition with Crocuta. C. Crocuta…

Words 611 - Pages 3

Genesmanship Chapter 6 Answers

father you get 50 of each genes = 100 • Gene H can come from you dad and mother and then 50% of H will go to your child because ½ of your sex cells have it • And then 50% of Gene H to next child etc. • First cousins only two common ancestors • Look for those two ancestors A and B and calculate distance as follows If the generation • Distance is 5, this means calculate 1/2 x 1/2 x…

Words 1613 - Pages 7

Trs 201 Faith Seeking Understanding Research Paper

life was created before animal life, animal life was not created out of plant life. Among the diversity of animals, many share similar structures: birds, reptiles, mammals, and so forth. This argues at least as persuasively for a common designer as it does for a common life source. God deliberately structured plenty of variation within a kind. All life did not come from the same primordial cell, but it did all come from the same creator. When we look at the infinite variety of the animal kingdom…

Words 1091 - Pages 5