Hominid Web Quest

Your job in this WebQuest is to learn all about the evolution of humans. You will learn about the earliest hominids that may be part of the evolution of humans, and about the fossils that have been found which support this idea. You will look at photographs of these fossils and read about their similarities and differences. You will find out how scientists have pieced together the story of human evolution, and discover that the story is far from complete. You will fill in a table that lists which hominids play a part in human evolution. Finally, you will answer a few questions about hominid fossils to demonstrate what you have learned in your Internet research.

Resources

Look at the web sites given here to find the information that will enable you to complete your table on hominid fossils and answer a few questions.

• Process

  Now that you have completed your research on hominid fossils, fill in the table below with the information that you have gathered on each of the species listed. For each species, list the location in which the first fossils of its type were found and the estimated age of that fossil. You will need to look at all of the web sites listed in order to complete the table. Once the table has been filled in, answer the questions that follow.

  Table 1. Hominid Fossils

  Genus and species	Location of Fossil	Estimated Age of Fossil
  Ardipithecus ramidus
  Australopithecus anamensis
  Australopithecus afarensis
  Australopithecus africanus
  Australopithecus aethiopicus
  Australopithecus robustus
  Australopithecus boisei
  Homo habilis
  Homo erectus
  Homo ergaster
  Homo heidelbergensis
  Homo neanderthalensis
  Homo sapiens

   

  Questions about Hominid Fossils

  1. A new species named Kenyanthropus platyops was found recently in Kenya. Between what two species would you place this species in the above table, and why?
     
     
  2. Another new species was discovered in Ethiopia in 1999. What is the genus and species of this fossil? Where would you place it in the above table?
     
     
  3. Name three of the clear trends in the evolution of hominids from early australopithecines to recent humans. For example, one clear trend is increasing brain size.
     
     
  4. Which step in hominid evolution came first – bipedal locomotion or larger brains? How do scientists know this?
     
     
  5. What happened about 8 to 5 million years ago in Africa that may have led to the development of many different species of hominids?
     
     
  6. Why are Neanderthals sometimes given the name Homo sapiens neanderthalensis?
     
  7. Why is there still so much controversy over the evolution of humans from hominids?