Discuss what makes your primate a member of the primate order. (Refer to “Classification of Primates” .

Last week we looked at the origin of humans, finding evidence of bipedalism as early as 6-7 million years ago in the fossil record. You met the first member of our genus Homo, Homo habilis. This creature still looked somewhat like apes in that they had slightly longer arms and were short in stature, but they started to develop more modern traits, like a dramatic jump in brain size and wider fingers for greater dexterity in tool making. This week we meet Homo erectus, the first human to really look like us. A human with the capacity to run long distance, hunt, and travel out of Africa.

Readings:

Early Members of the Genus Homo

Explorations: Chapter 10 (Links to an external site.)

http://explorations.americananthro.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Chapter-10-Early-Members-of-the-Genus-Homo.pdf

1. Wong, K. (2006, June). Stranger in a New Land. Scientific American Special Edition, 16(2): 38-47.

Resources:

1. Homo habilis & Homo erectus Power point. See files. 

2. Required film Becoming Human Part 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1Ra1IX1aPY (Links to an external site.)

3. Homo habilis & Homo erectus video lecture https://youtu.be/se5WUyUb52Y (Links to an external site.)