BIOL SCI 150 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Homo Heidelbergensis, Homo Erectus, Homo Sapiens
14 Mar 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Scientists used to think that human evolution was linear, with one organism morphing into another over time. The current hypothesis, instead, is that human evolution is thought more of a bush with lots of side branches and dead ends, where different similar species evolved from a common ancestor if you trace back their lineage far enough. Lucy is a fossil from australopithecus, that is estimated to be dated from about 3. 2 million years ago. Her pelvis and femur fossil show that she was bipedal. She also had a much smaller brain than modern humans. There aren"t that many fossils, and by far the most prevalent fossil is teeth, which doesn"t give that much information. Certain climates preserve fossils better than other, so we have a imbalance of information about species and organisms based on where fossils were found, rather than where species actually lived.
