Question
$10.00 Human Origins
- From Business: General-Business , Biology: General-Biology
- Closed, but you can still post tutorials
- Due on Jun. 11, 2011
- Asked on Jun 08, 2011 at 8:36:29PM
Q:
Go to the following website of the Smithsonian:
http://humanorigins.si.edu/
and select a topic of interest from the many displayed there. Write a two-three page paper that: 1.) explains the topic; 2.) details any "Aha!" moments you may have had; and 3.) tell why you chose this particular topic and how it relates to the appropriate part of Chapter 3.
For people of some faiths, this is challenging and not so comfortable. If you wish to write from the point of view of your faith, you are welcome to do so. Just refer to the web areas assigned, and show that you considered the information there. Then, please write freely. This is America.
$15.00
Human Origin
- This tutorial was purchased 7 times and rated A+ by students like you.
- Posted on Jun 09, 2011 at 3:32:45PM
A:
Preview: ... n of humans was the development of an upright posture (bipedalism) and the increase in brain size.
The transition from walking on four legs to walking on two legs had implications far beyond those affecting the skeleton and muscles. It is now believed that the acquisition of an upright posture and the accompanying changes in the nervous system facilitated the subsequent enlargement of the cerebral hemispheres. The common ancestors of humans and apes are likely to have used all four limbs for movement, something akin to chimpanzees, but with establishment of Ramapithecus more time was spent in an upright posture. By about 4 million years ago our hominid ancestors were bipedal and fully erect.
Freedom of the hands from locomotion enabled them to be used for carrying objects and manipulating the environment, all vital activities preadapting hominids for later dextrous activities associated with their cultural evolution. In addition, an upright posture gave the hominids increased height and range of vision which would have had advantages for them living, as they did, in the open savannah.
Along with the advantages of bipedalism was the increasing brain size as recorded by cranial capacities. The cranial capacities of the hominids increased from 450 cm3 to about 1400 cm3. However, sherr volume alone does not give a complete picture of the brain potential which developed during human evolution. The complex infolding of the outer cortical tissue increased the surface area to give much greater working area of the brain. This increase in effective area enabled control and coordination to be excercised over the newly developing behavioural activit ...
The full tutorial is about 1286 words long plus attachments.
Human Origin.doc (30K)