Did we evolve from monkeys? In this lesson, we’ll investigate the key milestones in the evolution of our species, homo sapiens.
Driving Question: How did our early ancestors evolve?
- What is evolution? Did we evolve from monkeys? How much of our DNA do we share with chimpanzees? How can one species turn into another? These are questions that bombard my brain when I think of our early ancestors. The evolution of humans did not happen overnight. The process took millions of years and several different paths before our species—homo sapiens—came into the picture.
Word of the Day: Bipedalism
- Definition: The ability to walk on two legs.
- As our primate ancestors moved out of the trees and into the grasslands, they began standing on two feet. This allowed them to see up and over the tall grasslands. It was an adaptation to their new environment.
Lesson
- Go to Khan Academy and watch the video, Crash Course Big History: Human Evolution.
- As you watch, think about our driving question: How did our early ancestors evolve? Some other questions to consider: Why is it wrong to say we came from monkeys? What were the characteristics of our early ancestors like australopithecus, homo habilis, and homo ergaster?
- If you’d like to learn more about our early ancestors, you can take a more zoomed-in look at the work of archaeologists like the Leakeys, who discovered Lucy, the missing link. You might also be interested in the life and work of primatologist Jane Goodall, who showed the world how similar chimpanzee behavior is to that of humans.
Historian’s Journal Prompt
- How do you think the coronavirus or other similar pandemics would have affected early humans?
- We share 98.8% of our DNA with chimps. We are incredibly similar—the result of evolving from a common ancestor. In fact, scientists who work closely with primates often need to be vaccinated to prevent the spread of human disease to primate populations. When COVID-19 arrived on the African continent, Rwanda promptly shut down tourist activity to the mountain gorillas.
