Why Are We The Last Humans Standing?

"Last Human Standing."  

Becoming Human. PBS NOVA

. Aug. 2011. Television.

 In Humanities this week we watched an episode from the series Becoming Human called “Last Human Standing.”  It is amazing to know all that has lived before us.  Modern day humans have evolved over millions of years from African apes.  Several other species like homo erectus or australopitheum are some of our early ancestors who also descended from apes.  Homo erectus was the first to leave Africa.  Some migrated to Europe and others to Asia.  We are more advanced than these early ancestors that all died out.  We have more developed brains, bodies, diets, and communication skills and that is why we are the last humans standing.  Homo heidelberg is the closest ancestor to us Homo sapiens.  We are the last humans standing because all of our previous ancestors are extinct.  They died out for many reasons.  For example, they may not have had enough food or were killed by predators, sickness, or due to climate or other environmental changes.  Over time the species that adapted by expanding their diets, language, art, tools, and rituals lived much longer.   Scientists think that some early humans had burial rituals for their dead loved ones.  They would bury them with precious belongings such as tools.  Scientists think that early humans may have had religious beliefs.  In conclusion, I wonder if Homo sapiens will die out one day as well and if so what comes next?

Summary on Grunts to Grammar

Miller, Jeanne.

"From Grunts to Geammar: The Evolution of Language.
" Odyssey: Adventures to science

Oct. 2009: 34,35,36. Print. 

This week in Humanities, we read an article about the development of grammar.  Grammar is so important to our everyday life.   Could you imagine life without words?  Grammar has developed over millions of years.  The development started when the larynx or voice box moved down deeper in our ancestor’s throats.  There is no way to exactly find out when or where grammar started.  As it says in the article, “Spoken words don’t leave fossils.”  Scientist do have theories.  They have looked at different fossils of our ancestors and from that they analyze which things such as tools may have required advanced communication to make.  The first evidence of what scientists think needed complex communication was bones found in Australia.  Scientists know that early humans must have migrated from Asia.  To get to Australia they had to go at least 45 miles by boat.   Early humans had to build that boat and building that type of boat would have needed verbal communication. Scientists have come to a conclusion that grammar was formed 35-40 thousand years ago.  Before grammar was formed our early ancestors must have had to communicate in some sort way before words where formed.   Scientists think these ways where sounds, hand motions, and even facial expressions. In conclusion, I think grammar is one of the most important things in our everyday lives and we would struggle without it.

Summary on Taming Fire

Cox, Mary Beth.

"Taming Fire." Odyssey: Adventures in science

Oct. 2009: 29-30

Fire is one of the most important things on Earth.  Fire has helped us in so many ways for example it cooks the food we eat, it keeps us warm, it provides light and so much more. Fire always has occurred naturally in nature for example wild fires.   About 250,000 years ago, prehistoric men started to use fire in their everyday lives to cook food and to see at night so they could stay up latter then sunset. You may wonder why were early humans weren’t using fire before.  They were afraid of it because they had only seen it in nature.   Another reason is they did not know how to make it. Fire has had a big influence on man kind fire let us move to colder parts of the worlds like Europe. In conclusions fire is very important  and It would be hard to live without it but remember as  Mary Beth Cox said “DO NOT play with fire!!!”

On Our Own Two Feet

Whitt, Stephen. "On Our Own Two Feet."

Adventures in Science Oct. 2009: 26-28

Through the article I read in humanities this week “On our Own Two Feet” I learned a lot about the species that came before us.  There are so many questions yet to be answered about the human species like how we developed to walk on two feet.  Humans have been walking on two feet for about six million years.  This is unusual because most animals walk on four legs or with their arms and feet.  According to one theory by scientist Owen Lovejoy “we started walking to free up our hands and arms for carrying food to our mates.”  My theory is that humans started to walk up right to see better over tall grass.  Scientists have studied the skulls of Australopithecus afarensis, Homo erectus, and Homo sapiens to see how we evolved over time.   Several changes happened throughout time.  The brain cavity got bigger, the face got flatter, and the spine got straighter and the spinal cord entered to our skull at a different point. In conclusion we have changed a lot in six million years.