Ape Man is the definitive account of how humans evolved from primates to become the dominant species on earth. From the extinction of the dinosaurs to the invention of fire, from the between furry ancestors and modern man, this vivid journey tells a towering story. Featuring the latest scientific evidence, Ape Man travels 7 million years back in time to uncover the world development of language to the link of man's oldest ancestor.

Part 2, Giant Strides

Once humans learned to walk upright, they began to take giant developmental strides away from their animal relatives. They invented tools, which provided the edge in the search for food. The awesome power of fire came next, then the evolutionary grand prize--the human brain.

Objectives
Students will gain an understanding of the later stages of human evolution. They will learn how scientists find and evaluate the data from which we draw this information, and what it ultimately means about humans and how they have evolved.

National Science Standards
Ape Man meets the following National Standards for Science Education Content: Life Science; Content Standard C; Structure and function in living systems, Regulation and behavior, Diversity and adaptations of organisms.

• Neanderthal
• adaptations
• archaic
• desiccation
• dismemberment
• dissipation
• encroach
• habitat
• litany
• mitochondrial
• mitochrondrial
• obstetric
• orthopedic
• relentless
• subservient
• vulnerable

1. One of the key clues to human advancement is the creation of art. Why is art so important to the puzzle of evolution?

2. The discovery of mitochondrial DNA present in all human beings led to the hypothesis of a "Mitochondrial Eve," a woman in Africa from whom all humankind has decended. This discovery upset many anthropologists and archeologists. Why did the theory of "Mitochondrial Eve" cause such controversy?

3. While we may consider bipedalism a superior form of locomotion, anthropologists suggest that it is a compromise. Why makes bipedalism a compromise? What was gained by walking upright? What was lost?

4. Bipedalism is considered the first stage of the development of the modern human being. What prompted the first hominids to walk upright instead of using their hands for locomotion the way primates do?

5. While humankind evolved in Africa, evidence of early human beings has been found in other areas of the world. How and why did humankind spread out across the world?

6. Today we cannot even imagine our lives without fire. We use it to cook our food, heat ourselves, create tools and for thousands of other applications. How did the discovery of the creation and use of fire contribute to humankind's eventual domination of the earth?

7. The discovery of mitochondrial DNA proves that all human beings are genetically the same, and that racial features are only superficial. If we are all the same under our skin, then why is race such an issue in our society?

1. Create a poster illustrating some of the tools early human beings might have used and how they used them.

2. In order to understand the differences between human beings and other animals, try not to use your thumbs for a short time while performing your everyday activities. What did you discover? How do those two small digits separate humankind from the rest of the animal kingdom?

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Air Dates

• August 04, 2004