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Student Exploration: Human Evolution - Skull Analysis
Vocabulary: bipedal, canine, cranial capacity, cranium, evolve, foramen magnum, hominid,
hominin, index, maxilla, orbit, palate, skull
Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)
1. Label one of the skulls below as human and the other as a chimpanzee skull.
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human chimpanzee
2. What features did you use to identify which skull was human and which was chimpanzee?
Human has a flatter face, larger braincase & smaller teeth
Gizmo Warm-up
In 1924, a fossilized skull that looked very similar to a chimp skull was
discovered. But the skull most definitely did not belong to a chimp. The
location of the foramen magnum—a hole in the skull where the spinal
cord exits—indicated that the individual was bipedal, or walked on two
legs. This fossil was some of the earliest evidence of human evolution.
Using the Human Evolution – Skull Analysis Gizmo, you will discover
some of the ways that skulls can be used to learn about human evolution.
Start by comparing two modern hominids: a human and a chimpanzee.
1. Examine the Front view of the Homo sapiens (modern human) skull. Then, use the
Select skull menu to examine the same view of the Pan troglodytes (chimp) skull.
How do the skulls compare?
Human has smaller jaw, smaller teeth, large forehead than chimp
2. Now, examine the Bottom view of the two skulls. How do they compare?
, University of Central Florida / science ant 2511 / Laboratory Human Evolution Skull Analysis Gizmo 2
Chimp's mouth is larger than the humans
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