Becoming Human is an interactive documentary experience that tells the story of our origins. Journey through four million years of human evolution with your guide, Donald Johanson.
To prepare for the coming unit on early humans review the timeline of early humans found on the Becoming Human website. Observe the changes in skull size and shape, when the designation Homo first appears. Compare the similarities, note the differences, as you move through time. Here’s your link.
This is The Human Lineage Through Time, a good place to observe the evolutionary sweep across seven million years. Click on any icon (picture) or binomial (name). You will get a page of Basic Data on that hominid. Click on the binomial (the two word species name) and you are led to the essay about that species.
Whoa, you may be thinking, this is a lot to read. Yes, and for some of you it may even be interesting…. concentrate on Australopithecus afarensus, Homo erectus and Homo neanderthalensis, but take the time to have a good look at all the different fossils depicted in the timeline.
(The picture is the fossil skull “Toumai” — the oldest known fossil that may be a human ancestor, and has been dated at 6 to 7 million years old.)