Evidence of Evolution Flashcards
All 7 cards in this deck
How old is the fossil Ardi, and what do its features show?
4.4 million years old; long ape-like big toe for climbing but able to walk upright, long arms, short legs and a small (chimp-sized) brain.
How old is the fossil Lucy, and what do her features show?
3.2 million years old; arched feet and no ape-like big toe, so she walked upright more efficiently, with a brain slightly larger than Ardi's.
What did Richard Leakey's team discover, and how old were the fossils?
Fossils about 1.6 million years old (Turkana Boy, Homo erectus) with short arms, long legs, human-like feet and a much larger brain (about ).
True or false? Lucy is an older fossil than Ardi.
False. Ardi is 4.4 million years old and Lucy is 3.2 million years old, so Ardi is older.
How did stone tools change over time as humans evolved?
From simple pebble tools chipped to a sharp edge (about 2.5 million years ago), to shaped hand axes (about 1.6 million years ago), to small, complex flint tools such as arrowheads and needles (about 50 000 years ago).
How can stone tools be dated from their environment?
By dating the rock layers (strata) they are found in, or fossils found in the same layer — tools in deeper layers are older.
True or false? Fossils provide evidence for human evolution because they show how features such as brain size and walking upright changed over time.
True. Comparing fossils of different ages shows a gradual change in human features, which supports evolution.