Evidence of Evolution Flashcards
All 6 cards in this deck
How long ago did the hominid fossil 'Ardi' live?
4.4 million years ago. Her long arms and grasping feet suggest she climbed trees but could also walk upright.
How long ago did the hominid fossil 'Lucy' live?
3.2 million years ago. Her arched feet and pelvis show she was fully bipedal, with a brain slightly larger than Ardi's.
How old are the hominid fossils discovered by Richard Leakey's team, and what did they show?
1.6 million years old, with a much larger brain/skull, shorter arms and longer legs — more human-like than Lucy.
Give two structural changes shown by fossilised bones during human evolution.
Larger skull / larger brain, and bipedalism (walking upright).
What are the steps to date a stone tool from the environment it was found in?
e.g. a tool dug out of a deep rock layer
- Record the position/depth of the tool in the rock layers (stratigraphy) — the deeper layer means an older tool.
- Date other fossils found in the same layer.
- Use radiometric dating of the rock layer to give an age.
What feature of a stone tool suggests it was used by a more recent human ancestor?
It is more sophisticated — more shaped, carved, complex or sharper.