Human evolution

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/human-evolution

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific name?Homo sapiens
2. What is the geographic origin?Africa
3. What does it mean that humans walked on two legs?Walking on two legs, called bipedalism, let our ancestors free their hands, change their pelvis and feet for better movement, and carry food and tools more easily.
4. Why did Homo erectus learn to use fire?Using fire gave them warmth, protection from animals, and the chance to cook food, which made it easier to eat and gave more nutrients for growing brains.

Hominin: The evolutionary group that includes modern humans and our extinct bipedal ancestors after the split from chimpanzees.
Encephalization: The evolutionary increase in the size of the brain relative to body size.
Bipedalism: The ability and habit of walking upright on two legs, a defining characteristic of hominin evolution.
Oldowan Industry: The earliest known stone tool industry, characterized by simple choppers and flakes, used by early Homo species.