STS Mod 1 PDF

Mark Nicolejun G.
Ramirez
BITM – A
Activity: Analysis
1. How do you describe the connection between human and the environment?
• Overcrowding, pollution, the use of fossil fuels, and deforestation are all effects of humans on the
physical environment. Climate change, land erosion, poor air quality, and undrinkable water have
all resulted from these kinds of changes.
Application Make a historical timeline using pictures of the development of human population in
your community including the associated technologies. (The presentation of your answer will worth
50 points).
Human evolution
Human evolution is the long process of change that led to humans being descended from apelike
ancestors. Scientific evidence indicates that the physical and behavioral traits shared by all humans
evolved from apelike ancestors over a six-million-year period.
Bipedalism, or the ability to walk on two legs, was one of the first defining human traits to evolve
over 4 million years ago. Other important human characteristics, such as a large and complex brain, the
ability to make and use tools, and the ability to communicate, emerged later. Many advanced traits, such
as complex symbolic expression, art, and intricate cultural diversity, have emerged primarily in the last
100,000 years.
Human beings are primates. Physical and genetic similarities show that the modern human
species, Homo sapiens, is closely related to the apes, another group of primate species. Humans and the
African great apes (large apes) — chimps (including bonobos, or "pygmy chimps") and gorillas — share
an ancestor who lived between 8 and 6 million years ago. Humans first evolved in Africa, and much of
human evolution took place there. Early human fossils dating from 6 to 2 million years ago were
discovered entirely in Africa.
Most scientists now recognize 15 to 20 distinct species of early humans. However, scientists
disagree on how these species are related or which ones simply died out. Many early human species, if
not the vast majority, left no living descendants. Scientists also disagree about how to identify and
classify specific early human species, as well as what factors influenced the evolution and extinction of
each species.
Early humans most likely migrated from Africa to Asia between 2 million and 1.8 million years
ago. They arrived in Europe between 1.5 million and 1 million years ago. Many parts of the world were
populated much later by modern human species. People first arrived in Australia, for example, probably
within the last 60,000 years, and in the Americas within the last 30,000 years or so. Agriculture's
beginnings and the rise of the first civilizations occurred within the last 12,000 years.
Paleoanthropology
The scientific study of human evolution is called paleoanthropology. Paleoanthropology is a

branch of anthropology, which is concerned with the study of human culture, society, and biology.
Understanding the similarities and differences between humans and other species in their genes, body
form, physiology, and behavior is central to this field. Paleoanthropologists are interested in the origins of
human physical characteristics and behavior. They want to know how evolution has shaped all people's
potentials, tendencies, and limitations. Paleoanthropology is an exciting scientific field for many people
because it investigates the origin of our species' universal and defining traits over millions of years.
However, some people are troubled by the concept of human evolution because it appears to
contradict religious and other traditional beliefs about how people, other living things, and the world
came to be. Nonetheless, many people have come to accept their beliefs in light of scientific evidence.
The most important clues to this ancient past come from early human fossils and archeological
remains. These remains include bones, tools, and any other evidence (such as footprints, evidence of
hearths, or butchery marks on animal bones) left by previous people. Typically, the remains were buried
and preserved naturally. They are then discovered either on the surface (exposed by rain, rivers, and wind
erosion) or by digging in the ground. Scientists can learn about the physical appearance of earlier humans
and how it changed by studying fossilized bones. The size, shape, and markings left by muscles on bones
tell us how those forefathers moved around, held tools, and how the size of their brains changed over
time. Archeological evidence refers to the objects created by earlier people and the locations where
scientists have discovered them. Archeologists can learn about how early humans made and used tools, as
well as how they lived in their environments, by studying this type of evidence.
The process of evolution
Evolution is a natural process that involves a series of natural changes that cause species
(populations of different organisms) to emerge, adapt to their surroundings, and become extinct.
Biological evolution is the process by which all species or organisms evolved. The term species refers to a
group of sexually reproducing animals, including humans, whose adult members regularly interbreed,
resulting in fertile offspring – that is, offspring capable of reproducing themselves. Each species is
assigned a two-part scientific name by scientists. Modern humans are classified as Homo sapiens in this
system.
When the genetic material — the chemical molecule, DNA — that is inherited from the parents
changes, so does the proportion of different genes in a population. Genes are DNA segments that contain
the chemical code for producing proteins. Mutation is a process by which information contained in DNA
can change. The way specific genes are expressed, or how they affect the body or behavior of an
organism, can also change. Genes influence how an organism's body and behavior develop throughout its
life, which is why genetically inherited characteristics can influence the likelihood of an organism's
survival and reproduction.
Individuals are not changed by evolution. Instead, it alters a population's inherited means of
growth and development (a group of individuals of the same species living in a particular habitat). Parents
pass adaptive genetic changes to their children, and these changes eventually become common throughout
a population. As a result, the offspring inherit those genetic characteristics that improve their chances of
survival and ability to bear children, which may be sufficient until the environment changes. Genetic
change has the potential to alter a species' overall way of life, such as what it eats, how it grows, and
where it can live, over time. Human evolution occurred as new genetic variations in early ancestor
populations favored new abilities to adapt to environmental change, thereby altering human behavior.

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Mark Nicolejun G.

The scientific study of human evolution is called paleoanthropology. Paleoanthropology is a

The process of evolution

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