Zeresenay "Zeray" Alemseged, a
National Geographic Emerging Explorer, is a paleoanthropologist. What's that? The simple answer is that a paleoanthropologist is a person who studies the origins of humans through fossils and artifacts. However, the field of paleoanthropology is highly complex, with each related discipline influencing and furthering each of the others. For example, the study of skeletal anatomy supports the study of hominid diets, which in turn sheds light on how the species' geographic ranges may have expanded or contracted. In this lesson, students consider how Dr. Alemseged chose paleoanthropology as his career as they learn more about the multifaceted field itself.
Standard 6: "How culture and experience influence people's perceptions of places and regions"
Standard 14: "How human actions modify the physical environment"
Standard 15: "How physical systems affect human systems"
Standard 17: "How to apply geography to interpret the past"
Show students a
map of Africa. Point out the country of
Ethiopia and ask students what they know about this country. Take several answers and/or explain to students that this region is one of the best-known for the study of human origins—the history of
hominid evolution over the past several million years. Explain to students that the study of human origins is highly complex.
Direct students to National Geographic: Outpost and PBS Evolution Library for information about how and where different hominid species have been discovered, and are being studied, throughout Africa and the world.
(Students needn't take notes as they will visit the site(s) in depth later in the lesson.)
Activity 1:
Introduce students to Zeray Alemseged by having them read a
profile of his life and work.
Ask for students' reactions to the information they read about Alemseged. Why did he choose his field of study? What is one primary reason for his travels back and forth from Germany to Ethiopia today? Ask students to identify ways in which they think Alemseged's early life and education influenced his choice of career.
If your technology supports it, show students the documentary on the Institute of Human Origins' Becoming Human website (Macromedia Flash Player required), a project to which Alemseged contributed while studying at the Arizona State University. Invite students to listen to the documentary and explore some of the related exhibits and resources.
Activity 2:
Ask students if any of them have ever considered a career in paleoanthropology. Write the following terms on the board: archaeology, geography, geology, environment, ecology, and culture. Explain to students that each of those fields of study can and usually does play a part in anthropological study, or the study of human beings. Then, explain that paleo, meaning "early," appends itself to anthropology to define the study of human origins, and that each of these fields—along with many others—is equally important in learning theories about where and how humans originated.
Have students read the National Geographic News article "Climate Change Killed Neandertals, Study Says" to look for evidence of more than one science discipline (geology, archaeology, environmental studies, paleoclimatology, and psychology) working together to find answers.
Activity 3:
Explain to students that in all of the fields of study, there are three basic elements of study that must come together to make sense of available information: collecting evidence, analyzing evidence, and interpreting evidence.
Have students spend time exploring the resources below to look for examples of evidence gathered in each of the topic areas discussed: archaeology, geography, geology, environment, ecology, and culture. Ask students to work in groups of two or three and select one element of paleoanthropology to study in more depth. Students should review available resources, such as those listed below—especially the Becoming Human documentary narrative and images—and study the resources related to the aspect they have selected. Then, they should prepare a brief oral presentation giving an overview of their topic.
National Geographic: Outpost
Becoming Human (Macromedia Flash Player required)
Boston Museum of Science: Human Evolution—Interpreting the Evidence
PBS Evolution Library: Human Evolution
National Geographic News: Oldest Human Fossils Identified
(Note: An entire semester could be spent studying the content available in these resources. Depending on the time you have to devote to these activities, focus students' attention accordingly. Some focus questions to help students in each area are provided below:)
- Collecting Evidence
- What is the definition of hominid?
- Where were the Lucy fossils found? What is the significance of this discovery?
- What does Afarensis mean? Why are the Afar people important to the field of paleoanthropology?
- What is taphonomy? What can scientists learn about the early hominids through this study?
- Refer to Becoming Human (Macromedia Flash Player required). Visit the Evidence section: Related Exhibit #3, "Explore a dig." What geographic tools and techniques do paleoscientists use to help find and keep track of specimens in the field?
- Analyzing Evidence
- What non-human animal is the closest relative of Homo sapiens? What does it mean to say that we are "related?"
- Where is Laetoli? What is the significance of the Laetoli footprints?
- Students may refer to the PBS Riddle of the Bones site, showing the locations of Hadar and Laetoli. To navigate through the shockwave site, click "Are they all the same species," then "Learn more," then click map image for larger view.
- For more information about the significance of this discovery, direct students to the PBS Evolution Library's Laetoli Footprints.
- How do scientists think that bipedalism evolved? How does the examination of fossils help us understand it?
- Where was "Turkana Boy" found? What is the significance of Homo erectus' adaptation to a carnivorous diet?
- What is provenience? How does studying fossils within their specific contexts help us make connections between the fossils and the culture of the species from which they come?
- Refer to Becoming Human (Macromedia Flash Player required). Visit the Evidence section: Related Exhibit #6, "Context Clues." How important is it for scientists and geographers to track the specific locations and associations of fossils and artifacts?
- Interpreting Evidence
- Where were Neanderthal fossils first discovered? Why is our stereotypical imagining of a Neanderthal (Homo neanderthalensis), or "caveman," insufficient to understand the species?
- How did physical geography (specifically, topography and climate) affect the spatial distribution and evolution of H. neanderthalensis?
- How do scientists think that H. neanderthalensis interacted with or influenced the evolution of modern humans?
- Refer to Becoming Human (Macromedia Flash Player required). Visit the Lineages Section: Related Exhibit #8: "Modern Humans Populate the Globe": How does the "Out of Africa" theory contrast with the "multiregional" theory?
- How does the study of anatomy help us understand the development and use of tools by ancient hominids? How does studying anatomy and artifacts together help us understand human evolution?
Activity 4:
Have students present their research to the class through oral or visual presentation. Each member of the group should participate in some way. After each presentation, have the rest of the class provide feedback to the group and then prepare a short list of questions they would like to address through further study. Research projects to find the answers to these questions can be conducted as an extension activity.
Activity 5:
Ask students how the fields of geography and science represented in their presentations were all interrelated. Lead a discussion in which you ask students to consider how the study of one topic (e.g., anatomy) can help with the study of another (e.g., climate). Draw out student responses by referring them back to questions addressed in their research. Here are some examples to help students get started:
- Studying evidence of climate change helps us understand changes in anatomical structure.
- Studying artifacts in their specific context helps us understand culture and customs, such as burial rites.
- Understanding bipedalism helps us understand how customs and cultures were able to develop (e.g., the use of hands in eating, making gestures, etc.)
After a brief discussion, have students separate back into groups, only this time create new groups consisting of at least one "expert" from each topic area. Have each of these new groups consider the topics' interrelatedness and prepare a poster or multimedia display that shows the ways in which all these areas of study, and their related fields of science, actually comprise the field of paleoanthropology.
Have students discuss the importance of paleoanthropology. Why would someone make this field their life's work? Ask for volunteers to share the two areas of study they find of most interest and summarize the ways in which those two areas depend upon each other.
Student presentations and displays should reflect a consideration of the interconnectedness of topics in the field of paleoanthropology.
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