Year 10 Science · Unit 1 · Lesson 18
Foundation Worksheet
Learning Goals
Order the steps
Number the hominin species/events from 1 to 7 to show the correct chronological order. Event 1 = what appeared first.
| Order | Hominin species / event |
|---|---|
| Homo sapiens appears in Africa (~300,000 years ago); modern humans spread globally | |
| Australopithecus afarensis ("Lucy"), upright-walking hominin in Africa (~3.2 million years ago) | |
| Homo neanderthalensis coexists with early Homo sapiens and interbreeds (~40,000–400,000 years ago) | |
| Shared ancestor of humans and great apes, last common ancestor with chimpanzees (~6–7 million years ago) | |
| Homo habilis, an early tool-associated hominin (~2.4–1.4 million years ago) | |
| Mungo Man/Woman buried at Lake Mungo, NSW (~40,000–42,000 years ago), providing important evidence of Aboriginal Australian history and cultural practices | |
| Homo erectus, an early hominin associated with fire use and dispersal out of Africa (~1.9 million–110,000 years ago) |
Fill the gap
Choose the correct word from the word bank to complete each sentence.
Humans and other great apes shared a common ancestor approximately 6–7 million years ago. The group that includes humans and our close fossil relatives is called . A well-known upright-walking hominin is , represented by the fossil "Lucy" discovered in Ethiopia. Upright walking on two legs, called , is a key adaptation in human evolution. Homo habilis is an early tool-associated hominin, showing early . Scientists have extracted from fossils, revealing that modern non-African humans carry 1–2% Neanderthal DNA from ancient interbreeding. The hypothesis that originated in Africa and spread globally is called the hypothesis.
1. What does the fossil discovery at Lake Mungo, NSW tell us about the evolutionary history of Aboriginal Australians?
2. Why is it more accurate to describe human evolution as a "bush" rather than a "ladder"?
Wrap Up
In one sentence, what was the main idea of this lesson?