HS-LS4-1
Communicate scientific information that common ancestry and biological evolution are supported by multiple lines of empirical evidence.
- Fossils
These may be the oldest fossils on Earth
Some mini mounds in Greenland may just be the earliest evidence of life on Earth, deposited a mere 800,000 years after our planet first formed.
- Archaeology
‘Cousin’ Lucy may have fallen from a tree to her death 3.2 million years ago
A contested study suggests that Lucy, a famous fossil ancestor of humans, fell from a tree to her death.
- Archaeology
The first farmers were two groups, not one
The humans that began farming 10,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent may have been two cultures living side-by-side.
- Genetics
Wolf species shake-up
A genetic study says red wolves and eastern wolves may really be mixtures of coyotes and gray wolves, not distinct species.
- Animals
The turning of wolves into dogs may have occurred twice
The process of turning wolves into dogs, called domestication, may have occurred twice — in the East and the West — ancient DNA suggest.
- Humans
Cave holds earliest signs of fire-making in Europe
Ancient burned bone and heated stones in a Spanish cave are the oldest evidence of ancient fire-making in Europe.
- Archaeology
Hunter-gatherers roamed Florida 14,500 years ago
Tools and bones from a submerged site in Florida show that Stone Age people lived in North America earlier than was once thought.
- Fossils
Baby titanosaur was a mini version of its parents
Fossils show that baby titanosaurs looked like mom and dad. They may have been active and independent from a young age.
- Animals
Pollen can become bee ‘junk food’ as CO2 rises
Increasing levels of the greenhouse gas are changing diminishing the food value of pollen, bees’ only source of protein.
- Fossils
How to tell if a T. rex is expecting
A chemical test of tyrannosaur bone can determine whether the dino was pregnant — and therefore a female.
- Genetics
Pacific islanders got a double dose of Stone Age DNA
Unlike other people, certain Pacific Islanders inherited DNA from two ancient human ‘cousins.’
- Humans
Slicing meat may have aided human evolution
An experiment with modern-day humans shows how slicing meat could have saved human ancestors energy — and let their bodies and brains get bigger.
