HUMAN BIOLOGY YEAR 12 ATAR

Name: Lê Thanh Khuê

Evidence for Human

The evidence for evolution is convincing and extensive. By observing all the
organizational levels of life systems, biologists see the characteristics of past and
present evolution. The natural distribution of species of different continents supports
evolution; the species of supercontinents that have split and advanced are distributed all
over the world, while the species that have recently evolved are more localized. These
fossils highlight the differences and similarities between existing and extinct species,
and show the evolution of morphology over time.

2. Introduction:
Paleontologists have restored and studied the fossil remains of thousands of species of
creatures that lived in the past. This fossil record shows that many types of extinct
creatures are very different from living creatures in ways. It also shows the succession
of organisms over time. The fossil provides strong evidence that the creature of the
past is different from the one discovered today; it shows the evolutionary process.
Scientists calculated the ages of fossils and classified them to determine when
organisms lived with each other. The resulting fossil record of tells the story of the past
and shows the evolution of the form over millions of years. Over time, evolution cause
changes in the shape and size of these bones in different species, 4,444 but they
maintained the same general design. Scientists refer to these synonymous parts as
homologous structures.

3. Background information

Fossils that were discovered including when and where the fossils were found

Further evidence for evolution is found in the natural geographic distribution of related
species. One of the crucial pieces of evidence for evolution, the gradual changes left to
us in the form of fossils. A fossil does not have to be part of an organism. Any
preserved trace left by an organism that lived long ago is a fossil. Fossils therefore
include footprints, burrows, faeces or impressions of all or part of animals or plant, as
well as bones, teeth. Fossils are sometimes found by chance at the surface of the
ground where they may have been uncovered by erosion, but more often
the discovery of fossils is the result of slow and painstaking excavation of likely sites.
Surface discoveries such as fossils fragments, or evidence of human occupation such
as found in many caves, are indications of places where excavations may prove
fruitful. Scientist refer to an excavation as a “dig”

One of the major tasks following the excavation of fossils is to determine the age of the
material. This is known as dating. Knowledge of age is crucial in finding out the
sequence of changes that have resulted in present – day humans. The first discoveries
of ancient human fossils. Neanderthals were the first ancient humans to gain scientific
and popular recognition. Their
fossils began to be found in Europe in the 1800s but scientists had no
perspective or evolutionary framework by which to explain them. Decades
passed before they were recognised as being a different and extinct form of
ancient human.

4. The scientific name that was given to the fossils at the time of their discovery

The first discoveries of ancient human fossils. Neanderthals were the first ancient
humans to gain scientific and popular recognition. Their fossils began to be found in
Europe in the 1800s
The significance of the finds at the time, the scientists who made significant
contributions in the early days of the research for human origins, and any
controversy that they raised in the scientific community.

There are some influential figures of scientists who contributed to

The first and arguably the most famous scientist with his evolution theory is Charles
Darwin. He is the one who voiced the idea that humans generated from monkey
species. His theory caused uproar especially among religion uproar as his theory
clashes with their belief.
 2. Thomas Malthus

Another scientist who contributed to evolution is Thomas Malthus. His theory is about
the prediction of human population in the span of twenty five years. He predicted that
the human population will be double or even triple than the current one in that span of
time. He also predicted that the food source is likely turn to be scarce if we cannot
control the human population.

3. Aristotle

Aristotle is not only a famous philosopher but his philosophical view on science also
contributed to the early development of modern science. His theory is about how
organisms are based on some levels and each has its own category. It contributed to
the finding of living being classification as well as food chain

Whatever simple the theory is, the main idea is the one that contributed the most
to the development of modern science. Because of this, Aristotle remains not
only as a great philosopher but also scientist who contributed to evolution.

4. Jean Lamarck

Jean Lamarck is a scientist whose theory is similar to Charles Darwin. His theory
is that organisms adapt to their environment and those adaptations are passed
off to the next generation or offspring.

Therefore, the new generation is the one who is already carry the ability of
adapting that previously only achieved by learning and surviving from their
predecessor.

5. William Ernest Castle

William Ernest Castle came up with theory that evolution does not come without
selection. The selection does not only include external forces but also internal one.
Through small selection of traits, organisms able to create a betterment for their
species and the eliminated trait will not stay on the next offspring.

Instead, only the good traits that contribute to survival will remain and carried to
the next generation of the respective species or organism.

6. Ernst Haeckel

Ernst Haeckel is a German biologist who came up with genealogical tree that shows the
relation of thousands organism. His theory is that all organisms are related to each
other even in the smallest molecule they have. He created a map that shows the
similarity between more than thousands of organisms. His classification helped the
modern biological tree that specify organisms based on its class. Therefore, Ernst
Haeckel has big contribution to the development of science in terms of evolutional
theory.

7. Donald Johnson

Donald Johnson and his friends were the one who discovered the fossil of hominid
Australopithecus. The fossil is arguably the earliest predecessor of Australian origin.
They named the fossil as Lucy. The fossil is approximately 3.2 million years old,
making it one of the best-preserved fossil and show how intelligent Johnson and his
friends in nurturing the fossil as future asset of research.

Comparative studies
As Darwin understood from the beginning, the pattern of biodiversity implies the
mechanism of species diversification. The knowledge that the fossil record also follows
a very very specific pattern reinforces the idea that organism diversified from its
ancestral populations in a very precise way. The fine adaptation of living things to the
environment put forward the theory of natural selection to Darwin and Wallace.
However, today some people have adopted another method for developmental biology:
the mechanical method. As the name suggests, the mechanical method focuses
attention on the "mechanics" of the development, with all the different
physical and chemical contributions (mechanics, molecules, etc.). The mutation
analysis and identification of affected genes (plus analysis of epistasis, etc.) enables
in the field of developmental biology to decipher all the details involved in each
generation of body structure from the beginning of surgery. From a single cell to a
three-dimensional pattern of generations (Davidson, 1987). In addition, in
biology there is a long tradition of using comparative methods to understand the
similarities between animals (or their collection: clade). Physiology, zoology, botany,
paleontology and other fields. People have benefited a lot from regular research. The
method of comparison leads to our understanding of the "generator" of latent patterns,
which is the history of evolution itself.The combination of historical narrative (evolution)
brings us the important concept of homology: shared characters derived from ancestral
forms (Hall, 2001). Subsequently, through the complex interaction of with other
disciplines (such as molecular biology and phylogeny), was incorporated into the
framework of interpretation that we know today, namely evolution developmental biology
(EvoDevo).
References:

•
https://www.khanacademy.org/science/biology/her/evolution-and-natural-
selection/a/lines-of-evidence-for-evolution
• https://biologos.org/common-questions/what-is-the-evidence-for-evolution
• https://azchemistry.com/scientists-who-contributed-to-evolution
• https://www2.palomar.edu/anthro/primate/prim_8.htm