Fossil Hominids: Lucy (AL 288-1)

Discovered by Donald Johanson and Tom Gray in 1974 at Hadar in Ethiopia (Johanson and Edey 1981; Johanson and Taieb 1976). Its age is about 3.2 million years. Lucy was an adult female of about 25 years and was assigned to the species Australopithecus afarensis. About 40% of her skeleton was found, and her pelvis, femur (the upper leg bone) and tibia show her to have been bipedal, although there is evidence that afarensis was also partly arboreal (tree-dwelling). She was about 107 cm (3'6") tall (small for her species) and about 28 kg (62 lbs) in weight. The humerofemoral ratio, or length of humerus divided by length of femur, is 84.6 for Lucy, compared to 71.8 for humans, and 97.8 and 101.6 for the two species of chimpanzee (all these figures have a standard deviation of between 2.0 and 3.0). In other words, humans have much shorter arms compared to their legs than chimpanzees do, and Lucy falls roughly in the middle. (Korey 1990)

The First Humans: Cro-Magnon Man

Biologically modern human beings (species Homo sapiens) first appear about 120,000 years ago. Cro-magnon man, with prominent chin, a sharply rising forehead, and a gracile skeleton existed some 40,000-10,000 years ago. Remains were first found in France in 1868 and then throughout other parts of Europe. Cro-Magnon man was anatomically identical to modern humans and differed significantly from Neanderthal man, who disappeared in the fossil record shortly after Cro-Magnon's appearance. They were skilled hunters, toolmakers and artists. Their upper Paleolithic culture produced a markedly more sophisticated tool kit, using a wider variety of raw materials such as bone and antler, and containing new implements for making clothing, engraving, and sculpting. They produced fine artwork, in the form of decorated tools, beads, ivory carvings of humans and animals, shell jewelry, clay figurines, musical instruments, and polychrome cave paintings of exceptional vitality.

Thomson's nose rule

rule stating that the average nose tends to be longer in areas with lower mean annual temperatures; based on the geographic distribution of nose length among human populations.

Allen's Rule
rule stating that the relative size of protruding body parts (such as ears, tails, bills, fingers, toes, and limbs) tends to increase in warmer climates.

Bergmann's Rule
rule stating that the smaller of two bodies similar in shape has more surface area per unit of weight and therefore can dissipate heat more efficiently; hence, larger bodies tend to be found in colder areas and smaller bodies in warmer ones.
What Is Lactose Intolerance and What Causes It? Lactose intolerance is the inability to digest a sugar called lactose that is found in milk and dairy products.

Normally when a person eats something containing lactose, an enzyme in the small intestine called lactase breaks down lactose into simpler sugar forms called glucose and galactose. These simple sugars are then easily absorbed into the bloodstream and turned into energy fuel for our bodies. People with lactose intolerance do not produce enough of the lactase enzyme to break down lactose. Instead, undigested lactose sits in the gut, causing gas, bloating, and stomach cramps. When the intestine cannot absorb the lactose-containing foods, it can lead to diarrhea. Lactose intolerance is fairly common. It seems to affect guys and girls equally. Some ethnic groups are more likely to be affected than others because their diets traditionally include fewer dairy products: Almost all Asians and Native Americans are lactose intolerant, and up to 80% of African Americans and Hispanic Americans also have symptoms of lactose intolerance. Their ancestors did not eat dairy foods, so their bodies were not prepared to digest dairy, and they passed these genes on from generation to generation.

Ethnic Group Percent Intolerant African Blacks 95% Indians 90% Asians 90% North American Blacks 75% Mexican Americans 75% Mediterraneans 60% North American Whites 15%

The four elements of Natural Selection are; 1. all populations have genetic variation. 2. the environment presents challenges to successful reproduction. 3. individuals that are better able to cope with the challenges presented by their environment tend to leave more offspring than those individuals less suited to the environment. 4. individuals tend to produce more offspring than the environment can support. From those observations, two inferences can be made; 1. Individuals with inherited characteristics that increase their probability of survival and reproduction will have more offspring. 2. Favourable traits accumulate in the population as individuals have an unequal ability to reproduce.