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Chapter 17 The History of Life

Summary
17–1 The Fossil Record
Fossils are preserved traces and remains of ancient life. Most
fossils form in sedimentary rock. Paleontologists study fossils
to learn what past life-forms were like. Data from fossils forms
the fossil record. The fossil record provides evidence about the
history of life on Earth. It also shows how different groups of
organisms have changed over time. The fossil record shows that
more than 99 percent of all of Earth’s species have become extinct,
or died out.
To determine the age of a fossil, paleontologists use relative
dating and radioactive dating.
• Relative dating allows paleontologists to estimate a
fossil’s age compared with that of other fossils. Fossils
in deeper rock layers are assumed to be older than fossils
from rock layers nearer the surface. Index fossils represent
species that lived for a short time over a wide geographic
range. Index fossils can help decide the relative ages of
fossils from different places.
• In radioactive dating, scientists calculate the age of a
sample according to the amount of remaining radioactive
isotopes it contains. Radioactive elements in fossils decay,
or break down, at a steady rate. This rate is called a half-life.
A half-life is the time needed for half of the radioactive atoms
in a sample to decay. A fossil’s age is calculated from the half-
life and the amount of radioactive atoms still in the fossil.
Once the age of a fossil is determined, paleontologists may
want to find out the portion of Earth’s history in which the fossil
formed. To do this, they use the geologic time scale. The geologic
time scale shows evolutionary time. The scale begins with
Precambrian Time. After Precambrian Time, the scale is divided
into three eras: the Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic. Each era
is further divided into smaller lengths of time, called periods.

17–2 Earth’s Early History

Earth is about 4.6 billion years old. At first, Earth was very hot.
Earth’s early atmosphere probably contained hydrogen cyanide,
carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide,
and water. About 3.8 billion years ago, Earth’s surface cooled
enough for water to remain a liquid. Water vapor condensed and
rain soaked the surface, forming oceans.

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In the 1950s, Stanley Miller and Harold Urey did an experiment

to try and learn how life on Earth began. They filled a container with
water and gases from Earth’s early atmosphere. They passed electric
sparks through the mixture to simulate lightning. Soon, organic
compounds formed. The experiment showed that molecules
needed for life could have formed under early Earth conditions.
Sometimes large organic molecules form tiny bubbles called
proteinoid microspheres. Structures similar to these microspheres
may have become the first living cells. RNA and DNA also could
have formed from simple organic molecules.
The first known life-forms evolved about 3.5 billion years ago.
They were unicellular and looked like modern bacteria. Some
were preserved as microscopic fossils, or microfossils. In time,
photosynthetic bacteria evolved. During photosynthesis, the
bacteria gave off oxygen. The rise of oxygen in the atmosphere
drove some life-forms to extinction. Other life-forms evolved
new, more efficient metabolic pathways that used oxygen
for respiration.
The first eukaryotes—organisms with nuclei—evolved about
2 billion years ago. The endosymbiotic theory is one account of
how eukaryotes evolved. This theory suggests that eukaryotic
cells arose from living communities formed by prokaryotic
organisms.
Sexual reproduction was an important step in the evolution of
life. Sexual reproduction increases genetic variation. This process
allows evolution to occur more quickly.

17–3 Evolution of Multicellular Life

A few hundred million years after the evolution of sexual reproduc-
tion, multicellular organisms evolved. These first multicellular
organisms then experienced a large increase in diversity. The events
in the evolution of multicellular organisms are described below.
During Precambrian time, eukaryotes appeared. Some
eukaryotes gave rise to multicellular forms. This life existed
in the oceans. Few fossils exist from the Precambrian because
the animals lacked hard parts.
Fossil evidence shows that early in the Paleozoic Era, there
was a diversity of marine life. Animals with hard parts, such as
trilobites, evolved. During the Devonian period of this era,
vertebrates began to invade the land. Evolution of land plants,
insects, amphibians, and reptiles also occurred. The Paleozoic
ended with a mass extinction. This mass extinction affected both
plants and animals on land and in the seas. As much as 95 percent
of the complex life in the ocean disappeared.

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During the Mesozoic Era, flowering plants appeared and

dinosaurs dominated. Reptiles were so successful that the
Mesozoic is called the Age of Reptiles. The Mesozoic Era also
ended with a mass extinction.
During the Cenozoic Era, mammals evolved adaptations that
allowed them to live in various environments. This era is called
the Age of Mammals. The first humans evolved about 200,000
years ago in Africa. Today, humans live everywhere.

17– 4 Patterns of Evolution

Biologists use the term macroevolution to describe large-scale
evolution that takes place over long periods of time. It is evolution
above the species level. Six important topics in macroevolution
include extinction, adaptive radiation, convergent evolution,
coevolution, punctuated equilibrium, and changes in develop-
mental genes.
• Extinction is the disappearance, or dying out, of a species.
Most extinction occurs when species cannot compete for
resources or adapt to changing environments. By contrast,
mass extinctions may occur from combinations of events,
such as volcanoes erupting and asteroids striking Earth.
• Adaptive radiation is the process in which one species
evolves into diverse species that live in different ways.
Darwin’s finches are an example of adaptive radiation. More
than a dozen species evolved from a single species of finch.
• Convergent evolution is a process in which unrelated
species come to look alike because they have evolved similar
adaptations to similar environments. For example, penguins
and dolphins have similar body shapes. They are both
streamlined to help them swim through the water. However,
penguins are birds and dolphins are mammals.
• Coevolution is the process by which two species evolve in
response to changes in each other. For example, some plants
have evolved poisons to protect themselves from insects. In
response, insects have evolved ways to protect themselves
from the poisons.
• Punctuated equilibrium is a pattern of evolutionary change.
In this pattern, long periods of little or no change are inter-
rupted by short periods of rapid change.The fossil record
sometimes shows punctuated equilibrium.
• Changes in developmental genes may explain some large-
scale evolutionary change. For example, some scientists
believe that small changes in the development of an embryo
can have a large affect on the adult organism.

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