LAPU - LAPU CITY COLLEGE

SOCIAL STUDIES 3A

SSESS

SELF - INSTRUCTIONAL
MODULE FOR
SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
LEARNERS

UNDERSTANDING CULTURE ,
SOCIETY AND POLITICS
Code: UCSP11/12HBS - ɪe - 12

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 LESSON: HUMAN EVOLUTION

INTRODUCTION
Have you ever been confused about yourself? Or have you ever had the
experience of asking what our origin really is? Greetings everyone and welcome
to the world of discovery to uncover extraordinary stories of our species’ origins
and evolution. Module on Human Evolution! This module was designed to
provide meaningful opportunities in learning and serve as guide to trace the
footsteps of our ancestors and revealing the mysteries of our past. Various
approaches and strategies are employed in this module that will definitely assist
the learners.

LEARNING OBJECTIVE

At the end of this module the learners are able to learn:

1. Conscious about the key concepts and theories of Human Evolution

2. Track the main stages and process of human development from ancient
times to modern times.

3. Recognize human activities and abilities to respond to the challenge of the

times.

4. Share your knowledge about our origin and the importance of learning
human evolution

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 Activity 1: Complete The Lines
Instruction : Find the missing letters in each number to complete the words
being ask in each number. Analyze carefully the pictures because it serves as
your clue in finding those missing letters. Answer the process questions in the
space provided.

Picture Words
1.

A ST L OP TH C S

2.

H OM H I IS

3.
H O N N ER H LE S S

4.

OM E C S

PROCESS QUESTION:
1. What can you say about the pictures? Is there any differences among
them?

2. Do you believe that early humans look like these? Why?

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 Activity 2: Find My Match

Instruction: Match the given definition in column A with their right answer in
column B.

COLUMN A COLUMN B

1. Commonly called the Ice Age or

Great Ice Age, it was a geological A. Fossils
period that began about 2.6 million
years ago and ended about 11,000 B. Artifacts
years ago.
C. Archaeologist
3. known for his theory of evolution
by natural selection. D. Homo Habilis

3. The biological family that includes E. Homo

humans and their extinct relatives.
F. Pleistocene
4. The scientific name for modern
humans. G. Charles Darwin

5. An early stone tool associated H. Hominid

with Homo habilis.
I. Homo Sapiens
6. Preserved traces of species
J. Oldowan
7. Objects that were made and used
by humans

8. Studies the past by excavating

9. handy man

10. Is used to determine the species

of human beings.

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 LET’S TRY TO FIND OUT

It is important to trace back how modern human evolve. Fossils like skeletons,
skulls and bone fragments are the primary evidence used by paleontologist to
identify certain geological periods, understand geological changes and show
evolution process on earth. The transformation of early humans from nomadic
to having a settled life is very interesting to revisit. If we know how people
lived during ancient times we will be more appreciative of what we are
experiencing nowadays. Studying evolution is significant because it teach us
the lesson of the past and guide us in studying our future.

The Father of Evolution

The evolution theory states that all forms of life started from simple forms and
transformed to complex ones. It refers to the physical transformation of
modern humans from Hominids into the thinking modern humans or Homo
sapiens. Hominids are primate of a family ( Hominidae ) that includes
humans and their fossil ancestors and also (in recent systems) at least some
of the great apes. Homo sapiens means 'wise human'. Homo is the Latin
word for 'human' or 'man' and sapiens is derived from a Latin word that means
'wise' or 'astute'

The theory of evolution was introduced by

biologist and naturalist Charles Darwin who
is the “Father of Evolution”.

Figure 1: Evolution of Human

Principles of Natural Selection

Natural Selection explains how species

evolved and how they adapt to their
environment. The components of the evolutionary mechanism of natural
selection are as follows:

1. Variations - every species are made up of variety of individuals with some

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 better adapted to their environment compared to the others.
2. Inheritance - organisms produce offspring with different sets of traits that
can be inherited.

3. Survival of the fittest - organisms that have trait most suitable to their
environment will survive and these variations are passed to their offspring in
subsequent generation.

Natural selection is a process in

nature through which organism
adapt and change in response
to an environmental condition

Cultural evolution refers to changes or development in culture from a

simple form to a more complex form of human culture.

The Prehistoric Man

Australopithecines Homo Habilis Homo Erectus Homo Sapiens

- Bipedal - handy man - prominent brow - large brain size

- brain was 1/3 size of - lived in shelters
- first maker of ridges, retreating
modern human - food gatherers
stone tools forehead -ate plants and fruits
- Lucy is part of this group. - angle rear skull
- increased cranial -made more
300 individual fragments
capacity - a larger brain sophisticated and
were found in Tanzania
- smaller molar and smoothed tools
premolar teeth - first to developed
- human like foot and used oral
languages
slightly larger brain -flattened cranial
base

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 'Lucy'
On November 24, 1974, fossils of one of the oldest known human ancestors,
an Australopithecus afarensis specimen nicknamed “Lucy,” were discovered
in Hadar, Ethiopia.

On November 24, 1974, fossils of one of the oldest

known human ancestors, an Australopithecus
afarensis specimen nicknamed “Lucy,” were
discovered in Hadar, Ethiopia.

The team that excavated her remains, led by

American paleoanthropologist Donald Johanson and
French geologist Maurice Taieb, nicknamed the
skeleton “Lucy” after the Beatles song “Lucy in the
Sky with Diamonds,” which was played at the
celebration the day she was found. Lucy, about 3.2
million years old, stood only a meter (3.5 feet) tall.
She had powerful arms and long, curved toes that paleontologists think
allowed her to climb trees as well as walk upright.

Biological Species / Human Evolution

Neanderthals, are an extinct species or subspecies of
archaic humans who lived in Eurasia until about 40,000
d years ago. The type specimen, Neanderthal 1, was found
in 1856 in the Neander Valley in present-day Germany.

Homo habilis is an extinct species of archaic human from the Early

Pleistocene of East and South Africa about 2.8 million years ago
to 1.65 million years ago.

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 Homo erectus is an extinct species of archaic human from
the Pleistocene, with its earliest occurrence about 2 million
years ago. Its specimens are among the first recognizable
members of the genus Homo.

Humans or modern humans are the most common and

widespread species of primate, and the last surviving
species of the genus Homo. They are great apes
characterized by their hairlessness, bipedalism, and high
intelligence

Despite the bits of genetic ancestry they contributed to living people, all of our
close relatives eventually died out, leaving Homo sapiens as the only human
species. Their extinctions add one more intriguing, perhaps unanswerable
question to the story of our evolution—why were we the only humans to
survive?

Activity 3: Let’s Apply

Instruction: Write the evolution of Hominids inside the concept map

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 Hominids
evolution

use tools, and the capacity for language -- developed more recently.

Many advanced traits -- including complex symbolic

expression, art, and elaborate cultural diversity -- emerged

mainly during the past 100,000 years.

Humans are primates. Physical and genetic similarities show

that the modern human species, Homo sapiens, has a very

close relationship to another group of primate species, the

apes. Humans and the great apes (large apes) of Africa --

chimpanzees (including bonobos, or so-called “pygmy

chimpanzees”) and gorillas -- share a common ancestor that

lived between 8 and 6 million years ago. Humans first evolved

in Africa, and much of human evolution occurred on that

continent. The fossils of early humans who lived between 6

and 2 million years ago come entirely from Africa.

Most scientists currently recognize some 15 to 20 different

species of early humans. Scientists do not all agree, however,

about how these species are related or which ones simply died

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out. Many early human species -- certainly the majority of them

– left no living descendants. Scientists also debate over how

to identify and classify particular species of early humans, and

about what factors influenced the ev

Activity 4: Classify It

Instruction : Give each of the following their characteristics.

Homo Habilis Homo Sapiens

Homo Erectus

extinction of each species.

Early humans first migrated out of Africa into Asia probably

between 2 million and 1.8 million years ago. They entered

Europe somewhat later, between 1.5 million and 1 million

years. Species of modern humans populated many parts of the

world much later. For instance, people first came to Australia

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probably within the past 60,000 years and to the Americas

within the past 30,000 years or so. The beginnings of

agriculture and the rise of the first civilizations occurred

within the past 12,000 years.

Guide Question
1. What is the significant in studying human evolution?

2. Why is it important to know our origin?

3. How does it affect you, knowing that we started from apelike ?

Activity 5: Modified True or False

Instruction: Decide if each statement is true or false. If it is false, write the

correct information to make it true in the space provided

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1. Survival of the fittest is a diverse
set of traits can be inherited by
offspring produced by organism
2. Neanderthals had larger front
teeth, particularly by their incisors,
compared to anatomically modern
as Homo habilis and Homo erectus
were adapted to foods that were
mostly leather, wood fibers, and
sometimes meat.
8. Cranial considered as the most

humans. important feature of ancient people

3. Homo sapiens is a first maker of is that they walked straight on two
stone tools. legs.

4. Australopithecus consist of a
small molar and premolar teeth. 9. The Tabon people are believed to
have lived during the Late
5. Australopithecus are considered Pleistocene period, approximately
to be ancestral to the genus Homo, 47,000 to 20,000 years ago.
which includes modern humans.

6. Homo Erectus are considered as 10. Charles Darwin, a British

the larger front teeth would have naturalist, developed the theory of
been useful for gripping and tearing biological evolution through natural
food. selection.

7. The teeth of early humans such

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POST TEST
Instruction: Write the letter of the correct answer

1. What are the possible discovery of Homo Luzonensis

characteristics of Homo Habilis? fossils in the Philippines?
A. Handy man A. It confirms the theory of human
B. First maker of stone tools evolution from Homo Habilis to
C. Small molar and premolar teeth Homo sapiens
D. All of the above B. It challenges previous
assumptions about human migration
2. What group of animals do and diversity in South Asia
hominids belong to? C. It proves that Homo luzonensis
A. Primates was the dominant human species in
B. Carnivores the region
C. Rodents D. It suggests that Homo luzonensis
D. Reptiles coexisted with Homo
neanderthalensis in the area
3. Who is a British naturalist,
developed the theory of biological 5. Approximately how old are the
evolution through natural selection? remains of Tabon Man?
A. Charles Darwin A. 10,000 years old
B. Isaac Newton B. 25,000 years old
C. Albert Einstein C. 47,000 years old
D. Marie Curie D. 60,000 years old

.
.4. What is the significance of the 6. The teeth of early humans such

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as ______ and _____ were adapted 9. What hominids that serve as the
to foods that were mostly leather, only surviving species of the genus
wood fibers, and sometimes meat. Homo

A. Homo Habilis and Homo Erectus A. Australopithecus

B. Homo sapiens and Homo Habilis. B. Homo erectus
C. Homo neanderthalensis and C. Homo habilis
homo Erectus D. Homo sapiens
D. Australopithecus and neanderthal
10. They were particularly known as
7. A diverse set of traits can be skilled hunters and toolmakers,
inherited by offspring produced by using stone tools like hand axes and
organisms. cleavers.

A. Survival of the fittest A. Homo Habilis

B. Inheritance B. Homo Erectus
C. Variations C. Homo Luzonensis
D. Species D. Homo Sapiens

C. Bipedal
D. Hominids

8. The most important feature ancient

people is that they walked straight
on two legs
A. Teeth
B. Cranial
C. Bipedal
D. Hominids
GLOSSARY TERMS

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Fossils - are the preserved remains Human evolution - is the lengthy
of plants and animals whose bodies process of change by which people
were buried in sediments, such as originated from apelike ancestors.
sand and mud, under ancient seas,
lakes and rivers. Fossils also include
any preserved trace of life that is
typically more than 10 000 years old.

Fragment - a small piece or a part,

especially when broken from Hominids - is a member of the family
something whole Hominidae, the great apes:
orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees
and humans. A hominine is a member
of the subfamily Homininae: gorillas,
chimpanzees, and humans (excludes
orangutans). A hominin is a member
of the tribe Hominini: chimpanzees
and humans.

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