Preview

Did A Fall From A Tree Kill Lucy Analysis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
569 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Did A Fall From A Tree Kill Lucy Analysis
Did a Fall From a Tree Kill Lucy, Our Famous Ancestor? Adam Hoffman opens his discussion by describing our first human ancestor, Lucy, who is believed to be alive 3.18 million years ago. According to research, some fractional injuries could point to her falling to her death. Hoffman includes a statement from John Kappelman which states that this is the first autopsy of her cause of death to date. Donald Johanson discovered Lucy in 1974, and claims that Lucy’s bone breakage matches that of other fossil creatures of her time, according to Hoffman. However, she is one of the most complete hominin fossils despite the damages received from the taphonomy. Hoffman points out the conflicting views of her death, considering that she has a dental mark in her pelvis, but nowhere else. Moreover, Hoffman states that a team of specialists were able to utilize CT scans to determine the types of fragments in this skeleton. Kappelman was able to refute that the fragments occurred after her death by …show more content…
Moreover, the material covered is highly specialized and may seem hard to follow for readers without a background in anthropology. There are several concepts, such as the idea of primate ancestry, that everyday people might not comprehend. This article might also receive resistance from those who do not agree with evolution, or even outright denial. I personally enjoy this article and the way the author presents the information. It is helpful for readers to have both sides of the argument, and Hoffman presents this skill when he includes the opposing views of other esteemed researchers. Not only does Hoffman present this information well, but also he ties the information with evidence from reliable sources, which boosts this article and keeps it entertaining. Hoffman is an excellent writer and does a good job stimulating his reader, assuming they have some background in anthropology or general

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Dry Bones

    • 531 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The partially decomposed body unearthed is most likely a young female. The person found was young because even though their phalanges have completely ossified their femur and humerus still showed signs of growing by having epiphyseal cartilage. This person also is young because her humerus contains all red marrow and no yellow marrow. The person is a female because the pelvic angle is greater than 90 degrees. This female also may have been pregnant because of the loose and flexible sacroiliac joint and pubic…

    • 531 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Case Study: Kennewick Man

    • 1077 Words
    • 5 Pages

    On the 28th of July 1996 the bones of an unidentified man were found along the Columbia river in Washington state by two men at an off shore powerboat race, the first pieces of the skull were discovered ten feet from the shore line and reported to the authorities. There was a subsequent search of the area that turned up a nearly complete male skeleton, initial thoughts were that the remains were from a settler possibly one to two hundred years old. Further study by Jim Chatter a forensic investigation and archeologist discovered what…

    • 1077 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    -They found that the DNA results show that the DNA of descendants of Cora did not match the victims which means it wasnt Cora.…

    • 339 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    | A Woman said to have died 3.2 million years ago, whose skeleton was referred to as AL 288-1, scientists and archeologists.…

    • 3704 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Bruce Bowers article, “Fossils hint at India’s crucial role in primate evolution” published in September of 2016, gives the theory of how certain bones excavated from a coal mine in India resemble the first primates from as early as 65 million years ago (). This article states how these bones approximately reveal how a common ancestor would look like and act. Researchers believe that since having the qualities of both superfamilies, Adapoidea and Omomyoidea they left behind a large quantity of different skeletal traits. With the idea that the evolution of primates and their relatives occurred on an isolated island of idea then spread, that gives them the time to evolve and have the specific bone structure and abilities that key them into being…

    • 222 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Instructor: Dr. Joyce Parga; Email: j.parga@utoronto.ca Office hours: Tuesdays & Thursdays 3-4 pm (or by appointment); Office: MW 382 Lecture meeting times and location: Tuesdays 1-3 pm in SW 319 Tutorials (labs): 5 Tuesdays across the semester during your 1-hr tutorial section in MW 329 Tutorial TA: Dejana Nikitovic; Email: dejana.nikitovic@mail.utoronto.ca; Office: MW 343 (Note: Tutorials begin in Week 3 on Tuesday May 21. See Tutorial Schedule at end of syllabus.) Course Description: This course will provide a basic introduction to Evolutionary Anthropology and Archaeology, aimed at students with no background in either field. Prerequisites: None Exclusions: ANT100Y, ANT101H Required Readings: All chapters listed below in the lecture schedule refer to the following course textbook, which is available for purchase from the UTSC bookstore: Lewis, B., Jurmain, R., and Kilgore, L., 2012. Understanding Humans: Introduction to Physical Anthropology and Archaeology, 11th edition. Belmont CA: Wadsworth. You can also purchase the text from the publisher as an e-book. Go to: http://www.nelsonbrain.com/shop/isbn/9781111831776 (On Blackboard, there is a PowerPoint file provided by the publisher about buying the e-book – look under “Course Materials”.) Lecture schedule: Following is a planned list of topics to be covered in lecture; note that topics are subject to change and all topics listed may not be covered, but you are responsible for doing all of the readings. Date 7 May 14 May 21 May Lecture Topic Course Intro /What is Anthropology/Evolution Genetics/Processes of Evolution Non-Human Primates/Primate Behaviour…

    • 1375 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    The aim of this essay is to investigate the two major theories trying to explain why do primates have large brains. Even since the seminar study of Jerison in 1973 it has been acknowledged that primate brains are unusually large for their body size. There are three main groups of theories giving more or less persuasive explanations of the evolution of large brains and high cognitive skills in primates. The first group is a group of social theories, postulating that primate cognition is a result of complex social interactions between individuals, and in this essay this group will be represented by the Social Brain Hypothesis proposed by British anthropologist Robin Dunbar. The second group encompasses the ecological theories that are based on a premise that primate intelligence originated from complex interactions with the environment. A “delegate” from this group in my discussion will be the Visual Specialisation Hypothesis introduced by Robert Barton (1998), who argues that primate encephalisation is connected to frugivorous diet and the need of advanced visual abilities. Finally, the Cultural Intelligence Hypothesis, which is a general name to multiple related views, proposes that large-brained primates possess “general intelligence” due to their great behavioural flexibility. This final theory will be included in the comparison just to offer an alternative view to the two mainly discussed theories above.…

    • 1957 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    I disagree with Yong’s article because he attempts to bring an emotional connection between apes and humans, even though it does not change the fact that apes…

    • 183 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    After a week, the lab report came back with shocking information about the human like bones. The DNA results showed the bones were from a woman, about 35-years of age, and in excellent health. Moreover, not all the DNA was human; there was a 20-percent unknown factor. Nevertheless, report concluded she lived around 100,000 years ago. In addition, the holograph drawing of the skull showed she European looks and would fit into today’s environment. Besides, there were unknown fibers embedded with the fragile…

    • 903 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Since humans and other primates share a variety of characteristics, other primates provide important observations about early humans. Homologies between hominids and other primates enhance to behavior because the physiological and cognitive formations that manage to control human demeanor are likely related to those of other primates than to members of other taxonomic groups. The reality of this broad collection of homologous traits, the commodity of the average evolutionary history of the primates, means that nonhuman primates give beneficial examples for understanding the evolutionary ancestry of hominid morphology and for resolving the basis of human nature.…

    • 607 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Bonobos Analysis

    • 618 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The lecturer asserts that there are several misunderstandings about bonobos and chimpanzees that the former are loving and peaceful and the latter are aggressive animals. This refuts the reading passage's claim that bonobos are gentle and the chimpanzees often act aggressively.…

    • 618 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Anth342

    • 1508 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Vol. 2, No. 1, Biological and Cultural Anthropology at Emory University (Feb., 1987), pp. 137-154…

    • 1508 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the book “Lucy: the beginnings of Humankind” by Donald Johanson the author himself writes his journey of how his friend Tom Gray and himself experienced the most surprising encounter with the oldest fossil of a hominid that they later called Lucy. Donald Johanson and Tom Gray are pale anthropologists and are very well known for their discovery of Lucy. At the beginning of the book the author writes in the first person illustrating how rare it is to find fossils, many who study in this field sometimes have no luck in finding such extraordinary old fossils. Johanson feels “lucky” to have been able to find such fossils that many have been trying to find without any luck. When Johanson and Gray were at a camp in the Afar desert, they went exploring for sediments, fossils, traces that would lead them to a new discovery. They realized that many of the fossils that they were finding on their way had already been found, but luckily before they were about to leave back to the camp Johanson found part of a hominid arm. At first Gray did not wanted to believe Johanson, but then they began to form the puzzle of what it was a hominid.…

    • 1091 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Gene Splicing

    • 1258 Words
    • 6 Pages

    References: Alter, Joseph; The Once and Future “Apeman” Chimeras, Human Evolution, and Disciplinary Coherence. Current Anthropology Vol 48, Num 5 October 2007.…

    • 1258 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Sapir Whorf Hypothesis

    • 1423 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Ember, Carol R., Ember, Melvin, Peregrine, Peter N. (2012). Human Evolution and Culture: Highlights of Anthropology (7th ed.). Pearson.…

    • 1423 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays