The case was designed to be used in a general biology class for freshman students but clearly has other possible uses such as in an anthropology or paleontology course. I used it in a summer class of Evolutionary Biology during part of a lab session devoted to human evolution. To say that the students enjoyed it would be an understatement.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this case is to learn the major characteristics (physical and cultural) of key human fossils.

CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

This case was designed to be run in two successive class periods. At the end of one class, the case is given out to the students. We did this in small groups of students who had been working together throughout the semester. Their first job was to read the case and decide which bachelor in the script is which of the three hominids, Homo sapiens, Australopithecus africanus, and Homo erectus. In this exercise it is useful to ask the students to first list each bachelor's characteristics described in the script, and then decide which hominid is which. It works well if the instructor uses this time to review any points about evolution that are germane.

As homework, all students must fill out a CONTESTANT APPLICATION FORM (which will be graded) in preparation for the next class. Also, the instructor will assign specific roles to each of the groups.

1. One group will be the Bachelorette Group. They are responsible for writing 10 game show questions that will give the students clues as to each bachelor's identity and "mate potential." They also fill out contestant applications.

2. One group will be the Bachelors Group (3 or 4 in number). Assign a different hominid type to each bachelor. Each bachelor is responsible for filling out a contestant application form matching his hominid type as well as a short one-paragraph introduction for the host, including: occupation, location, hobbies, and main goal or dream. Try to assign hominids which are as different as possible to avoid student confusion; for example, A. afarensis, H. habilis, and H. neanderthalensis. Write the names of assigned hominids on the board. BACHELORS SHOULD NOT REVEAL WHICH HOMINID TYPE THEY ARE REPRESENTING, SINCE STUDENTS WILL BE ASKED TO FIGURE THAT INFORMATION OUT FROM THE SHOW.

3. The other groups will represent the TV Audience. Each group is responsible for filling out the contestant application forms for the hominids written on the board, as well as any additional hominids you assign them. This way each group will have a complete set of hominid profiles to share -- one hominid per student -- for example, in group 1, which has four students, there will be one of each of these types: A. afarensis, A. robustus, H. habilis, and H. neanderthalensis, as shown below for Group 1. The table below shows how this would work for each of the groups:

   Group #1 (4 students) A. afarensis A. robustus H. habilis H. neanderthalensis

   Group #2 (5 students) A. afarensis A. robustus H. habilis H. neanderthalensis AND A. africanus

   Group #3 (5 students) A. afarensis A. robustus H. habilis H. neanderthalensis AND A. boisei

   Group #4 (5 students) A. afarensis A. robustus H. habilis H. neanderthalensis AND H. erectus

   *NOTE: We have adopted the position here of assuming that the Neanderthals are a distinct species rather than a subspecies of H. sapiens. This point should be discussed as the students will surely uncover the problem once they delve into the literature.

   In the second class period, a representative from the bachelorettes' group is selected by that group to be on the "game show." She sits on a stool in the front of the room. The three or four bachelors (perhaps with their notes in hand) also sit on stools in the front of the class. If a screen is handy to separate the bachelors from the bachelorette, use it to give more authenticity to the "show."

   The instructor acts as game show host. A student could play this role, but the chances for ribald behavior escalates significantly if this approach is chosen.

   Students then watch the skit as the host asks for the bachelorette's questions. The "TV audience" all keep notes for the various bachelors on the AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION HANDOUT. The instructor can decide to use questions from the audience as well.

   After the bachelorette has finished questioning the bachelors, all the students, except the bachelors, break up into their home groups to decide which hominid each bachelor represents and whom they would choose as a mate.

   After the audience votes on their favorite bachelor and labels the hominids, the host reveals the bachelorette's choice and gives the true identity of the bachelors. Then the game ends and the instructor can lead a discussion on why the student chose as they did and consider relevant topics of hominid evolution.

   Below is a summary sheet for the hominids most likely chosen.

   Category	A. afarensis	A. africanus	A. boisei	A. robustus
   Origin	N. Ethiopia	S. Africa	Tanzania	E. Africa
   Ht/wt	M: l.5m/45kg, F: 1.1m/29kg	M: 1.4m/41kg F:1.1m/30kg	M: 1.4m/49kg F: 1.2m/34kg	M: 1.3m/40kg F:1.1m/32kg
   Build	gracile	gracile, strong arms	larger boned	larger boned
   Climate/habitat	African savanna	Savanna/some time in trees	Savanna	Savanna
   Time Range	4.0-3.0 million years ago	3.3-2.5 mya	2.3-1.4 mya	1.9-1.0 mya
   Diet	soft fruit, nuts and leaves	soft fruit, nuts and leaves	mainly tough fruit, seeds and nuts, occasional meat	mainly tough fruit, seeds and nuts, opportunistic omnivore
   Use Fire?	NO	NO	NO	NO
   Tool making?	No evidence of stone tools	No evidence of stone tools	No evidence of stone tools	No evidence of stone tools
   Brain Size	around 500 cc	420-500 cc	around 515 cc	500-530 cc
   Communication Skills	?	?	?	?
   Distinguishing characteristics	Had smaller canines than apes. Jaw shape.	Broad built face with large molars	Huge jaws and teeth for chewing	Huge jaws and teeth for chewing
   Category	H. habilis	H. erectus	H. neanderthalensis	H. sapiens (Us)
   Origin	Kenya	China, Europe, Africa	Europe, Asia, Africa	All over
   Ht/wt	less than 5 ft, very light	5-6ft M: 140lb	5'3", 120-140lb	Modern
   Build	light human	same as human	very muscular	modern
   Climate/habitat		African Savanna-Cold Europe	Cold N. Europe-Warmer Israel	All over, esp. warmer regions
   Time Range	2.0-1.6 mya	1.5-200,000	120,000-35,000	100,000-now
   Diet	marrow, scavenging, seasonal vegetation	small game, plants, nuts fruit, some large game. Cooked	Plants, nuts, fruit, big game animals. Cooked	hunting, fishing, wild grains, plants, big game. Cooked
   Use Fire?	?	YES	YES Hearths	YES Hearths
   Tool making?	Simple stone tools	hand axes, scrapers	advanced, little variation	varied material, innovation
   Brain Size	560-700 cc	750-1140 cc	almost 1800 cc	1040-1595 cc
   Communication Skills	?	?	probably, used some ritual	Art, language, ritual, music
   Distinguishing characteristics	First evidence of stone tools	Heavy brows, strong jaws and teeth	Heavy brows, sloping forehead, large nose and lower jaw. Evidence of clothes, burial...	Innovation, math, complex tools with regional differences and dialects. Agriculture, religion, warfare...

   Note that this information will vary depending on what source is used. These are general ranges and assumptions.

   QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

   The questions posed at the bottom of the Audience Participation Handout are useful for a class discussion and may be used for a homework assignment as a follow-up exercise. Brief answers are posted below for questions 3 and 4.

   3. What are some of the trade-offs involved in a bigger brain, bipedalism, increased gestation/longer childhood and a more omnivorous diet?

      Bigger brain: increased gestation and infant care, more difficult child birth, requires more food
      Bipedalism: easier for predators to spot above grass, loss of opposable toe, requires shift in pelvic anatomy
      Increased gestation/longer childhood: Bigger babies are harder to deliver and require more food and care on the part of adults. Off-spring are also spaced further apart, so overall birth rate decreases.
      Omnivorous diet: Cannot specialize anatomy for optimal use of one food type

   4. What are some of the benefits?

      Bigger brain: increased learning capacity, ability to adapt to new situations and problems faster gives the organism an evolutionary advantage in complex, changing environments. Language and thought.
      Bipedalism: Frees hands to carry, increased sight range, more effective when crossing large distances.
      Increased gestation/longer childhood: Stronger mother-child bond, more opportunity to pass down survival skills and knowledge between generations, increased social complexity.
      Omnivorous diet: Greater range in diet allows organisms to take advantage of more opportunities; less likely to die out with the loss of any single food source.

   SELECTED INTERNET SITES

   • Fossil Hominids from the Talk.Origins Archive
     http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/homs/

   • Human Prehistory: An Exhibition
     http://users.hol.gr/~dilos/prehis.htm

   Acknowledgements: This case was developed with the support of the National Science Foundation (NSF Award #9752799).
   

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