Pt1420 Unit 3 Case Study

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1. Scientists assumed that the missing link would be connected to a large brained ape that walked on all four legs because it was thought that this would have been a more intelligent primate and would be closer to humans than any other species discovered prior. Intelligence is what separates humans from the apes so it was thought that the development of a species with a larger brain that walked on all fours would be a closer ancestor to humans considering those shared characteristics. 2. Scientists have a couple of methods that they use in order to determine how long ago a creature lived based on the ancient fossils that are found. There is ash that is usually found under the fossil than can be tested. This ash will give off a gas when exposed to heat and the gas that it lets off can…show more content…
The bones that were found that belonged to Lucy were what led Don Johanson and his fellow researchers to believe that she may have walked bipedally. The hip was humanlike and the knee also signified that this primate may have walked on two legs. According to their analysis of the bones anatomically it was possible that this animal could stand upright. 4. Lucy also has traits that were very ape like for example she had a receding forehead, v shaped jaw, and a rather prominent face. She was about the size of a regular chimpanzee and not considered anatomically different than a modern chimp. The skull was small brained like other apes that could potentially walk upright. 5. A social system that was believed for Lucy and the rest of the Australopithecines would be that the males especially the larger ones were the leaders with many female partners. It was believed that these primates had similar social structure to that of the modern chimp, meaning they would climb trees for food. It was also believed that these animals would eat a lot of fruit and leaves rather than a lot of meat. They were also believed to use ‘tools’ in order to open nuts and other things to obtain

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