San Diego Museum of Man Field Trip
Use this sheet to record your answers as you view the exhibit. Look for the titles (in italics) on exhibit signage to locate the answers to some questions. Other questions will require that you consider your personal thoughts about a particular issue. If an exhibit is under repair, you can still get the information needed to answer the questions from the signage.
This assignment is worth up to 50 points. You may visit the exhibit with other students; however, all writing must be in your own words. (That is, if you visit the museum with a classmate, you must still each write your own answers in your own words.)
Please write carefully and legibly; if I can't read your writing, I can't give you credit for the question. You must turn in a handwritten copy of this assignment, even if you choose to rewrite it on the computer (turn in both copies). Please attach your ticket if you do not go with the class on the specified field trip date.
Each question is worth one point, unless otherwise specified. Explain your answers fully. I hope you enjoy the exhibits!
In the Hominid Hall
1.Bipedalism
How do scientists determine if a primate species walked upright, based on evidence from bones?
2.How Do We Compare To Early Hominids?
Name 7 ways modern humans differ from early hominids.
3. Australopithecus afarensis ("Lucy")
What are the defining features of this hominid? Which features are more ape-like and which are more human-like?
4. New Fossil Find
What does the discovery and classification of Kenyanthropusplatyops mean for the fossil record?
5. Fossil Dating Techniques
Explain in your own words the two dating techniques of Stratigraphy and Potassium Argon Dating (K/AR).
6. DNA and GENES
What is DNA?
7. What are two ways genetic variation enters into the DNA code, according to the signage?
8. All living things contain the same recipe (DNA code) made up of the same four letters. What are the implications of this fact?
9. Homo sapiens
Where did modern humans evolve?
10. When did modern humans evolve (that is, when do we have evidence for the first Homo sapiens)?
11. Laetoli Footprints
How old are the Laetoli footprints and of what do they show evidence?
12. Homo neanderthalensis
Read about Neandertal bodies and describe how they were adapted to the climate at the time.
13.Homo ergaster
During what time period did Homo ergaster evolve? To where did this species migrate?
In the Race Exhibit
14.We Are All African
What is genetic variation?
15. What does it mean that there is the most genetic variation among the peoples of Africa (more than Asians or Europeans)?
16. What is the connection between malariaand sickle-cell disease?
17. Why is Vitamin D important? What is the link between Vitamin D and skin color?
18. Why is folate important? What is the link between folate and skin color?
Personal Responses - RACE Exhibit
Answer the following questions in full sentences. There is no wrong answer, only a poorly stated one:
19.Do you remember learning about race when you were a child? Do you have a memory of the first time you understood that people thought that people were different based on skin color or other characteristics?
20. Prior to taking this course, did you believe that race was biological? That is, did you think the people's skin color identified some essential difference among people in their DNA?
21. What does the phrase "We Are All African" used in the Race exhibit mean? Does this make sense to you?
22. If human beings from all over the world continue to reproduce, what do you assume the human species will look like in 500-1,000 years?
Personal Response
23. What was your experience like viewing these exhibits?
24. Explore another exhibit in the museum (i.e., Kumeyaay, Maya, Beerology). Choose two items that you find interesting. Tell what the item is (provide the name as it is given on the museum signage), what community of people made or used it, how they made or used it, and what you find interesting about it.