Palentology
What do paleontologists do in the course of the day?
Paleontologists study fossils. Fossils are the naturally occurring objects that tell people about
ancient life. Do paleontologists spend their day in the offices or the fields collecting fossils?
Collection of fossils is done mostly from other areas in which fossils were found. However, the
paleontologists are likely to spend their time at the offices. Do paleontologists spend their day
studying the fossils and researching? If there are no other fossils that remain in the museums, does
that mean paleontologists do not have work to do? The available fossils might have been studied
extensively by other people. Other people might have related the available fossils to a particular
species by observing their physical features.
Sources:
https://www.amnh.org/explore/ology/paleontology#:~:text=Paleontology%20is%20the%20study
%20of,planet%20was%20like%20long%20ago.
REPLIES
Is homo sapiens a descendant of homo erectus? If that’s the case, when did Homo Erectus become
extinct?
I think the homo Sapiens is a descendant of Homo Erectus. The Homo Erectus was the first of our
relatives to have human-like body proportions. It had longer legs and shorter arms. Homo sapiens
is a descendant of the homo erectus due to the similarities. The homo erectus was geographically
widespread just like the homo sapiens. It migrated to various continents. It can be argued that the
homo sapiens is a descendant of the homo erectus due to the diet. The homo sapiens used to eat
meat, just like the homo erectus. There have been similarities in the skulls that have been
discovered by the paleontologists. There have also been similarities in the body sizes. The homo
sapiens might have developed a larger brain and became more intelligent due to diet. The homo
erectus had a smaller brain and was less intelligent. However, it was still the ancestor of homo
sapiens.
Sources:
https://www.livescience.com/41048-facts-about-homo-
erectus.html#:~:text=Compared%20with%20modern%20Homo%20sapiens,%2C%22%20had%
20a%20long%20reign.&text=erectus%20had%20a%20similar%20range,those%20seen%20in%2
0modern%20humans.
Why do you think modern humans developed the key physical features that they have today? What
purpose do they serve?
I think humans developed specific physical features to survive the environment. They also
developed the features because of their diet. I strongly believe that humans were able to develop
certain features after eating specific foods for a long time. The foods might have affected their
physical appearance and the size of brains. Humans also developed certain features to survive in
the environment. For example, they had to use their hands to do various activities and make tools.
They could run faster by using their hands. Humans could also think better and develop various
solutions to the problems they were facing because of the larger brains. They might have developed
smaller teeth because of the availability of soft foods that would be easy to chew.
Sources: https://australian.museum/learn/science/human-evolution/how-have-we-changed-sinceour-species-first-appeared/
…
