The next time you are in the kitchen, try this experiment: pick up a box of butter (four sticks) in one hand and a box of saltines (four packets) in the other. Which is heavier? If you said the butter, you are not alone. Most people would identify the box of butter as the heavier object even though, if you look at the labels, you'll see that they both weigh exactly one pound! This is an example of the size-weight illusion, and it is incredibly common. Read more to see the evolution (and baseball) connection ...

Becoming Human is a fast-paced, irreverent introduction to evolutionary theory, especially human origins. The book is based on the Open2Study MOOC, 'Becoming Human,' created by Dr. Greg Downey and Open Universities Australia. The book discusses traces of evolution in our bodies, basic evolutionary theory from Darwin to the genomic revolution, sexual selection and reproduction, and how human brain development affects our evolution, including into the future. Copiously illustrated, with some interactive diagrams, videos of Dr. Downey presenting the material are also available through Open2Study.

This 5-minute video lesson introduces this short series on human preshistory. [Biology playlist: Lesson 63 of 71].

In this video segment adapted from NOVA: Becoming Human, learn how the analysis of rock layers and ocean sediments supports the theory that rapid climate change may have jump-started human evolution two million years ago.

This lab activity is a paper fossil dig where students discover skeletal characteristics of humans, primates and hominids and are asked to make a short oral presentation to the class.

Dr. Stephen O'Brien of the National Cancer Institute discovers a 700-year-old mutation that makes a person resistant to HIV infection. From Evolution: "Evolutionary Arms Race."

This video from Evolution explores the evolution of humans from a common ancestor of humans, chimpanzees, and other apes.

In this video from Evolution, an exploration of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis in the Russian prison system highlights one reason it is important to understand evolution.

This Evolution video segment depicts the landmark hominid fossil finds by Don Johanson and his team in Ethiopia.

This video segment adapted from NOVA shows how scientists use the fossil record to trace when early human ancestors and related species began walking on two legs instead of four, and to determine whether they were more apelike or human in appearance.

In this video profile adapted from NOVA scienceNOW, learn about geneticist and rock musician Pardis Sabeti, whose innovative insights into natural selection demonstrated how beneficial mutations spread quickly through a population.

This video segment, adapted from NOVA, explores reasons why Homo sapiens had an advantage over Neanderthals in the pursuit of territory and natural resources.

In this video segment adapted from NOVA: Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial, learn how modern genetics and molecular biology offer compelling support for evolution. The video features an interview with biologist Ken Miller.

Introduction to Paleoanthropology covers the various species and subspecies that gave rise to human beings. Paleoanthropology is a subdiscipline of physical anthropology that focuses on the fossil record of humans and non-human primates.

This Evolution video segment describes how the famous track fossils known as the Laetoli footprints might have been formed and what they can reveal about the creatures who left them.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Neandertals may be long gone, but their genetic legacy lives on in modern humans. If you are of non-African descent, approximately 2% of your genome is composed of Neandertal DNA – a consequence of interbreeding between these hominids and early humans more than 50,000 years ago. Despite the extensive amount of time passed, this event appears to have a lasting effect. Recent work has revealed that Neandertal DNA influences modern human traits such as skin pigmentation and strengthened immunity, but the precise consequences of this interbreeding are still being worked out. Now, scientists at the Max Planck Institute in Germany have found evidence that Neandertal DNA modifies the expression of certain genes and may even be associated with some genetic diseases. Scanning the genomes of hundreds of people living today, the researchers were able to precisely identify and locate Neandertal DNA fragments in modern humans..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

In this biology activity, students will first brainstorm how humans use their hands. They will then conduct a short experiment to determine the importance of the opposable thumb to humans and how it is an important adaptation.

Textbook for ANTH 101: Introduction to Physical Anthropology at College of the Canyons
Examines the evolution of the human species and non-human primates primarily from the biological perspective. Topics include human heredity and population genetics, primate behavior and conservation, the human fossil record, and modern human variation.

Anthropologists attempt to answer the question of what it means to be human. In a sense, we all –do” anthropology because it is rooted in a universal human characteristic, curiosity. We are curious about ourselves and other people_ including the living and the dead. This course provides an introduction to the anthropological approach to the study of humans. It is a survey course that introduces anthropology as a four-field discipline, encompassing biological anthropology, archaeology, linguistics, and cultural anthropology. Aspiring to a holistic understanding of what it means to be human, anthropology is at the intersection of the humanities and the sciences, the most scientific of the humanities and the most humanistic of the sciences.The course begins with a basis in evolutionary theory and human variation. With this foundation, we will explore primate behavior and the fossil record to develop a better understanding of human evolution. We will discuss the archaeological record of early civilizations, the origins and use of language, and the concept of culture in the development of human societies, both extinct and extant. This class will also highlight the epistemological development of the field of anthropology and how religion, culture, and the scientific process pertains to the discipline of anthropology.