Humans

This lesson will take an in-depth look at Human Genetics and the process of studying genetics and the occurrence of traits. This lesson will look at an example of generations and how traits are passed.

Paleolithic period or Old Stone Age, the earliest period of human development and the longest phase of mankind's history. It is approximately coextensive with the Pleistocene geologic epoch, beginning about 2 million years ago and ending in various places between 40,000 and 10,000 years ago, when it was succeeded by the Mesolithic period. By far the most outstanding feature of the Paleolithic period was the evolution of the human species from an apelike creature, or near human, to true Homo sapiens (see human evolution). This development was exceedingly slow and continued through the three successive divisions of the period, the Lower, Middle, and Upper Paleolithic. The most abundant remains of Paleolithic cultures are a variety of stone tools whose distinct characteristics provide the basis for a system of classification containing several toolmaking traditions or industries.

About six million years ago in Africa, the chimpanzee lineage and our own split. What happened to us after that split? The hominid lineage did not march in a straight line to Homo sapiens. Instead, the early hominid lineage gave rise to many other (now extinct) hominids. Examining the fossils, the artifacts, and even the DNA of these relatives has helped us understand how this complex hominid tree evolved, and how modern humans came to exist.

An arthropod is an invertebrate animal having an exoskeleton, a segmented body, and jointed appendages. Arthropods are members of the phylum Arthropoda, and include the insects, arachnids, and crustaceans.