Introducing Ardi

Recently, scientists announced a series of findings related to what paleoarchaeologists believe is a hominid ancestor who lived 4.4 million years ago in what is now Ethiopia.

Ardipithecus ramidus, affectionately nicknamed Ardi, was unearthed over the course of several years in the mid-'90s in an area known as Middle Awash, where scientists located more than 125 bone fragments from the same female skeleton.

Since then, scientists from around the world have been studying various aspects of what these bone fragments and other fossils suggest about this ancient hominid and the area where she lived in an effort to create a more detailed picture of the past.

In the October 2, 2009, issue of Science, more than 40 of these scientists from across a broad range of disciplines came together to release 11 research articles that give us that fuller picture. In it, we learn, among other things, that this creature walked upright, but had an opposable big toe that allowed it to climb trees and walk along their boughs; that Ardi did not have the knuckle-walking abilities of today's chimpanzees or gorillas, meaning that its hands were flexible; and that it lived in an area of forestland, not in the savannah, as had previously been hypothesized.

These are exciting revelations about the evolution of human beings and their ancestors. Science NetLinks is proud to offer the following resources to give students the chance to learn more about Ardi, paleontology, evolution, and prehistoric theories.

 

Science NetLinks Resources

Resources from Science magazine
Lessons    Tools    Science Updates
Other Resources   

Resources from Science

Ardipithecus ramidus
Grade Band: 9-12
Description: Science offers a collection of articles on the significance of Ardipithecus ramidus. Free registration is required to view some of the materials. The topics covered range from how the habitat of Ethiopia has changed to the evolution of upright walking to tie-ins to Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, published 150 years ago. Other links take the reader to the transcript of an online chat, video of the press conference announcing the findings, and background on the authors of the papers.

The Analysis of Ardipithecus ramidus—One of the Earliest Known Hominids

Grade Band: 9-12
Description: This Science video provides background information on Ardipithecus ramidus, including the work related to the dig in Middle Awash, why it took so long for these studies to come out after the initial discoveries were made, and what significance these findings have for creating a more complete picture of the human family tree. The video includes interviews from several experts (including the project's co-director) as well as some interesting graphics.

Science Magazine Podcast

Grade Band: 9-12
Description: This excerpt from the Science podcast offers various perspectives on the significance of the Ardi discovery and what hypotheses can be drawn from the evidence.

Lessons

Dinosaurs 1: Where Are the Dinosaurs?

Grade Band: K-2
Description: This lesson taps into student curiosity about dinosaurs in order to lead them to consider life forms that no longer exist.

Dinosaurs 2: What Were Dinosaurs Like?

Grade Band: K-2
Description: This lesson focuses on how dinosaurs were something like others (animals) that are alive today. The activities and discussions of this lesson revolve around comparing and contrasting dinosaurs to animals with which students are familiar.

Fossils 1: Fossils and Dinosaurs
Grade Band: 3-5
Description: Students will understand what can be learned from fossils and in doing so, realize the difference between fact and theory (idea). They will also gain a general understanding of how fossils are formed.

Fossils 2: Uncovering the Facts

Grade Band: 3-5
Description: In this lesson, students will learn to recognize the kind of information that can be accumulated by studying dinosaur fossils, as well as understand that some fossil facts are made based on comparisons with living organisms.

The Rise and Fall of the Mammoths

Grade Band: 6-8
Description: This lesson will help students to examine the evidence for evolution using the woolly mammoth and related species, of which there happens to be a sizable fossil record.

Comparing Species through the Fossil Record

Grade Band: 9-12
Description: In this lesson, students begin to understand how physical features noted in the fossil record provide clues about the evolution of species.

Comparing Theories: Lamarck and Darwin

Grade Band: 9-12
Description: In this lesson, students compare the theories of two historically important evolutionary scientists: Jean Baptiste Lamarck and Charles Darwin.

Introduction to Natural Selection

Grade Band: 9-12
Description: Students will learn why organisms evolve over time, how natural selection works, and how certain factors determine survival and differences in organisms.

Tools

Nowhere to Hide

Grade Band: K-5
Description: In this Kinetic City activity, students can manipulate the level of pollution emitted by the factory (i.e., the background color of the screen) and observe the effects on the different colored bugs, moving them toward a better understanding of evolution by natural selection.

Becoming Human
Grade Band: 9-12
Description: Students will experience an interactive documentary that tells the story of our origins and is divided into five sections: Prologue, Evidence, Anatomy, Lineages, and Culture.

Science Updates

Hominid Diet

Grade Band: 6-12
Description: Between one and two million years ago, several different groups of ape-men roamed the plains of Africa. The only clues we have as to how they lived and evolved come from fossils they left behind. This Science Update tells us what some of those fossils reveal about the unusual diet of early hominids.

Primitive Ape-Man

Grade Band: 6-12
Description: The human family tree is a complex puzzle. Scientists recently found an important piece, as reported in this Science Update episode.

Other Resources

Discovering Ardi
Grade Band: 6-12
Description: This Discovery Channel production is the official website for students interested in learning about Ardipithecus ramidus. It offers many great interactive pieces and narrative pieces.