Evolution Teacher Resources

Find the human ancestor you are interested in and click on it either in the timeline or the list below for more details. Each fossil or reconstruction pictured includes links to more details about it.

This video from Evolution explores the evolution of humans from a common ancestor of humans, chimpanzees, and other apes. [5:28]

Learn why recent discoveries are causing scientists to rewrite the timeline of modern humans and Neanderthals.

See what genetic traits paleontologists have discovered that set humans apart from other organisms.

This provides access to a webbook about How Humans Evolved. The following topics are covered: (1) How Evolution Works, (2) Primate Behavior and Ecology, (3) The History of Human Lineage, and (4) Evolution and Modern Humans. Each chapter...

Students conduct a short experiment to determine the importance of the opposable thumb by taping their thumb to render it useless while they proceed to do an everyday activity. In the end students will have the opportunity to reflect on...

Click on a highlighted portion of the skeleton to open up a brief video presentation and written summary explaining how that part of the human has come from our ancient ancestors.

At the online companion Web site of "Evolution," the seven-episode series on PBS, piece together clues to how one of our early ancestors looked as you examine images from four significant fossil finds of Australopithecus afarensis.

NOVA examines what set Homo sapiens apart from our ancestral cousins like the Neanderthals, the Hobbits, and others. We lived and thrived, why? Also, are we still evolving even today?

The oldest fossils of modern humans (Homo Sapiens) found near Omo Kibish, Ethiopia, have been identified as being approximately 196,000 years old. This article points out the amazing significance of these findings.

How do you imagine Neanderthals to have sounded? Have you ever considered that they might sound like you? Read this article to explore what a new study now says about the speaking capabilities of these creatures.

Did you know parts of our body was inherited from distant animal ancestors? In this interactive students will investigate different anatomical features of the human body to reveal our evolutionary history. Learn how humans share...

In this series, educator Joy Lin tackles the superpower, immortality, and reveals just how scientifically realistic it is to be immortal. [4:30]

Are nature's complex forms evidence of "intelligent design"? In this Evolution essay, biologist Kenneth Miller explains how the processes of evolution account for complex structures such as the human eye.

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.

John Noble Wilford, a "New York Times" science writer, outlines various hypotheses on the origin of bipedalism.

This video segment from Evolution: "Great Transformations" illustrates the differences between the skeletons of a chimpanzee (a knuckle-walker) and a human (a biped). [57 sec]

In this video, Nina Jablonski explains that human skin pigmentation is a product of the environment and evolution and explores skin's many different traits. [14:46] Includes a brief quiz and a list of additional resources to explore.

Darwin figured out a lot, there is no doubt about that! But, what didn't he know? How does evolution work? What are the missing links? What makes us human? Here is a fascinating video on just that. Includes the full video as well as...

The evolution of the Genus Homo is neatly laid out in a chronological fashion beginning with the key change that signaled the origin of Homo, through the evolutionary forms, finalizing with Homo sapiens.

Two billion years ago, we share a common ancestor with this new-found relative. Is this our origin?

Compare and contrast the shape and size of a Homo floresiensis brain with the brain of a chimp and a modern human.

At the online companion Web site of "Evolution," the seven-episode series on PBS, delve into the private thoughts of a reluctant revolutionary--Charles Darwin.

In this letter written to his friend and mentor Charles Lyell less than three weeks after the publication of "On the Origin of Species", Darwin describes the reaction of the great anatomist Richard Owen to his theory. From Charles...