Museum : Museum Of Kenya

We use fossils to compare and contrast how and organism has evolved over a long period of time and how it has adapted to new changes.

On October 9, 2015 I went to the Smithsonian, National Museum of African Art along with attending the Million Man March down in Washington D.C. The experiences were wonderful and I was very excited to be at both events. While at the museum I took two tours one at 10 am that was led by a woman named Nkechi Obi. She talked about docent African Arts. The next one was shortly after at11 am that was led by a teen ambassador named Nicholas Stewart, who was very intelligent. He talked about numerous pieces throughout the museum that had some significance to younger minds so I found that very helpful. After the tour I spent some time down at the mall in DC in which faced the Capitol. This was the Million Man March that was a very popular event that brought out many people. I would describe both events as lectures that were powerful and time put to good use.

Fossils grant us opportunity of understanding about species which no longer exist on Earth- that are extinct. The prehistoric remains inform us about plants and

Layers of soil are laid down on dead animals or plants embalming them. The minerals replace the organic matter creating the fossil.

(B) - The recognizable remains of a plant or animal are known as fossils. Unlike artifacts, fossils are not made by man and instead come from living things. Those who study fossils are known as paleontologists. The word “fossil” comes from the Latin word “fossilis”, which means “found by digging”.

Ardipithecus and other early Australopithecines lived in a habitat much wetter than the environment of Aramis, Ethiopia today. The set for scene one could at times experience a “rain fall,” and should include a woodland habitat with patches of denser forest and an abundant amount of monkeys just as what would have been seen between five and three million years ago. In 1992, an expedition led by Tim White of the University of California, Berkeley discovered the fossil of Ardipithecus ramidus, dating back to 4.4 million years ago. The skeleton nicknamed “Ardi” ended up weighing around 112 pounds, stood almost four feet tall, (somewhat larger than a male chimpanzee but smaller than a female gorilla) and was most likely a female. Ardi’s ape sized brain has a cranial capacity of only 300 to 350 CC.

Introduction: Fossils are defined as a physical trace or evidence of life from a prior geological time period which has been preserved. Examples of fossils include burrows, indentations or bite marks, footprints or other impressions, coprolites, hard animal body parts such as bone, shells or horns or mineralized plant remains embedded in stratified rock.

Fossils are preserved by the mold and cast, trace fossil, and carbonization. Sap of a tree and amber preserve fossils by casting a hard stone-like coating on the

The Article Ancestors was published in August 2001 it was published by Archaeological Institute of America and was intended for anthropologists. This article informs readers that two new fossils where found in Kenya, which gives us evidence that we did not evolve from a single ancestor. This gives us new insight not only on how species evolve but more importantly where we came from. The author put pictures in the article to show the fossils and a map to show where they were found. The pictures give readers visual evidence on how the species are related to us and that we evolved from more than one species. The author also goes into detail about the skull and skeleton parts that where found. Stating where they were found, how old they are, and

Fossil records play a big part in evolution. They show the remains of ancestors of animals, humans, etc. Fossils are bones, bones can show the change/ development in the creature of which it derived from. A lot of fossils look very similar to species today. This shows that a species can change/adapt

The fossil record is evidence of evolution. Fossils are often fingerprints of evolution. They help scientists track how species evolved

Fossils are organisms that were once living but have now died and been preserved in sediment. Their bones can remains can tell how they lived, what they ate, and what their behavior was like. In the article titles, “Fossils: How Are They Made?”, it states that, “The remains inside the rock also turn to rock. The remains are replaced by minerals. The remains literally turn to stone.” There are also other ways an organism can be fossilized, such as being buried in tar. For example, in the La Brea Tar Pit in the city of Los Angeles, they found remains of many ancient beings such as wooly mammoths and sabertooth tigers. In the video “Death By Tar Pit” on discovery.com, it was stated that remains of over 3 million ice age fossils were found in there because they had died and their remains were preserved in the tar pit. An organism can also be fossilized by being trapped in tree sap which

Understanding fossils can provide insight into so much more than what lived millions of years ago. From my reading there seem to be 4 major categories that fossils can help us with. Fossils and fossilization, fossils and living organisms, fossils and evolution, fossils and stratigraphy. Understanding fossils helps us understand life and the conditions that supported life millions of years ago. There are two different types of fossils. Body fossils and trace fossils. Body fossils are actual remains of plants and animals while trace fossils are they evidence they existed, things like there tracks, burrows, etc. When these fossils are used together they help scientist learn about a mode of life. Understanding how fossils are formed also helps

When australopithecus afarensis was first discovered it was thought to be the ancestor of genus homo, even though "there was a virtual lack of a hominin fossil record in East Africa dating to 3-2 mya, the time which earliest Homo likely evolved" (Our Origins). This, however, changed when australopithecus garhi was discovered later in 1999 in the Hata beds of Ethiopa's Middle Awash (Asfaw, White Lovejoy, et. al,). Au. garhi could possibly be the ancestor of the genus homo. Au. garhi like Au. afarensis had a primitive face projection beneath the nose and a small brain. (Our Origins). However the ratio of the arm to leg length that was found was in Au. garhi much humanlike than apelike. (Our Origins). Due to its physical features including its

The fossils and the site from which the fossils’ were discovered were extensively researched. Measurements were taken from various parts of each skull and compared to Neanderthals found in Eurasia. From their findings scientists who researched the skulls believe that there is no direct correlation between the Homo sapiens from Africa