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Laetoli Footprints

Four foot prints on the surface of a rock

Topic

  • Evolution
  • Paleobiology
  • Human Evolution

Resource Type

  • Activities
  • Phenomenal Images

Level

High School — GeneralHigh School — AP/IB
Saved By
10 Users
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Description

This activity explores an image of fossil footprints at Laetoli, which serves as a phenomenon for learning about fossil evidence and human evolution.

Laetoli, a paleontological site in Tanzania, is famous for its fossil footprints of hominins: a taxonomic group that includes humans and their extinct ancestors. The image shows hominin footprints discovered at Laetoli in 2015. Fossil footprints like these can be used to infer biological information about the organisms that made them.

The “Educator Materials” document includes background information and implementation suggestions for using the image as a phenomenon. The “Student Handout” includes the image and background information.

The “Resource Google Folder” link directs to a Google Drive folder of resource documents in the Google Docs format. Not all downloadable documents for the resource may be available in this format. The Google Drive folder is set as “View Only”; to save a copy of a document in this folder to your Google Drive, open that document, then select File → “Make a copy.” These documents can be copied, modified, and distributed online following the Terms of Use listed in the “Details” section below, including crediting BioInteractive.

Student Learning Targets

  • Examine images of phenomena, make observations, and ask questions.
  • Collaborate with peers on ideas, ask questions that require higher levels of reasoning, and develop deeper understanding of concepts.
  • Use fossil evidence to infer biological information about early human ancestors.

Estimated Time

Within one 50-minute class period.

Key Terms

anthropology, bipedalism, hominin, human origins, Mary Leakey, paleontology, trace fossil

Primary Literature

Masao, Fidelis T., Elgidius B. Ichumbaki, Marco Cherin, Angelo Barili, Giovanni Boschian, Dawid A. Lurino, Sofia Menconero, et al. “New footprints from Laetoli (Tanzania) provide evidence for marked body size variation in early hominins.” eLife 5 (2016). https://doi.org/10.7554/elife.19568.

Terms of Use

The resource is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license. No rights are granted to use HHMI’s or BioInteractive’s names or logos independent from this Resource or in any derivative works.

Accessibility Level (WCAG compliance)

PDF files meet criteria.

Version History

Date Published 03.19.21

NGSS 2013

HS-LS4-1; SEP1

AP Biology 2019

EVO-1.M, EVO-1.N; SP3

IB Biology 2016

5.1

Common Core 2010

ELA.WHST.9-12.9

Vision and Change 2009

CC1; DP1

Materials

Resource Google Folder (Link)
Image (JPG) 1 MB
Educator Materials (PDF) 418 KB
Student Handout (PDF) 1 MB

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