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Your Inner Monkey

Play Video
Photo of Neil Shubin with a monkey on his shoulder

Topic

  • Anatomy & Physiology
  • Skin & Musculoskeletal System
  • Evolution
  • Paleobiology
  • Human Evolution

Resource Type

  • Videos
  • Feature Films

Level

High School — GeneralHigh School — AP/IBCollege
Saved By
18 Users
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Description

This film explores what human hands, vision, and brains reveal about our evolution from ancient primate ancestors.

Our primate progenitors had bodies a lot like those of modern monkeys and spent tens of millions of years living in trees. From them we inherited our versatile hands, amazing vision, and capable brains—but also some less beneficial traits, including our bad backs and terrible sense of smell.

This film is the third episode in Your Inner Fish, a series that originally aired on PBS and is hosted by anatomist and paleontologist Neil Shubin. Shubin journeys to meet our ancient animal ancestors while revealing the impact those animals have had on our bodies. Due to international distribution restrictions, the series can be streamed only in the United States and Canada.

Key Terms

amphioxus, Ardi, Ardipithecus ramidus, Australopithecus afarensis, bipedalism, color vision, evolutionary transition, fossil, hominin, Lucy

Primary Literature

Shubin, Neil. Your Inner Fish: A Journey into the 3.5-billion-year History of the Human Body. New York: Vintage Books, 2009.

 

Terms of Use

Please see the Terms of Use for information on how this resource can be used.

Version History

Date Published 06.30.15

NGSS (2013)

HS-LS1.A, HS-LS1.B, HS-LS3.A, HS-LS3.B, HS-LS4.A, HS-LS4.C

AP Biology (2019)

EVO-1, EVO-3

IB Biology (2016)

5.1, 5.3, 10.3

AP Environmental Science (2013)

II.C

IB Environmental Systems and Societies (2017)

2.1

Vision and Change (2009)

CC1, CC2

Materials

Transcript (PDF) 132 KB

Use This Resource With

Activity Resource
Activity for Your Inner Fish

Educator Tips

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Your Inner Fish and Origin of Tetrapods

Chi Klein describes how she uses both the "Your Inner Fish" film series and the "Origin of Tetrapods" short film in her classroom. These films are accompanied by a wealth of additional educational materials about the evolutionary origins of the anatomical features found in animals today.
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