Discussion Forum #1 - Becoming Human - Movie Review Example

Development of bipedalism and human intelligence According to the video, many bipedal species dominated the untamed planet.The core aim of the video is to answer the question; how did we become us? In the documentary, Zeresenay sets out to search for fossilized evidence of the ancestors. He finds a tiny skull. The nearby geology indicates white bands of volcanic ash dated to 3.4 Mya. Zeresenay names this skull ‘Selam. At the museum, Salem is compared to another Skull; Lucy. Advances in scientific technology indicate that molecular clock.

The rate of DNA sequences and it goes back to 6Mya before Selam and the missing link. The skull, sahelanthropus tchadensis was placed at a particle accelerator in France which was restructured using 3d images and reproduced in some form of 3d plastic printer. From the data results as well as the spine and it was argued that it walked upright thus becoming the oldest bipedal organism (The Antonio Kuilan Project p.12). It is paramount to note that the video described the finding stating that S.

tchadensis becomes a relatively good candidate. The video brought indicated that Ardipithecus ramidus, S. tchadensis, Kenyathropas platyops and Orrorin tugensis exhibited chimp sized brains and bipedalism. Scientists try to debate and explain that one primary distinction is the length of the childhood between humans and apes. The development of apes according to the documentary takes three years whereas humans take more than two decades to develop fully. For instance, at three years of age the chimp’s brain is 90% formed but Selam showed that the brain of humans developed slowly.

To find the correlation of this, the stone tools are analyzed. The way in which the stones were broken reflects primitive thinking. The Homo habilis hominin showed a larger brain size ranging from 400cc to 700cc indicating a major change in the brains structure. Scientists claim that changes in climate boosted the brain to grow. Some better problem solvers including Homo habilis survived, but A. afarensis died. Indeed, our ancestors adapted to the noted changes, thus propelling us to where we are today.

Works Cited"NOVA Becoming Human Part 1 Summary -." The Antonio Kuilan Project. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 May 2015.