[Catalist] Early Human Evolution -- Evolution of the Human Brain

[Michael McGarry]

Greetings Science Colleagues,

In my previous professional life as a secondary science teacher specialising in secondary physics teaching, now retired; I have always been fascinated by the evolving ‘jigsaw puzzle’ of fossil evidence of the evolutionary origins of Homo sapiens [a solitary human species].


I used this Cosmos magazine article to update my current knowledge of early human evolution: URL 1: https://cosmosmagazine.com/palaeontology/where-did-we-come-from-a-primer-on-early-human-evolution <https://cosmosmagazine.com/palaeontology/where-did-we-come-from-a-primer-on-early-human-evolution>.


Since about 2015, when I wrote my AUS BS10 SU STRAND: MODULE 3v4 titled Neuroscience and Teenage Brains, I have been learning how knowledge of the core principles of neuroscience can inform teaching and learning, especially in our science classrooms. My “Neuroscience and Teenage Brains” interactive PDF curriculum module can be free downloaded from my “Middle Years (Biological) Science” webpage on ASTA’s professional learning portal: ASTA MOODLE: URL 2: http://moodle.asta.edu.au <http://moodle.asta.edu.au/>.


I have discovered that Core Concepts of Neuroscience URL 3: http://www.brainfacts.org/about-neuroscience/core-concepts/ <http://www.brainfacts.org/about-neuroscience/core-concepts/> have been correlated to NSTA’s Next Generation Science Standards URL 4: http://ngss.nsta.org/AccessStandardsByTopic.aspx <http://ngss.nsta.org/AccessStandardsByTopic.aspx>.


A brief History of the Brain


URL 5: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21128311.800-a-brief-history-of-the-brain/ <https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21128311.800-a-brief-history-of-the-brain/>
Brains of Early Humans


URL 6: http://humanorigins.si.edu/human-characteristics/brains <http://humanorigins.si.edu/human-characteristics/brains>
Human Brain Evolution


URL 7: http://www.brainfacts.org/brain-basics/evolution/articles/2015/brain-evolution-searching-for-what-makes-us-human/ <http://www.brainfacts.org/brain-basics/evolution/articles/2015/brain-evolution-searching-for-what-makes-us-human/>, and


URL 8: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3973910/ <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3973910/>.

Brain Size and Intelligence


URL 9: https://neuroscience.stanford.edu/news/ask-neuroscientist-does-bigger-brain-make-you-smarter <https://neuroscience.stanford.edu/news/ask-neuroscientist-does-bigger-brain-make-you-smarter>.


Articles on Brain Control


URL 10: https://theconversation.com/au/topics/brain-control-series-31489 <https://theconversation.com/au/topics/brain-control-series-31489>
Question: Is the Brain of Homo sapiens still evolving?

I am confident that studying the websites linked above will make us Brainier.


Best Wishes,


Michael John McGarry


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