Instruction: In the absence of our regular face-to-face interaction in our class, please participate in a discussion with other students about what topics from this week have been most interesting or difficult

This week, so far, seems easier than the previous weeks. I think it may be because it is just a part II to the introduction to early hominins. I really struggled last week with the time line of evolution and where to place each ancestor, but I reread the notes that I took and then placed the new hominins into that time line and I think I have a better idea of how we evolved. Last week I struggled with the idea that we would gain some modern traits and then lose others and then gain them again, but this week the "mosaic nature of human evolution" helped to smooth that out. I was able to kind of reconcile that all characteristics are evolving at different rates, and that just because we gained one new trait does not mean we lost another, it just means that that previous trait may have also evolved into something different or more useful. Those previous traits may have just remade themselves and become even more useful than before. It's funny how just a simple phrase can help put it all into perspective at least somewhat. 

One of the great things about science is that it is always changing and adapting to new information and with the evolution of man it is no different. When the professor was talking about finding Australopithecus africanus in 1924 it really changed the way we thought about human evolution, and even though a lot of people at that time, did not like the find since that meant that we came out of Africa, it was still an accepted part of evolution. With it's undeniable bicuspid premolars and the overall canine reduction, even if you don't like where it came from it is hard to deny what it means in the line of humanity. 

I also find it interesting that we have changed our thinking into our bodies changed before our brains. That we developed better bodies while our brains were still relatively small. I think it is probably because we didn't need bigger brains just yet, first we needed bodies that could do all of the things required to survive in new and ever changing environments; like access food from trees that were further away or expose less of our bodies to the hot sun of the savannah. Once we had bodies that could maneuver better through those new challenges our brains could catch up. 

It is really amazing how far we have come over millions of years to be physically adapted to the world around us. I wonder if in 4million years our bones will be dug up and marveled at for our primitive traits, with our small brains and our short legs or whatever? It is really interesting to think about. 

Overall, I was very thankful for this weeks lecture and the simple "mosaic" phrase. I enjoyed learning about more ancestors and for the opportunity to fill out more of the study guide!