Reading

Post-reading Activities

Do one or more of these activities and then join the chatroom to discuss the questions below

* Check to see if you understood by paraphrasing the main ideas (using your

own words!)

* Go back and reread parts of the text that you didn’t understand or didn’t

understand well

* Use a dictionary or another resource to find more information about unknown

words or concepts

* Join the class chatroom and discuss the following questions:

1. What is the significance of the discovery talked about in this article?

2. How did the scientists decide that this hominid probably walked upright?

3. What are the hominid’s similarities with chimpanzees? What are the differences?

4. What does this discover suggest about early humans?

5. In what kind(s) of habitats did this hominid live?

6. Do you think this is an important discovery? Why?

Strategies During Reading

Try to follow these strategies as you read the text

* Check to make sure you understand what you are reading as you read it

* If you find a word or phrase that you don’t know and is not in hypertext, do the

following:

> First, try to guess the meaning from the context

> If you can’t guess the meaning, decide whether it is important to know this

word in order to understand the main idea

> If it isn’t important, skip it and continue reading

> If the word or phrase is absolutely necessary for you to understand the main

idea, then use a dictionary or ask someone for help

* Generally, it is better to read the text all the way until the end on the first try. Even

if you don’t understand everything, you will probably understand the main ideas.

Pre-reading Activities

Do at least 3 of these activities to help you prepare for the reading

* Read the article’s main title & subtitle. What is the subject of this reading?

* Look at the pictures and read their captions. What do they suggest?

* Look at the source of this reading. Where does it come from and what does this

tell you? What kind of writing do you think this is?

* Read the first sentence of the reading. What is the main idea of this text?

* Take 60 seconds to quickly Scan & Skim the text for key words and phrases.

* Discuss your ideas about the text with your partner.

* Develop background knowledge by looking up information on hominids or other key

words at www.wikapedia.com

Amazing Hominid Fossils Found in Ethiopia

Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/science/nature/4187991.stm

Fossil hunters working in Ethiopia have unearthed the remains of at least nine primitive hominids that are between 4.5 million and 4.3 million years old. The fossils, which were uncovered at As Duma in the north of the country, are mostly teeth and jaw fragments, but also include parts of hands and feet. i

All finds belong to the same species - Ardipithecus ramidus - which was first described about a decade ago. Details of the discoveries appear in the latest issue of Nature magazine. Scientists say features of a phalanx, or foot bone, unearthed at the site show the hominid it belonged to probably walked upright like a human. i

"It is a very important find because it does confirm hominids walked upright on two feet definitively 4.5 million years ago," said lead author Sileshi Semaw, of the Craft Stone Age Institute at Indiana University in Bloomington, USA. "We also found fossils with rounded upper teeth, which are more humanlike than the "v" shaped upper teeth of chimpanzees. But overall, the creature probably looked more like a chimpanzee than a human. i

Opening windows

The age of the remains was estimated by dating volcanic material found in their vicinity. "A few windows are now opening in Africa to glance into the fossil evidence on the earliest hominids," Dr Semaw explained.

"We now have more than 30 fossils from at least nine individuals dated between 4.3 and 4.5 million years old." Another Ardipithecus species, A. kadabba, lived in Ethiopia between 5.54 and 5.77 million years ago. Genetic studies have suggested a common ancestor for modern chimpanzees and humans may have existed about six million years ago. i

Ardipithecus may therefore represent an early step on the path which led to modern humans, as well as a number of other extinct hominid species. Other fossils found at the site show that A. ramidus lived alongside monkeys, wolves and cow-like animals. But the authors add that it's not clear exactly what sort of habitat the hominids lived in.

The area where the remains were unearthed would have had features of swamps, springs and streams, as well as regions that experienced seasonal droughts. The first A. ramidus fossil was discovered in the Middle Awash region of Ethiopia in 1994 by palaeoanthropologists Tim White, Gen Suwa and Berhane Asfaw.