Human Evolution and the Fossil Record


Scientists continue to debate the history of man. It is generally
agreed upon by the scientific community, however, that humans evolved from
lesser beings, and this essay will function to provide evidence to support this
claim. Several points will be outlined, including the general physical changes
that occurred between several key species on the phylogeny of man, and a
discussion of dating methods used to pinpoint the age of the fossils.
This essay will begin with a brief discussion of dating techniques. In
the study of hominid evolution, two main methods of dating are used: carbon-14
and potassium-argon dating. Carbon-14 dating involves the decay of radioactive
C-14, which has a half life of 5770 years. This makes this method useful for
dating of recent fossils, with good accuracy, up to 50,000 years back. After
5770 years, half of the carbon-14 in a fossil decays to nitrogen-14. Since the
ratio of carbon-12 to carbon-14 in a living......

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Title: Human Evolution And The Fossil Record
Approximate Word Count: 1707
Approximate Pages: 7 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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