Fossils – The Peabody

Contributed by Ryan Wheeler

Bigfoot, ancient aliens, Homo naledi, Australopithecines, stone tools, painted pebbles, scientific racism, repatriation. How are these topics connected? Students in the senior science elective Human Origins find out. A lot of it has to do with the history of anthropology–the scientists that studied fossil humans also studied race. The two fields continue to influence one another, not always in the most positive ways. The course is divided into modules that explore science and pseudoscience, human biological evolution and the development of technology and imagery, and the concept of race and scientific racism.

Human Origins students explore some of the Peabody Institute’s fossil human crania casts and models.

Some of my favorite assignments are team projects that involve producing a trailer for a new tv series on pseudoscience, a new comic pages project that focused on specific fossil humans, and Human Origins in the News, where student teams lead class. We just finished midterm, and I was wowed by the new comic pages assignment. I’ve wanted to develop a comics assignment and I’m really pleased with the results–student teams researched particular fossils and then developed a few comic pages in response to a series of prompts. Students are now making their own chipped stone tools and starting to plan their podcasts for the end of the term.

Human Origins students lead class during our “short period” on most Mondays with Human Origins in the News.

A couple of big changes this term include teaching during winter term–usually we’ve offered Human Origins in the fall–and we’ve been meeting the class in the Gelb science building, as Phase 1 of the Peabody Institute renovation wraps up. I’m really grateful to my colleagues in the science division for sharing the Gelb classroom with me. It will be nice to return to the Peabody Institute in the near future. We’ll at least be close-by next week when we explore the atlatl and throw spears on the Chandler-Wormley Vista!

A sample from the comic pages created by Human Origins students this term.

Contributed by Ryan Wheeler

One of the best things about travel is visiting museums, especially those that are new to me! In August, I traveled to California for some great events for Andover alumni, students, and new families. As a newbie to Los Angeles, I was wowed by the Mediterranean Revival architecture and, top on my list of museums to visit, La Brea Tar Pits and Museum. The tar pits are actually asphalt that have been bubbling up from subterranean oil fields for about 240,000 years. Animals attracted to water accumulating on top of the tar pits were frequently trapped in the sticky goo, becoming part of the fossil record. The victims of the tar rarely remained intact, so there are lots of bones, but few complete animal skeletons. Exhibits in the museum, built around a recreated Pleistocene forest, has lots of examples of the animals recovered from the tar pits, including bison and mammoths—hallmarks of the Rancholabrean fauna—as well as dire wolves, saber tooth cats, birds, and even insects. You can watch scientists cleaning fossils inside the museum after visiting the tar pits, including at least one active excavation. The gift shop has lots of fun stuff, including resin casts of saber tooth cat teeth, stuffed animals, and books on the tar pits.