Investigating “Humanity”

Although the central principles of evolution by natural selection can feel both abstruse and culturally fraught for learners of all ages, evolutionary logic is at the core of biological science: once students have a solid understanding of evolution, they can better understand everything else in biology. We present here a hands-on experience, coupled with intentional questioning strategies, that inspires students to use high-level evolutionary thinking and to begin asking excellent questions about what we know and how we know it. This activity leverages skull replicas of humans, chimps, and hominins to tap into young people’s natural curiosity about where we come from and what it means to be a person—fundamental topics of inquiry for young people just coming into their own identities. Along the way, students are also exposed to important data and create arguments about what the archaeological record can currently tell us about the story of how people like us came to be.