MS-LS4-1

Analyze and interpret data for patterns in the fossil record that document the existence, diversity, extinction, and change of life forms throughout the history of life on Earth under the assumption that natural laws operate today as in the past.

  1. Archaeology

    Ancient footprints surface in Britain

    There are hints they could have been made by ancestors of Neandertals.

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  2. Fossils

    Where do humans come from?

    Some scientists propose a newfound South African species as the most likely ancestor of the line that led to humans. But not everyone accepts that this is where it all began.

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  3. Animals

    The secret songs of giant beavers

    Scientists discover a noisemaking chamber in the extinct animal’s skull.

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  4. Fossils

    Dino teeth tell a traveling tale

    Dental evidence from sauropods suggests the mighty beasts migrated for food.

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  5. Humans

    Mummies share their secrets

    Cutting-edge technology such as CT, or CAT, scans and endoscopes are allowing scientists to see not just what’s underneath the wrappings but also what’s inside a mummy’s body.

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  6. Humans

    Old bones ignite fresh debate

    Scientists try to understand how 2 million-year-old fossils fit among ancient species.

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  7. Animals

    When the giant ants went marching

    A new study of an ancient fossil suggests that 50 million years ago, supersized ants went on a cross-continental trek.

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  8. Environment

    Busy bacteria leave big mark

    Earth’s earliest life-forms built mounds on an Antarctic lake bottom.

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  9. Fossils

    Dino Flesh from Fossil Bone

    Scientists may have found dinosaur blood vessels and cells inside a fossilized leg bone.

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  10. Fossils

    Big fish in ancient waters

    Fossils have revealed an ancient, oversized relative of modern-day swordfish.

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  11. Fossils

    Dino bite leaves a tooth

    Meat-eating dinosaurs sometimes feasted on flying reptiles.

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  12. Fossils

    Ancient critter caught shedding Its skin

    A fossil reveals that ancient animals shed their skin, just as insects and crustaceans do today.

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