Title: Human Evolution Foundations
Course: Nature & Human Wellness eeCourse > Section: Module 2: Biological Foundations to Nature & Human Interconnection

In this section, we will use an interdisciplinary framework to look at our species through a biological lens - in order to more thoroughly understand our interconnection with the greater natural living world.

Evolution Overview

Evolution, through natural selection, occurs when organisms with traits most suitable and adapted for their environment have a higher chance of surviving and reproducing - passing along these traits that offer a higher chance of surviving to their offspring. These traits can be categorized into structural or behavioral adaptations.

Structural Adaptations: Physical features of an organism, such as a bear’s fur, a turtle’s webbed feet, or a human's opposable thumbs.

Behavioral Adaptations: Behaviors or things an organism does to survive, such as birds migrating seasonally, a snake finding warm rocks to increase its body temperature on sunny days, or a human's ability to learn and cooperate in social groups.

TASK: For a brief overview of the process of evolution, please watch the following short videos:

Evolution 101
Natural Selection Animation

Humans' Biological Description

Humans are one of many millions of species belonging to the greater web of the interconnected life on our planet - and as such can also be studied and viewed through the lens of biological description. There are many disciplines dedicated to furthering our understanding of the origins and biology of our own species: including evolutionary biology, anthropology, archeology, biomedical, social and physical sciences as well as the humanities.

TASK: Read the following article to learn more about humans’ biological description: “What Are Homo Sapiens”

TASK: Take a moment to explore where humans fall within the larger phylogenetic tree of life on "OneZoom's" Tree of Life Explorer.

Journal Reflection

In your course journal on your own time, please reflect on the following questions:

- How did the videos help shape your understanding of human evolution? Describe which video segment was especially relevant to your understanding of the evolutionary process.
- List 3-5 questions you have about our species that relate to our own connections with nature. This could include humans in the past, present or future (or all of these).