Activity: What caused the mass extinctions?
Aim:
To use understanding of fossil evidence and scientific method to demonstrate how each of
the hypotheses for mass extinction arrives at its conclusion
Instructions:
- What are the key requirements of a theory that attempts to explain the mass extinctions?
- Choose one of the two hypotheses discussed and describe in your own words what
evidence there is supporting it as an explanation for what caused the mass extinctions. - Through your research on the Internet and by reading books in the library, determine if
you can, list any other evidence that you found in support of your chosen hypothesis.
Activity: Understanding evolutionary history based on evidence from South Africa
Aim:
We want to locate where the key events in the history of life occurred in South Africa, based
on our earlier discussion of fossil evidence found in South Africa.
Instructions:
The table below lists evidence from South Africa on the history of life.
Draw a map of South Africa
On your map, show where each piece of evidence listed in the table is located.
Also show what this evidence indicates about the history of life.
In the third column of the table, write down the period from which these fossils are likely to
have emerged. The first part has been done for you.
Evidence Location Era, Period
Stromatolites False Bay, Cape Town Paleozoic, Pre-Cambrian
Soft-bodied animals Northern Cape
Early land plants Grahamstown
Primitive plants e.g
GlossopterisMooiRiver, EstcourtCoelacanth Northern KZN Coast
Mammal-like reptiles e.g
Lystrosaurus, ThrinadoxonKarooDinosaursEuskylosaurus Drakensberg and Maluti
mountains, Ladybrand,
Free State
First mammals Lesotho, Eastern Cape
Humansand pre-humans Gauteng, North West,
Free State,
KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo
Chapter 11. History of Life on Earth 333