sults. Whatever the outcome of this scientific disagreement, the evidence shows that early Homo sapiens groups were highly efficient at exploiting the sometimes-harsh climates of Ice Age Europe. Further, for the first time in human evolution, hominines began to bury their dead deliberately, the bodies sometimes being accompanied by stone tools, by animal bones, and even by flowers. Although the evolutionary appearance of modern peoples did not dramatically change the basic pattern of adaptation that had characterized the earlier stages of human history, some innovations did take place. In addition to the first appearance of the great cave art of France and Spain some anthropologists Snell 7have argued that it was during this time that human language originated, a development that would have had profound implications for all aspects of human activity. About 10,000 years ago, one of the most important events in human history took place, plants were domesticated, and soon after, animals as well. This agricultural revolution set the stage for the events in human history that eventually led to civilization. The next evolutionary stage is modern humans, as we know them. Early Homo sapiens developed the traits that were discussed earlier, and man, as we know it, came to exist. But how do we know all these things occurred, and why? It all comes from several very important steps in paleoanthropology. The earliest human skeleton ever found was discovered in 1974 in a remote region of Ethiopia, a very well preserved A. afarensis fossil. Nicknamed Lucy, paleoanthropologists have found out periods of millions of years through her, and have used that knowledge to speculate on other discoveries. Footprints, bones, teeth, etc. are all used to help piece together the puzzle. Human evolution may have reached a dead end, foreseeable for a while at least. Despite the enormous changes that we have wreaked on our environment, major evolutionary changes in h...
