Becoming Human: Last Man Standing

"Last Human Standing." Becoming Human. PBS NOVA. 31 Aug. 2010. Television. 

Becoming Human: Last Human Standing 

This T.V. program,

Becoming Human: Last Human Standing, 

was about how homo 
sapiens ended up being the last human to 

survive on Earth. I 
learned a lot from this movie. I learned that it was not only our 
brain size that caused us to be the last humans standing, but we were also able to adapt to different conditions. Since we were able 
to adapt to changes, we could outlive other 

species. Also our 
brain was naturally more intelligent than the 

rest. We were able 
to make specific tools for specific jobs. For 

example, we could 
make hooks to fish seafood, we made 

specific stone shapes for 
crushing and slicing, and we also made the throwing spear. I 
also learned other interesting things, like there was four different humans living all at the same time. The 

T.V. program also 
emphasized on our body and brain features in comparison to 
other 
humans. Homo erectus was the first human to have similar bodies to us. Homo 
erectus was also the very first human to 
leave the continent of Africa. It was 
also fascinating 

how
 homo 
erectus may have buried their dead. This evidence 

was found in Spain, in which 
over 80 individual skeletons were 

found. A fascinating fact was that 
Neanderthals are in fact the 

closest humans to us, according to research. 



All of this intriguing research and information were found by 
different people and found in different places.   Of particular 
interest were two findings in Belgium and Spain because they 
were very important for revealing our deep past.  Over
80 individuals were all found in the same
place in Spain, in a 

cave which may have 
been exposed during the time of homo 

habilis. Since it was 
probably exposed during this time, the 

homo habilis used it as a burying pit. Also, the very first Neanderthal was found in Murz 
Valley in Belgium. 
 Once important 

contributor was
 Charles Darwin was the person who made up 

the 
evolutionary theory. The evolutionary theory 
states that all 

living things change over time because of 
changes in their 

ecosystem. An important icon mentioned in this show is Turkana boy. 
Turkana boy is the nickname for a homo erectus that was 

found near lake Turkana. Turkana boy represents the change between human like and ape like.