Discovery of Early Humans in Africa

1. Discovery of Early Humans in Africa GIST Activity

2. What does “gist” mean? • The main point or part : essence <the gist of an argument> • The general or basic meaning of something said or written — ▪ The gist of her argument was that the law was unfair. ▪ I didn't read the whole article, but I got the gist of it. I understood the main points of it.

3. What’s the gist of the 1st paragraph (In only 20 words)? • History tells the story of humankind. Mostly from written records beginning around 5,500 years ago. History really began before… prehistory.

4. What’s the gist of paragraph 2 (In 20 words or less)? • Anthropologists study ancient humanlike creatures called hominids. Paleontologists study fossil remains and archaeologist study human objects left behind called artifacts.

5. What’s the gist of paragraphs 3 & 4 (In 20 words or less)? • Archaeologist use radioactive dating to date artifacts they find. Radioactive carbon decays at know rate so they can figure out when the animal or plant died. • Tough one! 26 words : (

6. Homework • Write a 20 word gist for paragraphs 6 & 7. • Write a 20 word gist for paragraphs 8-10. • Stop reading at “Human Origins.”