In this part of the lab we will first discuss the ways scientists classify organisms. Understanding why and how scientists organize is essential to understanding later concepts in evolutionary biology.
Taxonomy is the branch of biology concerned with naming and classifying the diverse forms of life.
In 1759, a Swedish scientist named Carl Linnaeus established the scientific field of taxonomy. He had perceived that it was impossible to attempt to study the vast variety of life without an ordering system. Linnaeus based his system entirely on morphology, whereas modern taxonomic schemes are based on fossils, biochemistry, behavior, and other criteria. Under the Linnaean scheme of classification each species has a two-part Latin name, called the binomial. Homo refers to our genus , which contains other similar species such as Homo habilis from the fossil record, while sapiens indicates the particular species within the genus Homo .