Human evolution

Definition..

HOMINIDS
"Hominid" refers to members of the human
family, Hominidae, which consist of all
species from the point where the human line
splits from apes towards present day
humans.
Habitual bipedal locomotion (movement on
two legs), an upright position, and a large
brain that has lead to: tool use, language,
and culture characterize hominids.

Human evolution
A. History
B. Important stages in human evolution
C. Theories of human evolution
D. Human Characteristics
E. Are we still evolving?

HISTORY
1859 - Darwin publishes The Origin of Species
1871- Darwin predicts that ancestors of humans would
be found in Africa

 Up till 1930s
Humanity evolved
in Europe

BC D
A
Bush model

1950s--1960s
Many significant
fossils discovered

ABCD

Linear model

 1970s present
more fossils
molecular
techniques
tree model of
human
evolution

Current Controversy
6-7 m y old fossil

Earliest bipedal
hominid?
Sahelanthropus tchadensis

Important stages in human

evolution
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

3.2 million years ago

3 million years ago
2 million years ago
1 million years ago
200, 000 years ago
150, 000 years ago

"Hominid" refers to members of the

human family, Hominidae, which
consist of all species from the point
where the human line splits from apes
towards present day humans.
Habitual bipedal locomotion
(movement on two legs), an upright
position, and a large brain that has
lead to: tool use, language, and
culture characterize hominids.

3.2 mya: The southern ape of afar

Fossil:
Lucy (discovered
1974, Ethiopia)
Australopithecus
afarensis

Male

Fossil of Lucy

Female

Australopithecus afarensis
Habitat: savannah and woodland
Food: leaves, fruit, seeds, nuts, termites and eggs,
grasses (?)
Physical characteristics:

low forehead, flat nose, no chin

small brain
long dangly arms, short legs
facultative bipedal (upright on ground but could
dangle from branches)
sexually dimorphic

Paranthropus boisei

Homo habilis

3 mya: Paranthropus boisei

Habitat: open terrain
Food: nuts, roots and tubers
Physical characteristics:
enormous jaw with chewing muscles,
large back teeth, small front teeth
specialized as vegetarians

Not direct human ancestors

3 mya: Homo habilis-the handy

man
Habitat: open terrain
Food: Scavenged for meat
Physical characteristics:
small jaw and teeth
shorter arms
increase in brain size (because of
carnivorous diet and mode of feeding)
capable of speech

Oldowan Tools

Made tools

Human migration
1.9 mya humans began to leave
Africa to other continents

Homo ergaster

2 mya: Homo ergaster

Habitat: dry -hot habitat
Food: scavenger for meat
Physical characteristics:
Tall with long limbs
Smooth and dark skin
Temperature regulation through sweating

Narrow pelvis (lead to narrow birth canal)

Mothers needed support of partner and group to raise babies

Acheulean bifaces

Homo erectus

Homo erectus

brain, almost human size

stocky, human-like body (larger than Homo habilis)
Java, China, and Africa
use of fire
increased but infrequent group hunting
language
crude shelters and some migration to colder areas
used tools

Homo heidelbergensis

1mya: Homo heidelbergensis

Food: hunted for meat
Physical characteristics:
Large brain
Tall

Direct ancestors of Homo sapiens

Boxgrove tools

H.heidelbergensis made Hand axes, wooden spears etc.

200,000 ya: Homo neanderthalensis

male

female

200,000 ya: Neanderthal man

Habitat: cold
Food: hunted for meat
Physical characteristics:

Large face with massive ridges

No chin
Short stocky body (conserve heat)
Muscular

Language
Social relationships important

What happened to the

Neanderthals?
Extinct 28, 000 ya
Competition from Homo sapiens?

Homo sapiens
120, 000 ya
Physical characteristics:
Eyebrow ridge small or absent
Prominent chin

Tools --antler, bone, stone

Clothing, jewelry, artwork, musical
instruments

Theories of human evolution

Humans evolved in sub-Saharan
Africa and spread from there
or
Humans evolved independently in
several places around the globe

Out of Africa hypothesis

Homo sapiens evolved in a single
speciation event in Africa ~ 250, 000 ya
Migrated to other regions, replaced
Homo erectus

Multi-regional hypothesis
Local populations of Homo erectus evolved into
Homo sapiens
Mixed genes
Retained local characteristics

Support for multi-regional

hypothesis
No break in culture in S.E Asia
Can explain the occurrence of
regional characters

Races
Original skin color- black
Divergence from original black color to
many different colors

How different are the races?

No genetic discontinuities between races
Genetic differences between races only
10% of genetic diversity among humans
No evidence for major biological
differences

Support for out of Africa hypothesis

1. Level of diversity in maternally

inherited mitochondrial DNA of
humans from around the world
highest among Africans

Support for out of Africa hypothesis

2. Based on genetic diversity all nonAfricans descended from a small

band of humans that left Africa ~
100, 000 ya

Support for out of Africa hypothesis

3. The Y-chromosome too shows

no sign of any non-African DNA

Human migration

Australia --- ~60,000 ya

Europe --- ~70,000 ya
Near East --- ~90,000 ya
Africa --- ~130, 000 ya

Who were the first

Americans?
13,000 ya
Crossed Bering Strait

Human characteristics

Bipedal gait
Big brain
Tool making
Social relationships
Art
Culture

Bipedalism
When?
Before Australopithecines

Advantages:

Freed hands to carry objects

See predators better in grasslands
Access to foods not previously available
Carry children
Protection from sun in grasslands

Evolution of bipedalism
1. Carrying objects
2. See predators
3. Aquatic environment (?)

Evolution of big brain

Meat eating from Homo habilis onwards
Did not require large intestines
Energy freed up for other organs including
brain
or

Cooked tuber eating in Homo erectus

Hunter-gatherers rely less on meat than
tubers
Reliance on scavenged meat is difficult.

Tool making
Homo habilis onwards
Tool-making was considered a
human trait
Discovery of tool-making in
chimpanzees
Tool making in Australopithecines?

Social relationships, art, and culture

Homo sapiens survived extinction in late
Pleistocene
bottlenecks (drastic reduction in population
size )
cultural explosion
Societies became co-operative (troop-totribe transition)

Are we still evolving?