BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION

OF EARLY HUMANS AND

MODERN HUMANS
Lesson 11
REVIEW

What’s the difference

between tangible heritage
and intangible heritage?
Give examples for them.
Note: Yung video eh di pwede maisend kaya download mo na lang po, andun sa DLL ung link.
 The story of human evolution
began in Africa about six million
years ago and it describes the
very long process that our
ancestors went through to
ultimately become humans.
WHAT IS EVOLUTION?
Evolution means the changes that
occur in a population over time.
Evolution is a process that results
in changes that are passed on or
inherited from generation.
THE TREE OF LIFE
Biological evolution explains the
way all living things evolved over
billions of years from a single
ancestor and is illustrated by the
so-called tree of life.
RELATIONSHIP: APES AND HUMANS

People have been stunned to

learn that about 98.5% of genes
in people and chimpanzees are
identical.
RELATIONSHIP: APES AND HUMANS

This finding means chimps are

the closest living biological
relatives to humans but it does
not mean that humans evolved
from chimps.
OUR COMMON ANCESTOR

Most scientist believe our

common ancestor existed
5 to 8 million years ago.
OUR COMMON ANCESTOR
The two species broke off into
separate lineages, one
ultimately evolving into gorillas
and chimps, the other evolving
into early humans called
hominids.
OUR COMMON ANCESTOR
However, the fossil record of
hominids does not represent a
straight line on ancestry at all;
many of this early hominid left
no descendants and simply
died out.
THE FOSSIL RECORD

Fossils are the remains

or impressions of living
things hardened in rock.
THE FOSSIL RECORD
The earliest humans were found
in Africa, which is where much
of human evolution occurred.
The fossils of these early
hominids come from that
continent.
THE AUSTRALPITHECINES
- African apelike specie
- 6 million years ago
- With 2 skeletal
characteristics
- Small canine teeth
- Bipedalism or walking
on 2 legs
THE AUSTRALPITHECINES
By about 2.7 million years ago, so-called
robust australopiths had evolved, with
wide molars and premolars and a facial
structure that indicate that these
australopiths chewed their food, primarily
tough, fibrous plants, powerfully and for
long periods.
THE GENUS HOMO

- 2.3-2.5 million
years ago
- With large brain
THE GENUS HOMO
Late Homo species, including
Neanderthals and Homo sapiens,
evolved large and complex brains,
leading eventually to language, and
developed culture as an increasingly
important aspect of human life.
THE HOMO SAPIENS

- 195,000 years ago

- Evolved in Africa
THE HOMO SAPIENS
It was not until about 40,000 years
ago that anatomically modern
humans, Homo sapiens sapiens,
emerged. Since that time, human
evolution has been primarily cultural
as opposed to biological.
EVOLUTION OF MODERN HUMANS
A. THE HOMO HABILIS
- Early representative
of modern humankind
- 2.5 and 1.7 million
years ago
- Bipedal, fully upright
- Used forearms for
handling tools and
weapons
A. THE HOMO HABILIS
- Increased brain size
- Jaw and tooth size
closely resembling
modern humans
- Great climbers
- Have opposable
thumbs
A. THE HOMO HABILIS

- Have capacity for

speech
- Have capacity for
planning
- Have knowledge of
stones to use
B. THE HOMO ERGASTER & HOMO ERECTUS
B. THE HOMO ERGASTER & HOMO ERECTUS
Homo Ergaster – lived about 1.8 million to 1 million
years ago
- Fossil found in Kenya in 1984
- Popularly known as Turkana Boy
- First naked ape
- No body fur, dark pigmented skin
- No evidence of living in trees
- 1.8 meters (6 feet) in height
B. THE HOMO ERGASTER & HOMO ERECTUS

Homo Ergaster
- Made stone tools (hand axes &
cleavers) for butchering &
processing of hunted animals
B. THE HOMO ERGASTER & HOMO ERECTUS
Homo Erectus – replaced Homo ergaster
- Fossil found in Java & Republic of Georgia
- 1.9 million years old to 1.6 million years old
- Famous missing link
- Believe to be our first ancestor to occupy
northern China, southern Great Britain and Spain
and all of Africa
EMERGENCE OF MODERN HUMAN BEINGS
NEANDERTHALS & MODERN HOMO SAPIENS

- Evolved last
300,000 years ago
- Believed to be the
direct descendants of
modern humankind
- Barrel chested with
massive brow ridges
NEANDERTHALS & MODERN HOMO SAPIENS
- Nose that protruded
forward
- Low sloping
forehead
- Lower jaw without
much of a chin
- Thick arm and leg
bones
NEANDERTHALS & MODERN HOMO SAPIENS
- Heavier muscles in
the shoulder & neck
- Brain larger than of
modern humans
- Have been culturally
quite advanced
- Build house-like
structures
NEANDERTHALS & MODERN HOMO SAPIENS

- Manufactured a
variety of stone tools
- Used and controlled
fire
- Buried their dead
- Had a form of
religion