The History of Human Evolution

Naming Living Things Kingdom, Phylum, Class Order, Family, Genus, Species, Subspecies Each animal is named using the Genus and Species (Animals in the same Species can interbreed) Felis silvestris catus---cat Felis silvestris lybica---wildcat Panthera tigris---tiger Panthera tigris tigris---Bengal tiger Panthera leo---lion

Classifying Humans Order- Primates Family- Hominidae Genus- Homo Species- sapiens Subspecies- sapiens Species- erectus Extinct Subspecies- Neanderthal Species- habilis

Darwin believed… Humans and apes had a common ancestor about 5 or 6 million years ago. How could standing upright on feet be an adaptation for survival? About 2 million years ago hominids developed much larger brains (triple the size of primates) and thumbs that allowed for precision grip and tool use.

Historical Hominids: All-stars in History Homo sapiens sapiens (us) Cro-Magnon homo sapiens (extinct, first artists- cave paintings in France) Neanderthal homo sapiens (extinct) Homo erectus (tall as modern humans. Similar length arms, larger brains- learned how to use fire, lived in temporary campsites, division of labour, maybe some language) Homo habilis (short, large brain, long arms precision grip- tools) Australopithecus (extinct, early standing)