Where do we come from? Badi Mziwamadoda B.SW UNIVERSITY OF FORT HARE SOUTH AFRICA

 What is evolution of human  The beginning of human evolution  Differences from other species  Evolution and adaptation  Current species and the future  Conclusion

 Human evolution refers to the evolutionary process leading up to the appearance of modern humans.  “Picture of modern human”

 Evolutionary history of the primates can be traced back 65 million years.  The oldest known primate-like mammal species,  The Plesiadapis, came from North America, but they were widespread in Eurasia and Africa during the tropical conditions of the Paleocene and Eocene.

 H. sapiens (the adjective sapiens is Latin for "wise" or "intelligent") have lived from about 250,000 years ago to the present.  Between 400,000 years ago and the second interglacial period in the Middle Pleistocene, around 250,000 years ago,  the trend in skull expansion and the elaboration of stone tool technologies developed,  providing evidence for a transition from H. erectus to H. sapiens.  The direct evidence suggests there was a migration of H. erectus out of Africa, then a further speciation of H. sapiens from H. erectus in Africa.  A subsequent migration within and out of Africa eventually replaced the earlier dispersed H. erectus

Evolution is the development of new life forms by the action of natural selection on random genetic mutations “Subsequently”  An organism changes biologically in order to survive successfully

 HUMAN EVOLUTION IS ALL ABOUT ADAPTATION  Human Evolution: the development of new life forms by the action of natural selection on random genetic mutations.  SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST  SURVIVAL OF THE BEST ADAPTED

 Survival of the best adapted  Geographical area  behaviour of species  Fittest and strongest to stand the test of nature

 A number of other changes have also characterized the evolution of humans  Among them an increased importance on vision rather than smell  A smaller gut  Loss of body hair  Evolution of sweat glands  A change in the shape of the dental arcade from being u-shaped to being parabolic  Development of a chin (found in Homo sapiens alone), development of styloid processes  Development of a descended larynx.  Increased brain size  Type of food

 More difficult to get around in open savannah.  Open country had a greater predator risk  Food resources were more widely dispersed  Advantages of bipedalism: Free up hands for tool use etc. Allows endurance walking See further Thermoregulation Energy and strength

 Same species with different behaviours and nutrition  Other adaptations: skin, sweating, brain size and complexity, hands, feet, hair, stomach and food processing, face etc.  Species continue to change because they are continuously influenced by external and internal factors.  Human evolution indicative of this constant change and increased complexity

Acheulean hand-axes from Kent. Homo erectus flint work. The types shown are (clockwise from top) cordate, ficron and ovate. "A sharp rock", an Oldowan pebble tool, the most basic of human stone tools

 Behaviour and nutrition  Development of new life forms  Today the adaptation is evident from pole to pole, from equator to deserts  Human and life  Changes occurred overtime on earth (Evolution effort) What are doing to see the future

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