THE HOMINIDS © 2008 Paul Billiet ODWSODWS

Australopithecus afarensis © 2008 Paul Billiet ODWSODWS

Australopithecus afarensis  3.9 – 2.9 Ma  Climate changing. Antarctic ice cap advance 5 Ma  Distribution: Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania  Cranial capacity: 380 – 450 cm 3  Height: 1.07m  Bipedal (footprints 3.6 Ma old) /climber  U-shaped dental arcade but reduced canines  Arboreal / terrestrial herbivore © 2008 Paul Billiet ODWSODWS

Australopithecus africanus © 2008 Paul Billiet ODWSODWS

Australopithecus africanus  3 – 2.25 Ma  Cooling of climate reduced rainfall  Further advance of Antarctic ice  Appearance of Arctic ice 2.4Ma  Development of scrubland and savannah  Forest cover retreats © 2008 Paul Billiet ODWSODWS

Australopithecus africanus  Distribution: Southern and Eastern Africa  Cranial capacity: 500 cm 3 (Chimp = 400cm 3 )  Bipedal  20 – 35 kg  Rounder skull  Parabolic dental arcade  Longevity: 40 years maximum  Scavenger of bone marrow/brain cases  Used simple tools © 2008 Paul Billiet ODWSODWS

Australopithecus (Paranthropus) robustus © 2008 Paul Billiet ODWSODWS

Australopithecus (Paranthropus) robustus  2 – 1 Ma  Cooling of climate reduced rainfall  Development of scrubland and savannah Forest retreats  Distribution: S. Africa  Diet: Roots and tough fibrous vegetable matter  Cranial capacity: 500 cm 3 (Chimp = 400cm 3 )  Bipedal  40 –70 kg Sexual dimorphism (males twice as bulky as females)  Large cheek teeth  Heavy muscular skull © 2008 Paul Billiet ODWSODWS

Homo habilis Homo habilis - the handy man © 2008 Paul Billiet ODWSODWS

Homo habilis  Ma  E. Africa  Scavenging significant part of the diet  Cranial capacity: 600 – 800 cm 3  Height: 1.20 – 1.35m  Simple fashioned tools – choppers (Oldowan culture) © 2008 Paul Billiet ODWSODWS

Homo erectus Homo erectus – the upright man © 2008 Paul Billiet ODWSODWS

Homo erectus  1.8 to 0.5 Ma  0.9 Ma beginning of the Pleistocene ice age  Oscillations between cold and warm periods  Spread out of Africa (1.6Ma) throughout the old world  Scavenging to hunting  Use of a home base © 2008 Paul Billiet ODWSODWS

Homo erectus  Cranial capacity: 850 – 1100 cm 3 (H. sapiens = 1350 cm 3 )  Use of fire  Height 1.55 to 1.8m  Extended childhood  1st molar at 4.6 years old (H. sapiens = 5.9y)  Greater longevity  52 years  Speech? (Brain says: yes; spine says: no)  Improved tools: Hand axes (Acheulian culture) © 2008 Paul Billiet ODWSODWS

Homo neanderthalensis © 2008 Paul Billiet ODWSODWS

Homo neanderthalensis  to years ago  Europe, Middle East, into Central Asia  Evolved from H. erectus populations perhaps via H. heidelbergensis, then became extinct  Adapted to the ice-age conditions of temperate zone  Large nose may have warmed cold air  The enigma of its extinction is not explained © 2008 Paul Billiet ODWSODWS

Homo neanderthalensis  Cranial capacity: 1400 cm 3 (H. sapiens = 1350 cm 3 )  Brow ridge, long low skull  Height: 1.67m  Stocky build  Improved sophisticated tools (Mousterian culture)  Sometimes buried their dead  Made simple jewellery © 2008 Paul Billiet ODWSODWS

Homo sapiens © 2008 Paul Billiet ODWSODWS

Homo sapiens  From years ago to present  Originating in Southern Africa then went worldwide  Reached Europe about years ago  Cooling of the climate during the last glacial period from about a led to their predominance over other species (e.g. H. neanderthalensis)  Omnivore  Alters environment  Domestication of species, farming © 2008 Paul Billiet ODWSODWS

Homo sapiens  Cranial capacity: 1350 cm 3 (range 1000 to 2000 cm 3 )  20% of the body’s energy consumption for 5% of body mass  Speech  Art  Extensive tool kit including new materials (bone, ivory, antler)  Symbolic thought  1st molar tooth 5.9 years old  Longevity 66 years © 2008 Paul Billiet ODWSODWS