1. Early Humans
The Beginning

7. 65 Million Years Ago
Dinosaurs died out about 65 million years ago. The first human like hominids did not appear until around 3 million years ago.
Therefore, early man did not live during the same time period as dinosaurs! 7

8. 3 Million Years Ago
3 million years ago, our planet was teeming with life!
There were deer, giraffes, hyenas, sheep, goats, horses, elephants, camels, beavers, cave lions, ants, termites, woolly mammoths, saber-toothed tigers, giant sharks, dogs with huge teeth, and all kinds of birds and plants and fish. 8

9. Very Early Humans
During this time higher primates, including apes and early man, first appeared.
Early human-like hominids could stand upright. Apes could not.
Ape hands were made for climbing and clinging. Man’s hands were jointed differently, which allowed them to make and use tools. 9

10. Lucy
In 1974, a skeleton was found in Africa. The bones were those of a female, about 20 years old or so when she died. Scientists named her Lucy. About 3 million years ago, when Lucy was alive, she was about 4 feet tall and weighed about 50 pounds. Scientists suspect that she fell into a lake or river and drowned. 10

11. Australopithecus afarensis
Meaning: Southern Ape
Where: Eastern Africa (Ethiopia, Tanzania, Kenya)
When: million years ago

12. “Lucy” – Australopithecus afarensis

13. The Laetoli Footprints
A line of hominid fossil (thought to be made by Au. afarensis) footprints were found at the Laetoli site in Tanzania.
Discovered in 1976 by Mary Leakey.
Preserved in powdery volcanic ash from
an eruption of a nearby volcano.
Soft rain cemented the ash-layer tuff
without destroying the prints.
As the tracks lead in the same direction,
they might have been produced by a group.

14. Australopithecus africanus
Where: Southern Africa (South Africa)
When: 3.3 – 2.1 million years ago.

15. Homo habilis Where: Southern Africa (South Africa)
When: 3.3 – 2.1 million years ago.

16. Homo erectus
Where: Northern, Eastern, and Southern Africa; Western Asia
When: 1.89 million – 143,000 years ago

17. Homo Sapiens Where: Africa
When: evolved between 290,000 – 140,000 years ago