1. Human Evolution

2. Background Info
Paleanthropologist: Scientist who studies fossil evidence of human evolution
Hominid: Humans and immediate ancestors
Scientists study clues from hominids to construct what we know about human evolution

3. Early Primates Prosimians (65mya) Monkeys (35mya) Apes (23mya)
Hominids (5mya)

4. Early Primates - Traits
Common physical primate traits:
Dense hair or fur covering
Warm-blooded
Live young
Nurse young
Infant dependence
Common social primate traits:
Social life
Play
Observation and imitation
Pecking order
Common Primate Traits

5. Primate Family Tree
Orangutan
Crown lemur

6. Evolution of Bipedalism
Anatomical changes
Neck (1)
Spine aligned strait down
Chest (2)
Lower back (3)
Human spine is S shaped which allows upright standing
hips and pelvis (4)
Supports Organs
thighs (5), knees (6), feet (7)
Shorter toes, alligned feet, knees close together

7. Pre-hominid Evolution
Ardipithecus ramidus ? mya
A. anamensis
A. afarensis
A. bahrelghazali
A. africanus
P. aethiopicus
A. garhi ?
P. boisei
P. robustus
Bipedalism
Tools
Language
Reconstruction of Australopithecine

8. Hominid Evolution Homo habilis (2.0 – 1.6mya)
H. rudolfensis ( mya)
H. erectus (1.9-27kyBP)
H. heidelbergensis ( kyBP)
H. neanderthalensis (300-30kyBP)
H. sapiens (130kyBP – present)
Scale: Millions of Years BP

9. Hominid Evolution Major Homo advances: Brain size Better bipedalism
Hunting
Fire (H. erectus)
Tools
Built shelters (H. heidelbergensis)
Clothing (H. neandertalensis)
Language (Neandertals?)

10. Homo habilis 612 cc brain 2.3 - 1.6 mya first toolmaker, stone
“handy human”
brow ridge
probable meat-eater
possibly arboreal
discovered in 1960 by Leakeys
Had region of the brain that was essential for speech
Artist’s representation of a Homo habilis band as it might have existed two million years ago.

11. H. habilis v. H. erectus
Finds in east Africa indicate that Homo habilis was not very different from the australopithecines in terms of body size and shape.
The earliest Homo erectus remains indicate rapid biological change.
H. erectus was considerably taller (5’ 7” 12 yr old) and had a larger brain than H. habilis.

12. Homo erectus 1891 - Eugene Dubois discovers H. erectus in Java
Dubois calls it Pithecanthropus erectus initially, also dubbed “Java Man”
dates from 1.9 mya
994 cc brain size (compare to 612 for H. habilis, two-thirds that of modern human)
Thick Skull, Large Brow ridges, low forehead, large teeth
Hunters, used fires, lived in caves
Photograph of Nariokotome boy, an early Homo erectus found near Lake Turkana, Kenya.

13. Homo erectus – 1.9mya to 27k BP
Why was H. erectus so successful?
Less sexual dimorphism = possible pair bonds, marriage
Less hair on body = wearing of furs, other clothing
Wearing of furs = ability to live further north
Quick adaptation to environment without physical changes
Culture is main reason H. erectus was so successful
organization for hunting
ability to protect against predators
control of fire?
possible campsites
tools
Distribution of H. erectus

14. Homo neanderthalensis
discovered in the Neander Valley (Tal) near Dusseldorf, 1856
massive brain--about 1,400cc on average
5 ft tall, heavy build
large torso, short limbs, broad nasal passages
later remains show decrease in robustness of the front teeth and face, suggesting use of tools replaced teeth
The skull of the classic Neandertal found in 1908 at La Chapelle-aux-Saints.

15. Neanderthal Culture
Homesites – In caves, also in the open (near rivers, framed with wood and covered with skins)
Burial – Is there evidence of purposeful burial and ritual?
Language – Could Neandertals talk or not?
Used Tools, carefully shaped stone tools
Top: Reconstruction of Neandertal burial from Shanidar cave
Bottom: Mousterian tools

16. What happened to Neandertals?
H. neanderthalensis coexisted with H. sapiens for at least 20,000 years, perhaps as long as 60,000 years
What happened?
Neandertals interbred with H. sapiens
Neandertals were killed off by H. sapiens
H. sapiens drove Neandertals into extinction by competition

17. Homo sapiens Archaic – 100,000 to 35,000 years BP
Sometimes called Homo sapiens and Homo sapiens neanderthalensis
Modern – 35,000 years BP to present
Anatomically modern
Sometimes called Homo sapiens sapiens

18. Cro-Magnon Man Cro-Magnon humans
35,000 years B.P. in western Europe to 17,000 years B.P.
1,600 cc cranial capacity
Name comes from a hotel in France
Not a different species, just old Homo sapiens from Europe
Artist’s reconstruction of a Cro-Magnon man

19. Modern Homo Sapiens
Humans evolved more or less simultaneously across the entire Old World from several ancestral populations.
Humans evolved only once--in Africa from H. heidelbergensis ancestors--and then migrated throughout the Old World, replacing their archaic predecessors. Also called the “Out of Africa” hypothesis.