1. Searching for the Real Adam & Eve Director of Palynology Laboratory Texas A&M University Vaughn Bryant, Ph. D. Tonight’s Presentation

2. 2 Who Were Adam and Eve?

3. 3 Biblical Concept of the Creation of the First Humans

4. 4 The Scientific Concept Humans are Primates and they developed during the early Cenozoic (Eocene), but where did the prosimii, monkeys, apes, and finally humans emerge? Where was Eden? Early Cenozoic continents

5. 5 Rift Valley Apes and Humans  According to Dr. Elisabeth Vrba (Yale University), there was an uplift of areas west of the Great Rift Valley in Africa around 4-5 million years ago, it also caused many volcanic eruptions  The uplift created a higher elevation region in the west with a wetter habitat & more trees, those conditions favored early primate types that would later developed into the chimps and gorillas  Areas east of the uplift became drier and forced those primates to adapt to life in a savanna grassland, that favored early forms with upright posture, which then led to the development of early humans West East Rift Valley

6. 6 Humans lose: forced to move to the savannah  Savannah life is dangerous, needed to think quick, need to cooperate in groups, need a big brain, need dark skin, don’t need body hair, need to sweat  Bipedalism was essential for survival because:  See over tall grass and watch for predators  It is more energy efficient than walking on all fours; ned it for grasslands where resources are dispersed  Exposes less body surface area to UV & solar radiation, helps to keep body cooler, dark skin safer from UV rays  Frees hands to carry babies, other things, to make tools and hold weapons for protection

7. 7 How do we define what is a Human?  Bipedalism: we are designed to be walking upright on two feet, our main form of walking  Brains: humans have large brains  Childhood dependency: we mature late  Tools: humans learned to make tools but are we the only tool users  Language: when did we learn it and are we the only ones that have it  Culture: our adaptation, but it is unique to us

8. 8 Anthropologists’ View of Adam & Eve

9. 9 So Who do you Want to Vote For?  Ardipithecus—group of ape- size early primates, there were two species, both groups probably walked upright, lived along the edges of wooded areas and savanna grasslands  Both lived in Ethiopia  Both lived between 4.5 and 5.8 million years ago  Many believe they are the grandparents of a later form Australopithecus anamensis

10. 10 Could these have been Adam & Eve?  Australopithecus anamensis: Lived in Kenya about 4 million years ago, they weighed about 110 lbs (males)  Probably the grandparents of Australopithecus afarensis

11. 11 Australopithecus afarensis  Brain is still rather small  Below neck, she is very human- like and almost identical to us  Lived 3.9-2.9 million years ago  Definitely a biped but may have slept in trees at night  Large molar teeth, thick enamel, small canines, ate coarse food  Lived in social group that were probably very similar in many ways to social groupings among the chimps and gorillas Lucy

12. 12 Australopithecus afarensis: Was this our Adam and Eve?

13. 13 Australopithecus afarensis  She has a mixture of apelike and hominid features, is a biped, but has curved fingers needed to climb trees easily  Lived in the savanna region of Ethiopia  Long parental care needed for young, probably years  May have had a form of rudimentary cultural  More sexual dimorphism than is found in the later species of humans She is currently visiting Houston

14. 14 Lucy Left--Lucy walking next to a modern woman, size ratio of the two is probably correct, Lucy about 4’ tall Above--the Afar region in Ethiopia where the bones of Lucy were found Red areas reflect the actual bones of Lucy found

15. 15 Australopithecus garhi  (Lucy’s cousin) the fossil bones were found near Lucy in the Afar region of Ethiopia  Might be a grandparents of the genus Homo or it might not be, nobody is sure  Many think Lucy is the ancestor of the genus Homo  Made the earliest stone tools used by any humans  First humans to have arm and leg ratios equal to ours

16. 16 Lucy’s other cousins A. boisei A. africanusA. robustus A. boisei

17. 17 Homo habilis (2-2.5 mya)  The first Homo fossil found by Louis & Mary Leakey at Olduvai (Kenya) in 1959  Raymond Dart, suggested Homo habilis, "handy man" since it made stone tools  Leakey called the stone tools Oldowan, oldest tools made by genus Homo  Genus Homo--The Homo group had a flatter face, the molar teeth were smaller, jaw more parabolic in shape, larger brain/body ratio than any earlier form

18. 18 A few types of the Oldowan stone tools made by the earliest forms of Homo habilis

19. 19 Homo erectus (also H. ergaster) in Africa  By 1.7 mya Homo erectus had expanded from Africa to Asia, SE Asia, and even Europe  Disappeared ~300,000 years ago in most places or was absorbed by early Homo sapiens moving out of Africa and into Asia and Europe

20. 20 Homo sapiens neandertalensis Neandertal from the site of La Chapelle- aux-Saints, France (45,000 years ago)

21. 21 Are they Adam and Eve?  Neandertals living near the glaciers in Europe were stocky to minimizes the body surface area, which would conserve body heat, probably had little body hair, might have had white skin  Large nasal cavities, long & broad noses needed to warm and moisten the cold air  Language ?

22. 22 Define what one must have to be a human!  Some say the difference between humans and all other animals is the knowledge of having a spirit or soul  All human cultures every know believe in the spirit world and concept of a soul  Neandertals were the first to bury their dead, why?  Did they have religion? Are they the first to believe in spirits? Did they have a concept of a human soul?

23. 23 Is This the real Adam?  Modern humans (us) first appeared about 40- 45,000 years ago  First to draw art, first to invent bow and arrow  Believed to be the first to have real languages  First to live on all of Earth’s continents  First to develop farming, first to domesticate animals

24. 24 Adam and Eve are who you want to believe!