1. The Last Ape Standing

2. It is therefore probable that Africa was formerly inhabited by extinct apes closely allied to the gorilla and chimpanzee: and as these two species are now man’s nearest allies, it is somewhat more probable that our early progenitors lived on the African continent than elsewhere. -Darwin (1871) The Descent of Man

3. Mt-DNA Primate Tree

4. Our Living Sisters Pan Gorilla http://www.mnh.si.edu/anthro/humanorigins/ha/a_tree.html

5. Living Asian Apes Gibbon (Hyalobates)Orangutan (Pongo)

6. Apes in the Primates

7. Features that distinguish the Hominins from other living apes Bipedal Locomotion Figure 1 from Richmond, B. G., D. R. Begun, and D. S. Strait. 2001. Origin of human bipedalism: The knuckle-walking hypothesis revisited. Yearbook of Physical Anthropology. 44:70-105.

9. Bipedalism Freed the hands and allowed more manipulative capabilities Led to a higher thermoregulatory efficiency Widened feeding potential Reduced predation pressures Was more energetically efficient mode of locomotion

10. Oldest evidence of bipedalism 70 footprints in volcanic ash dated to 3.6 MYA, Laetoli, Tanzania, discovered by a team led by Mary Leakey in 1978

11. Footprint experiment (Raichlen et al. 2010) A. Normal gait in sand (H.sapiens) B. Bent-knee, bent- hip gait in sand (similar to walk of apes) C. Footprint from Laetoli, Tanzania

12. Features that distinguish the Hominins from other living apes Neoteny –Nakedness –Large Brain Size –Reduced Dentition

13. The Neotenic Apes

14. Hair loss and lice Summarized in Reed et al. 2007. Pair of lice lost or parasites regained: the evolutionary history of anthropoid primate lice. BMC Biology 5:7. doi: 10.1186/1741-7007-5-7

15. Phylogeny of some living primates and their lice Also from Reed et al. (2007)

16. Tales of the Lice Human head louse vs chimp louse (how long ago we diverged) ~6-7MYA Human head louse vs human body louse (how long ago we began to wear clothes) ~50-100KYA Human pubic louse vs gorilla body louse (how long ago we began to lose fur to patches of hair) ~3-4MYA

17. Large Brain Potts 2011Navarette et al. 2011

18. Reduced dentition Image from Anthropological Curiosities.

19. Features that distinguish the Hominins from other apes Vocal Communication –Lower larynx –Fox P2 gene

20. http://www.voice.northwestern.edu/VOICEBOX/Larynx.htm

21. PBS NOVA

22. Miocene Epoch 23-5.3 MYA Epoch of ape radiation (>100 species of apes in the latter part of the Miocene) They ranged though Africa, Europe, and Asia The end of the Miocene saw the separation between the African Apes (chimpanzees, bonobos, and gorillas) and the Hominin Apes Africa moved northward and formed the Mediterranean Sea, which dried out multiple times. Data from NASA, USGS, NOAA

23. Proconsul Likely a sister to the apes with a mix of ape-monkey characters 14-23 MYA Africa

24. Dryopithecus Early ape 15-9 MYA Africa, Eurasia

25. Ardipithecus Africa Brain ~300-350cc 120 (f) cm tall 50 (f) kg ~6.0 – 4.2 MYA

26. Pliocene Epoch 5.3-2.5 MYA Epoch of bipedal ape radiation. They ranged though Africa Gracile and robust lines Pliocene relatively warm Data from NASA, USGS, NOAA

27. Human Phylogeny From Wood (2010) Homo Paranthropus Australopithecus Ardipithecus Sahelanthropus Orrorin

28. (A) Pan troglodytes, chimpanzee, modern (B) Australopithecus africanus, 2.6 My (C) Australopithecus africanus, 2.5 My (D) Homo habilis, 1.9 My (E) Homo habilis, 1.8 My (F) Homo rudolfensis, 1.8 My (G) Homo erectus, 1.75 My (H) Homo ergaster (early H. erectus), 1.75 My (I) Homo heidelbergensis, 300,000 - 125,000 y (J) Homo neanderthalensis, 70,000 y (K) Homo neanderthalensis, 60,000 y (L) Homo neanderthalensis, 45,000 y (M) Homo sapiens, 30,000 y (N) Homo sapiens, modern http://www.talkingorigins.com Hominin Series

29. Australopithecus afarensis Africa Brain 375-550 cc 107 (f)-152 (m) cm tall 29 (f) – 42 (m) kg ~3.0-3.9 MYA British Museum of Natural History and Smithsonian Museum

30. Australopithecus africanus Africa Brain 420-500 cc 110 (f)-140 (m) cm tall 30 (f) - 41 (m) kg ~2.4-2.8 MYA British Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian Museum

31. Paranthropus robustus Africa Brain ~530cc 110 (f)-130 (m) cm tall 32 (f) – 40 (m) kg ~1.0 – 2.0 MYA http://www.maropeng.co.za

32. Pleistocene Epoch 2.5-0.012 MYA Appearance and radiation of Homo. They ranged though Africa and emerged into the rest of the earth. Global climates extremely unsettled and variable Data from NASA, USGS, NOAA

33. Homo habilis http://macscience.files.wordpress.com Africa Brain ~500-800 cc 100 (f) – 135 (m) cm tall 32 (f) – 37 (m) kg ~1.44-2.3 MYA

34. Olduwan stone tools in Ethiopia 2.6 -1.8 MYA Chipped pebbles and choppers, usually lava Likely made by H. habilis

35. Homo erectus Africa, Eurasia ~Brain 750-1225 cc 145 (f) – 185 (m) cm tall 40 (f) – 68 (m) kg ~0.3-1.8 MYA http://www.mnh.si.edu/anthro/humanorigins/ha/a_tree.html

36. Range of H. erectus Evidence for controlled use of fire Acheulean tools (1.7- 0.1 MYA) http://anthro.palomar.edu

37. Homo heidelbergensis Africa, Eurasia Brain ~1100-1400 cc 157 (f) - 175 (m) cm tall 51 (f) – 62 (m) kg ~0.2-0.6 MYA Smithsonian Institution

38. Homo neanderthalensis Eurasia Brain ~1100-1400 cc 155 (f) – 164 (m) cm tall 54 (f) – 64 (m) kg ~0.03-0.3 MYA Neanderthal Museum

39. Range of the Neanderthals http://www.rhesusnegative.net

40. Behaviors of H. neanderthalensis Scavengers and up close spear hunting of large animals (see Figure) Relatively complex stone tools (Mousterian, see Figure) Tools from wood, bone, tusks, and antlers Evidence of burials and ceremony Possible verbal communication

41. Homo floresiensis Asia (Indonesia) Brain ~380-417 cc ~106 (f?) cm tall 30 (f?) kg ~0.013-0.095 MYA

42. Homo sapiens Africa to all land surfaces ~1350 cc (975-1499) US ave: 162 (f) – 175.8 (m) cm tall US ave: 74 (f) – 86.4 (m) kg ~present-0.2 MYA

43. Homo sapiens Appeared ~200,000 years ago with a suite of behaviors similar to neanderthals Likely in small populations (~140) with a total number of 100,000 Bottleneck reduced to ~10,000 individuals

44. Theories regarding the origin of Homo sapiens Recent Out of Africa –More consistent with the genetic data Mitochondrial Y-chromosome Genetic variability –Consistent with language families –Neanderthals a different species Multiregional Hypothesis –Explains racial differences by isolation and periodic mixing between populations –Connects H. erectus directly to H. sapiens –Neanderthal a step in the evolution of modern humans

46. Genetic variation in Homo sapiens

47. Classic archaeologically-accessible evidence of behavioral modernity includes: finely-made tools fishing evidence of long-distance exchange or barter among groups systematic use of pigment (such as ochre) and jewelry for decoration or self- ornamentation figurative art (cave paintings, petroglyphs, figurine) game playing and music foods being cooked and seasoned instead of being consumed in the raw burial Calvin. 2003. A Brief History of Mind; Stringer. 2011. Origin of our Species

48. Homo sapiens, the generalist Rick Potts of the Smithsonian Institution

49. Why are we the last ape standing? We were lucky We outcompeted the other bipedal apes We killed the other bipedal apes