Human evolution

Hominid Evolution Common ancestor 5-7 mya Chimps Remained in trees Australopithecus afarensis “Lucy” 3-4 mya Bipedal, left trees, ~3 feet tall Lived off land, walked around

Lucy is the most complete fossilized remains of the family Hominidae.

Lucy was discovered by a paleontologist from Cleveland. Her original remains & recreation of what she may have looked like are now housed in the Cleveland Museum of Natural History There is a substantial exhibit of Human evolution in the museum The picture of what Lucy’s recreation that follows was taken in the Cleveland museum in April,2014

Cleveland Museum of Natural History Exhibit, April, 2014 Notice that Lucy is looking up at the visitors. She is quite short compared to modern humans. Her knees lock (evolutionary development) & she walks upright

Homo habilis “handy man” 1-2 mya Used primitive stone tools, Taller

? Homo erectus “upright man” 1.8-3.0 mya Hunters More advanced tools (stone axes) Used fire, Left Africa Australia Africa Asia Indonesia Europe N. America Cromagnons 35,000 years ago, Agricultural, social groups, sculpted out of rock/wood Neanderthals 130,000 – 35,000 years ago Shorter, biggest brains of all! Wore clothes, buried dead, Painted art in caves Modern Man ?

Common Ancestor & Cladistics Cladistics is the mapping of the relationships of organisms Common ancestor is at the base of the tree. The organism from which all life originated.

Mapping relationships (Cladistics)

Family tree based on DNA evidence Chimpanzees Bonobos (pygmy chimps) Central Africa Modern Humans Gorillas Neanderthals 500,000 yrs ago Orangutans (apes in SE Asian rainforests) 7-8 mya Common Ancestor 6 mya 12-14 mya