Human Evolution

Evolution of Primates Charles Darwin suggested that humans, gorillas and chimpanzees evolved from a common ancestor Primates- mammal group that includes prosimians, monkeys, apes, and humans

Characteristics of Primates Grasping hands and feet Cling to mother Climb trees Grab food Forward placement of eyes Depth perception Helped when swinging through tree

First Primates Oldest fossils is a prosimian (38 million years old) Night active (nocturnal) Modern prosimians Lorises Lemurs Tarsiers Tarsier Lorises Lemur

Evolution of Special Traits 36 million years ago, some primates became diurnal (day active) Evolution of daytime vision Cone cells in the eye developed Detects color Larger brain

Monkeys First primates to have opposable thumbs Ability to manipulate things

Apes Shared common ancestor with monkeys Apes first appeared 30 million years ago Larger, more developed brain than monkeys No tails DNA differs only 1.6 percent from humans

Evolution of Upright Walking Early primates walked on all fours Some developed the skill of walking on two legs Hominids- group that walked upright

Oldest Hominid Fossil 4.4 million years old Ape-like Called Ardipithecus

Hominids Australopithecus Earliest known ancestor Bipedal (walk on two legs) Large brain 3.5 feet tall and 40 pounds

Australopithecus Australopithecus Africanus (2 million years ago) “manlike ape” Australopithecus boisei (almost 2 million years ago) large teeth and jaw Australopithecus afarensis (3 million years ago) “Lucy”

Genus Homo Homo Habilis Oldest Member of Geneus Evolved from austropithecines about 2 million years ago Used tools (habilis means handy) About 4 feet tall Lived in Africa

First Hominid Out of Africa Homo erectus Called Java man, found on island of Java Leg bone and skull size indicates it walked upright and had a large brain Used fire Lived in tribes Hunted and cooked Disappeared 200,000 years ago

Homo Sapiens Sapien means “wise” First known paintings Two theories Homo erectus groups inter bred and formed new species Started in Africa and migrated replacing homo erectus In Europe about 130,000 years ago

Homo Sapiens in Europe First fossils are of Neanderthals Homo Neanderthalensis Massive skulls Protruding face Heavy, bony ridge over brow Large brain (larger than today’s human) Would have evolved into a separate species 70,000 years ago very common

Neanderthals Took care of injured Buried the dead Placed food, flowers, and other objects at grave site Belief in life after death Abstract thinking

Modern Homo Sapiens 34,000 years ago Replaced the Neanderthal Hunted Complex social organization Used language 12,000 years ago came to N. America Change the environment to suit our needs not the other way around