1. 32-3 Primates and Human Origins
By Alan Newcomb
Megan Stone
Bradley Reddin
Regan Gauntt

2. Adaptations Binocular Vision Well developed cerebrum
Have flat face that enable the primate to merge images providing depth perception and a 3-d veiw of the world
Well developed cerebrum
Helps them display complex behaviors
Flexible fingers and toes
Usually have five fingers that curl around objects
Arms that rotate in broad circles
Enables many primates to run along tree limbs and swing like Tarzan with ease
The thumb
The presence of the thumb helps them hold objects firmly in their hands or in their feet

3. Evolutionary History
Primates split into several groups in the early evolutionary history
Prosimians : small, nocturnal primates with large eyes adapted for seeing in the dark, many have dog like snouts
Anthropoids: include monkeys, apes, and humans
They are split into two branches

4. Anthropoids
New world monkeys like squirrels and spider monkeys they live almost entirely in trees
Long flexible arms to swing branch to branch once again like Tarzan
They have a long prehensile tail that can coil tightly around a branch to serve as a fifth hand
Old World Monkeys such as langurs and macaques
Spend time in trees but lack the prehensile tail
Great apes also called hominoids include orangutans and gorillas share 98% DNA with humans

5. Hominoid Evolution
Hominoid family includes modern humans that display several distinct evolutionary trends.
Bipedal means to have two feet
Hominid hand evolved an opposable thumb

6. Early Hominids
Almost a third of all Hominids have been discovered in the last 20 years
Most palientolisgest agree that the Hominid fossil record includes at least these genera; Ardipithecus, Paranthropus, Austrlopithecus, Kenyanthropus, and Homo

7. Australopithecus
This group lived from about 4 million to about a million years ago.
They were bipedal apes that ate fruit, stayed in trees, and are human ancestors

8. Paranthropus
They had huge grinding back teeth with diets including course and fibrous plant foods.
They grew to the size of well feed football linebackers

9. Early Hominid Evolution
Like the evolution other mammalian groups, a series of complex adaptive radiations produced a large number of species whose relationships are difficult to determine
The hominid fossil record dated back nearly 7 million years ago

10. The Genus homo Homo Habilis means “handy man”
Homo Habilis was the first of several species in our genus to arise in Africa.

11. Out of Africa, but when? And who?
Researchers agree that our genus originated in Africa. But they do not know when the hominids first left Africa or originated.

12. Modern homo sapiens
There are two groups of hominids. One is homo neanderthalensis and homo sapiens.
They thinl homo neanderthalensis died out 30,000 years ago.
50,000 years ago, homo sapiens act like we do today

13. Questions What are the two types of homos?
What are two types of primates?
What are the two differences in the types of primates?
What are the two types of adaptations of primates?