HUMAN EVOLUTION THEORY

Paulina Toro, Ronghua Xue, Ted Biscocho, Yuxiao Tang, Yuyu Gao

HUMAN EVOLUTION Theory

Homo Sapiens Sapiens

Australopithecus

Homo hiblis

Neanderthals

Homo Erectus

2 million years ago

2.31 million years ago

4 million years ago

40,000 years ago

Currently

Disclaimer

• We are NOT decsendent from chimpanzees.
• Humans and Chimps share 98.4% of their DNA due to a common ancestor
• A lot is still unknown

Australopithecus

• Meaning: Australopithecus means "southern ape" a reference to the fact that the first Australopithecus fossils were found in southern Africa.

• Time: Between 4 million to 2.3 million years ago

• Location: Southern Africa

• Characteristics:

- Were very short, about 3.5 feet tall. Rib cage was cone-shaped like those of apes.- Brain was small, comprising about 1.3% of their body weight.

Australopithecus

cont.

• Characteristics:

- Many cranial features were quite ape-like, including a low, sloping forehead, a projecting face, and prominent brow ridges above the eyes. - Limbs displayed human-like features that indicate an ability to walk on two legs; ape-like features that suggest an ability to climb trees - Did not have to ability to speak - They were herbivores and had teeth meant for grinding tough fruits and leaves

Homo Habilis

• Meaning: This species is known as 'handy man' because stone tools were found near its fossil remains and it is assumed this species had developed the ability to modify stone into tools.

• Time: from 2.3 million to 1.5 million years ago

• Location: Eastern and Southern Africa

• Characteristics:

- Body proportions were similar to those of australopithecines.

Homo Habilis

cont.

- Brain representing 1.7 % of their body weight. This was a significant increase compared to australopithecine brains. - Learned to use tools from seeing others do it. - Features of the leg and foot bones indicate that this species walked on two legs.

Homo Erectus

• Also called Homo Ergaster.

• Meaning: Homo, is a Latin word meaning ‘human’ or ‘man’. The second word in this species’ scientific name is erectus. This name was selected to indicate this species’ ability to stand and walk with upright.

• Time: Between about 1.5 to 1.9 million years ago

• Location: Northern, Eastern, and Southern Africa; Western Asia

• First of our relatives to have human-like body proportions.

Homo Erectus

cont.

• Features:

- Brain showed an increase in size over earlier species and the structure of the brain was similar to that of modern humans.- Limbs were like those of modern humans although the bones were thicker, suggesting a physically demanding lifestyle.- Believed to be more intelligent than the ones before them

Neanderthals

• Meaning: Neanderthalensis means 'Human from the Neander Valley.' .

• Time: between about 130,000 and 40,000 years ago

• Location: Across Europe and, Southwest and Central Asia

• Learned to control fire and how to fasten stone to wood to make tools

Neanderthals

cont.

• Features:

- Neanderthals had a long, low skull (compared to the modern humans) with a characteristic prominent brow ridge above their eyes.- The central part of the face protruded forward and was dominated by a very big, wide nose.- Their front teeth were large and had strong, muscular bodies, and wide hips and shoulders.

Homo Sapiens Sapiens

• Meaning: The name we selected for ourselves means 'wise human'. Homo is the Latin word for 'human' or 'man' and sapiens is derived from a Latin word that means 'wise'.

• Time: 300,000 years ago to present

• Location: Fossils of the earliest members of Homo Sapiens Sapiens, have all been found in Africa.

Homo Sapiens Sapiens

cont.

Features:- The earliest Homo sapiens had bodies with short, slender trunks and long limbs. More stocky builds gradually evolved when populations spread to cooler regions, as an adaptation that helped the body retain heat.- Our brains make up 2.2% of our body weight. Early Homo sapiens, however, had slightly larger brains.

References

1. 9796f871f6e83b99ee354b260bf9f7ff--lucy-skeleton-brain-size.jpg (736×1107) (pinimg.com) 2. KNM ER 1813 (H. habilis) - Homo habilis - Wikipedia 3. https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.k-Ueyoy2dqYO5cu5pyxtogHaHa?pid=ImgDet&w=1000&h=1000&rs=1 4. Skull pekingman - Homo erectus - Wikipedia 5. neanderthals body bone - Bing images 6. https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/ndXqx-u2KxiKq8yIIajOZsFdXbQ=/1400x1050/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/fd/49/fd49352d-e06d-4214-9065-4a9299d47747/skull-arc-frontal_web_social.jpg 7. https://youtu.be/UPggkvB9_dc 8.https://factsanddetails.com/world/cat56/sub360/item1487.html https://australian.museum/learn/science/human-evolution/australopithecus-afarensis/

Reference

1. https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2020/july/human-ancestor-homo-erectus-had-stocky-chest-of-a-neanderthal.html
2. https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/who-were-the-neanderthals.html#:~:text=Neanderthals%20had%20a%20long%2C%20low,a%20very%20big%2C%20wide%20nose.
3. https://australian.museum/learn/science/human-evolution/homo-habilis/
4. https://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/species/homo-erectus
5. https://australian.museum/learn/science/human-evolution/homo-erectus/
6. https://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-homo-habilis-and-vs-homo-erectus/