Human Evolution

First primates appeared about 55 million

years ago
they were adapted to an arboreal life (tree-
dwelling):
1. five grasping digits – including an opposable
thumb or toe
2. nails instead of claws to protect the tips of
the digits
3. fleshy pads at the ends of the digits that are
sensitive to touch
4. long slender limbs that rotate freely at hips
and shoulders
5.large, forward-looking eyes located in front
of the head to provide stereoscopic (three-
dimensional) vision
– fields of view overlap allowing the ability
to accurately judge distances (important
when jumping from branch to branch)
– stereoscopic vision has been associated
with a flattening of the face
6.reduced sense of smell and relatively small
nose – shorter nose is associated with flat
face and stereoscopic vision
7. unspecialized digestive system – can
exploit large range of food sources
8. reduced number of offspring – females
usually bear one young at a time and the
baby is helpless and requires long period
of nurturing - young cling to mother
9. relatively large brain size – increased
sensory input associated with sharp vision
and greater agility favored larger brains
10. social groupings – all primates live to some
degree in a social group
• Modern primates are divided into two
subgroups:
– Prosimii (prosimians – meaning “before the
ape), includes lemurs, lorises, pottos, and
tarsiers

– Anthropoidea (anthropoids) include

monkeys, apes, and humans
•Anthropoid primates arose at least 45
million years ago in Africa or Asia
•Anthropoids have larger brain sizes
compared to other primates
Monkeys are divided into two groups: New
World and Old World monkeys

New World Old World

• monkeys differ from apes by having tails and
forelimbs that are not usually longer than the
hindlimbs
• New World monkeys are found in Central and
South America – arboreal, and some have
prehensile tails (wraps around branches and
serves as fifth limb)
• Old World monkeys are found in tropical parts of
Africa and Asia:
– most are arboreal though some are ground-dwellers
(these are quadrupedal – walk on all fours)
– none have prehensile tails
– group from which apes and humans are thought to have
evolved
• Old World monkeys shared a common ancestor with the
hominoids, group consisting of apes and hominids
(humans and their ancestors)
• In addition to monkeys, the anthropoid suborder also
includes four genera of apes: Hylobates (gibbons),
Pongo (orangutans), Gorilla (gorillas), and Pan
(chimpanzees and bonobos)
• modern apes (gibbons, gorillas, orangutans, and
chimpanzees) are our closest living primate relatives –
humans and chimpanzees have a common ape-like
ancestor and share very similar DNA
• Brachiation (gibbons and orangutans) – movement
through trees by arm-swinging hand over hand
• Knuckle-walking (chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas) –
have adapted to life on the ground – quadrupedal
walking in which they fold their digits when moving
• Brachiation, Knuckle-walking, and the absence of a tail
are thought to have been a preadaptation to bipedalism
(walking on two legs)
 Hominid Evolution
Early hominids adopted a bipedal posture
• Differences in human skeleton and skull
compared to the ape skeleton indicate a
habitat change for early hominids from an
arboreal existence to life spent partly on
ground
• Curvature of human spine provides better
balance for bipedal locomotion
• human pelvis is shorter and broader
allowing for better attachment of muscles
for walking
• foramen magnum is centered in the skull
base compared to being located in the
middle rear of the skull in apes
• alignment of big toe with other toes
Other trends in hominid evolution:
• increase in size of brain relative to the size
of the body
• supraorbital ridges lacking in modern
human skulls (prominent bony ridges above
eye sockets)
• human faces are flatter and jaws are
different from apes
• teeth are arranged differently in humans
and are smaller in size
Trends in Hominid and Human Fossils
 Hominid Evolution
• Hominid evolution began in Africa
• Ardipithecus ramidus lived approx. 5.8
million to 4.4 MYA in Ethiopia
– Believed to be very close to split between the
line that led to human-like organisms and line
that led to chimpanzee-like organisms
– Most fossils of this species are teeth so difficult
to be sure about physical features
– Probably similar to chimpanzees but canines
were more hominid-like
– Possibly bipedal
 Australopithecines
Most paleoanthropologists recognize at least 6
species
• The genus Australopithicus contains the
immediate ancestors of the genus Homo
• Name means “southern man ape”
• Had shorter legs, longer arms, and smaller brains
relative to modern humans
• Australopithecus anamensis
– Existed 3.9 to 4.2 million years ago
– Discovered and named by Leakey in 1995 in
East Africa
– Appears to have been bipedal
 • Australopithecus afarensis may have arisen from
A. anamensis about 2.5-4 MYA
• famous fossil “Lucy” is A. afarensis (found in
Ethiopia in 1974) – about 40% complete fossil
• A. afarensis was bipedal, but probably did not
use tools or fire
•Had a taller jaw
•Fairly large molar teeth
•Projecting face
•Cranial capacity: 380 – 430
cm3
• A. afarensis possibly gave rise to both
Australopithecus africanus and other
australopithecines
• Australopithecus africanus appeared about 2.5 - 3
MYA
– walked erect
– human-like hands and teeth
– ate both plants and animals
– had a small brain more like that of primate
ancestors than of present-day humans (435 –
530 cm3)
– Tall, thick lower jaw and large molars
– Projecting face
• Homo habilis is the oldest member of the
genus Homo
• Lived 2.5 – 1.6 MYA
• first hominid to have enough human
features to be placed in genus, Homo
• small hominid with larger brain (600 cm3),
smaller teeth, and flatter face than
australopithecines
• H. habilis used primitive tools
• Relationship between H. habilis and
australopithecines is unclear
Homo habilis
 Homo erectus
• Homo erectus apparently evolved from Homo
habilis
• H. erectus appeared in Africa about 1.8 MYA,
then spread to Europe and Asia
• Lived as recently as 100,000 years ago
• Peking man and Java man are examples of Asian
H. erectus dated at 200,000 years ago
• H. erectus was taller than its ancestors, had a
larger brain (1000 cm3), and smaller jaw
• Had receding forehead, large brow ridges and
smaller molars
 Homo erectus

•H. erectus used more advanced tools (Archeulian

tools), wore clothes, used fire, lived in caves or
shelters, and hunted and scavenged for food
• H. erectus fossils may actually represent
two species – H. erectus and H. ergaster
• some researchers suggest that H. ergaster
was an earlier African species, and H.
erectus was a later eastern Asian offshoot
• these researchers believe that H. ergaster
led to modern humans and H. erectus
became and evolutionary dead end
• Archaic Homo sapiens appeared about
800,000 years ago
– descendants of Homo erectus or Homo
ergaster that lived in Africa, Asia, and Europe
– they overlapped both Homo erectus
populations and the later appearing
Neandertals
– some researchers classify archaic Homo
sapiens as a separate species, Homo
heidelbergensis
 Neandertals
• Neandertals appeared approximately
200,000 – 30,000 years ago
– first discovered in Neander Valley in
Germany
– lived throughout Europe and western Asia
– short, sturdy builds, faces projected slightly,
chins and foreheads receded, had heavy
brow ridges and jaw bones, brains (1600
cm3) and front teeth were larger than modern
humans
Neandertal
• much debate exists about whether the Neandertals
are a separate species from modern humans or a
race of Homo sapien
• many researchers believe that anatomical
differences between Neandertals and modern
humans indicate that they were separate species –
Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapien
• tools included oldest known spear points (known
as Mousterian tools) – more sophisticated than
those of H. erectus
• existence of skeletons of elderly Neandertals and
of Neandertals with healed fractures demonstrates
that they cared for aged and the sick – indication of
advanced social cooperation
• had rituals and buried their dead
• disappearance of Neandertals about 30,000
YA is not well understood
• humans with more modern features
coexisted with Neandertals for tens of
thousands of years
• Neadertals may have interbred with modern
humans, diluting their features beyond
recognition (however, analysis of
mitochondrial DNA from Neandertal bone
seems to indicate that Neandertals were an
evolutionary dead end)
• possible that more modern humans out
competed the Neandertals
• Origin of modern Homo sapiens is subject to
much debate
• Modern Homo sapiens dates back to 140,000 –
70,000 years ago in Africa, Europe, and Asia
• H. sapiens skull lacked heavy brow ridge and
possessed a distinct chin, high forehead, flat
face, small molars, and very small jaw
• Cranial capacity about 1300 cm3)

Homo erectus Homo sapiens

• Cro-Magnon culture in France and Spain
typifies the early H. sapiens
– weapons and tools were complex and
made of materials other than stone
(bone, ivory, wood)
– developed art, including cave paintings,
engravings and sculpture
– sophisticated tools and art indicate that
they may have possessed language
Cro-magnon
 Possible Coexistence of Several Hominid Species
• Some hominid species existed on Earth at the
same time
• Overlap in fossil ages is present in:
– A. afarensis and A. africanus – approx 3 MYA
– H. erectus, H. neanderthalensis, and H. sapiens –
approx. 100,000 years ago
 Did these species interact?
• Very few Australopithecines, so possible they
never met each other but coexisted for a million
years so there was time for chance encounters
• There is evidence that H. neanderthalensis and H.
sapiens probably interacted but probably did not
produced fertile offspring (according to IB!)
• World population was only in the tens of
thousands and the presence of a mountain range
or wide river could have prevented populations
from encountering each other
 Uncertainties about Human Evolution
• Many gaps and questions in human evolution
timelines
• Fossil record is incomplete – most bodies are
decomposed and don’t leave behind a fossil or
fossils degenerate over time – as a result, difficult
to determine how different species of hominid are
related
• Most hominid fossils are limited to bones and teeth
• Difficult to estimate cranial sizes because of
differences between males, females and juveniles
 Changes in Brain Size during Hominid Evolution
• Although there are numerous advantages to having a larger brain,
there are disadvantages too:
– Require more energy – need more foods that are rich in energy
and protein in diet
• Hominids got additional energy by adding more meat to diet
• Earliest hominids were foragers and ate fruits and nuts
• To eat meat on a regular basis, needed a more complex social system
to allow for cooperative hunting
• As tools became more sophisticated, hunting techniques improved
and availability of high-protein foods increased
• Large quantities of animal bones found at fossil sites suggest that
meat was important to the early human diet
• More protein led to larger brains which lead to increase in complexity
of tools which led to better hunting so more protein in diet etc…
• Cooking food increases digestibility – a certain degree of intelligence
and relatively large brain needed to control fire and cook food
In the evolution of hominids, there is a general trend
showing an increase in cranial capacity
Two opposing hypotheses exist about the origin of
modern humans:
1. “Out of Africa” hypothesis – states that modern
humans arose in Africa and then migrated to
Europe and Asia, displacing the more primitive
humans living there
2. “multiregional” hypothesis – states the modern
humans originated from Homo erectus as
separately evolving populations living in several
parts of Africa, Asia, and Europe
– each population evolved in its own distinctive way but
occasionally met and interbred with other populations,
thereby preventing complete reproductive isolation
 Humans have undergone Genetic and Cultural Evolution
• Genetic evolution – deals with inherited
characteristics:
– Physical characteristics (brain size, bipedalism)
– Number of chromosomes
– Particularities of biochemicals such as blood proteins
• Cultural evolution – deals with acquired
knowledge that can be passed within a social
group and through generations:
– Language (spoken and written)
– Customs and rituals (burying the dead)
– Art
– Technology (obtaining food, warfare)
 Importance of Genetic and Cultural Evolution
One way to measure the culture of a people is to look at the quality and
complexity of their artifacts (tools and artwork)
Species Example of Culture Tools Developed
H. habilis Oldowan Simple choppers, scrapers
and flakes of rock

H. erectus Acheulian Hand axes, cleavers and

picks
H. neanderthalensis Mousterian Large flakes of uniform
size produced from a core
then trimmed to the
desired tool
H. sapiens Soultrian •Delicate blades for
knives, drills
•Other materials added
(bone, antler, and ivory
•Some tools are
ceremonial
• As brain size increased so did quality of tool-making
• There is a connection between genetic and cultural evolution
• Genetic evolution probably occurred first because need larger brain
size to develop more sophisticated tools
• In the last 30,000 years, H. sapiens evolution has been largely
cultural, not genetic
• Cro-Magnon man is physically the same as humans today
• Since the Upper Palaeolithic period (40,000 – 10, 000 years ago),
human culture has developed exponentially
• Cultural evolution sometimes lags behind genetic evolution
• Our current cranial capacity has existed for 140,000 years but major
cultural advances do not appear until 35,000 years ago
• Cultural evolution has potential to revolutionize a human population
much more quickly than genetic evolution
• H. sapiens has been able to evolve culturally far more than any of
our ancestors without any major genetic evolution