INTRODUCTION
Click, crunch, click, crunch; that is the sound of an
Australopithecus roaming in the grass. Speaking of
Australopithecus, today you will learn stuff about this
group of hominids, like how they lived, what they ate,
etc. Australopithecines are a group of early humans
that lived 5-1 million B.C. Archaeologists found an
Australopithecine, and they named her Lucy from the
song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.” (1)
WHEN THEY LIVED
Australopithecines lived from 5-1 Million B.C.
They lived in south Africa and traveled to find food. (2)
WHAT THEY LOOKED LIKE
The average male was about 4 feet 5 inches tall and
about 90 pounds.
For a females, they were about 3 feet 5 inches tall and
60 pounds.
Australopicenes had small heads, long arms, wide
waists and chests, were hairy, had a small heel bone,
a small hip, small knee and heel joints, and large
cheek bones. (3)
TOOLS
Australopithecus used sticks and stones for tools and
weapons. They did not make tools, but used what
they found in nature.
They used sticks and stones for protection and to kill
animals for food. (4)
They didn’t use knives or axes because they had small
brains and did not know how to make them. (5)
FOOD
Australopithecus ate insects, bugs, berries, and they
hunted animals for meat, a.k.a. food. (6)
COMMUNICATION
Australopithecines did not speak. Instead they used,
gestures, hand movements, and grunt-like noises to
communicate. (7)
LUCY
Lucy had the full pelvis bone, which is very rare.
She was discovered by Donald Johanson.
She was the first Australopithecus found by
archaeologists. (8)
RELIGION
Australopithecus did not have religon or ceremonies
because they were not smart enough and too busy
trying to survive. (9)
FIRE
Australopithecus didn’t use fire because they had
unusually small brains so they couldn’t make fire.
(10)
Since they were half ape, they were probably scared of
fire. (11)
CAVE DRAWINGS
They did not have any art because they were too busy
surviving. (12)
CONCLUSION
Now you know more about Australopithecus and how
they lived.
We hope you now know more about
Australopithecines than you did when we began.
Have a great day.
QUESTIONS
1. Why didn’t they have fire?
2. What food did they eat?
3. What time period were they from?
ANSWERS
1. Austrolapithacines did not make fire because they had
unusually small brains.
2. They ate fruits nuts and berries off the ground. They
also ate animals that were killed by other animals.
3. The australopithecines lived from 5-1 million B.C.
END NOTES
1. Early humans packet, “Australopithecus,” p. 3.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Ancient Civilizations, Macmillan/McGraw-Hill , pp. 207, 65, 67, 71.
5. Skype with Donald Johanson.
6. Ibid.
7. Margaret Hynes ,The Best Book Of Early People, pp. 6-7.
10. Ibid.
11. http://www.E-lucy.com.
12.Early Humans Packet , “Australopithecus,” p. 3.
IMAGE CREDITS
1. http://www.fotosvideosdibujos.blogspot.com
2. http://www.dailytelegraph.com
3. http://www.posterlounge.de
4. http://www.ritearu.com
5. http://www.wordpress.com
6. http://www.edibleblog.com
7. http://www.wierdscience.com
8. http://www.australopithecus.com
9. http://www.cutcaster.com
10. http://earlyhumans.org
11. Ibid.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ancient Civilizations. Macmillan/McGraw-Hill, 2007.
Creative Teaching Press.“Australopithecus.” Early humans packet, 1997.
Margaret Hynes. The Best Book Of Early People. 2007.
http://www.E-Lucy.com.
Donald Johanson. Skype interview. October, 2012.