Australopithecus
• The First Species of Man Discovered
• This project was made and presented by
Giselle, Janeth, Kyle, Taylor C.
• Hi, class! Today we will be learning about the
Australopithecus and we will be having some
questions at the end, so please pay attention
to the slide show.
PHYSICAL APPEARANCE
• Australopithecus ranged in size from about 47”67” (120cm-170cm) tall. They were the smallest
species of early humans (except the newlydiscovered Ardipithecus) being almost like the
size of an upright chimpanzee. Males averagely
weighed about 92 pounds and females averagely
weighed about 64 pounds. (1)
• Australopithecus slept in trees for two
reasons: to get sleep and to get at least a little
bit of shelter from mother nature and to get
away and be protected from predators. (2)
• Australopithecines hunted animals and bugs.
Scientists believe that they also ate bird eggs
and plants, such as fruit and vegetables. (3)
Daily Life
• The lifestyle of the Australopithecus is much
different from our life today. The
Australopithecus did not have a vegetarian
diet, so they would hunt for their food,
although they did also eat plants. The
Australopithecus also had to be careful of
predators, such as saber tooth tigers that
might attack them. (4)
• Australopithecines didn’t use any tools. Up to
this day, scientists haven’t found any evidence
that they did. (5)
• Some people thought Australopithecus
created fire, but they didn’t. The
Australopithecines were not so smart because
they had super small brains. (6)
• Lucy was an Australopithecus who died, and
her bones survived over 3-4 million years under
the rock, gravel, and dirt in Africa. She even
survived destruction from the animals that tried
to dig her up. Her skeleton was evidence that
Australopithecines had lived. (7)
• Australopithecus didn’t speak any oral
languages. They grunted and gestured a lot of
the time. Australopithecus also didn't write
any written language either. (8)
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• Australopithecus didn’t paint in caves because
they didn’t have time . If they had the time to
paint, they would not have had to worry so
much about food shelters and animals. (9)
Facts about the Australopithecus
• The Australopithecus had the smallest brains
of the early humans. Their brain size were
375-550 cubic cm. (10)
Questions
# 1 What did the Australopithecus use for tools ?
#2 Did the Australopithecus have the smallest or the largest
brains?
#3 Were the Australopithecus the first fossilized humans on
earth (before the finding of Ardipithecus)?
#4 How did the Australopithecus live and work?
#5 Where did Australopithecus live?
Answers
#1 They didn’t really have tools, but did use
rocks and sticks as tools.
#2 They had the smallest brains.
#3 Yes, they were.
#4 The Australopithecus lived in trees and
worked very hard.
#5 They lived in Africa.
Conclusion
• Thank you for watching the slide show and
paying attention. We hope that you guys
learned a lot about the Australopithecus and
hope you guys enjoyed this slide show.
Thanks.
Endnotes
1.
2.
3.
4.
“Australopithecus,” http://www.anthro4n6.net/lucy, p. 7.
Kearns, Marsha, “Australopithecus,” Early Humans, p. 1.
Ibid.
California Vistas Ancient Civilizations, Macmillan McGraw-Hill, NY,
2007, p. 73.
5. Ibid, p 72.
6. “Australopithecus,” Australopithecus,
http://www.earlyhumans.mrdonn.org/.
7. “Australopithecus,” http://www.anthro4n6.net/lucy, pp. 1-2.
8. “Australopithecus,” Australopithecus,
http://www.earlyhumans.mrdonn.org/.
9. Ibid.
10. California Vistas Ancient Civilizations, Macmillan McGraw-Hill, NY,
2007, p. 73.
Bibliography
“Australopithecus.” http://www.anthro4n6.net/lucy.
Australopithecus.” Australopithecus.
http://www.earlyhumans.mrdonn.org/.
California Visits Ancient Civilizations. Macmillan/McGraw Hill:
New York, NY, 2007.
Kearns, Marsha.“Homo Habilis.” Early Humans. Creative
Teaching Press: CA, 1993.
Graded by Ms.Mclure