History of Human Evolution
By Ariadna and Jessica
THE FIRST HUMANS
Hominids- earliest
members of the human
family.
First hominid lived in
Africa, 6 or 7 million
years ago.
A VERY ANCIENT RELATIVE
Chad’s skull is the oldest
hominid fossil in this
gallery
Sahelanthropus tchadensis
lived at least six million
years ago
FOUR-MILLION-YEAR-OLD
FRAGMENTS
The
first members of
Homo, evolved from a
member called
Australopithecus.
Oldest evidence from
hominid are from four
million years were found in
Kenya.
FOUR-MILLION-YEAR-OLD
FRAGMENTS
CONTINUE….
Fossils are called
Australopithecus
Anamensis.
FOCUS ON: THE CHANGING
LANDSCAPE
10 million years ago
climate in Africa
changed, this caused
a chain reaction for
the human evolution.
Our ancestors had to
adapt to the new climate.
DNA FAMILY TREE
The
DNA of humans and
chimpanzees is 98% the same.
Researchers estimated that
the last common ancestor
lived more or less 7 million
years ago.
LITTLE FOOT
In 1997, scientists in
South Africa found a
nearly complete
skeleton of a
hominid who lived
more than 3 million
years ago.
LITTLE FOOT
Continue…
Surrounded by
soli rock, it could
be among the
most complete
early hominid
skeletons ever
uncovered.
LITTLE FOOT
Continue…
“Little Foot” because its tiny
foot bones were the first to be
discovered.
 probably belonged to an
early species of
Australopithecus.
EXAMINE THE EVIDENCE: Primate
feet
☀Humans have a big
toe that is lined up
with the other toes.
☀Modern human feet
are also arched
☀Helped distribute
weight easily as we
walk.
EXAMINE THE EVIDENCE: Primate
feet
•The human foot helps
us walk upright.
• Modern human feet
are also arched, so
they distribute weight
as we walk.
FINDING THE FOSSIL
•Ronald
Clarke discovered four
foot bones that clearly
belonged to a hominid.
•He
searched and eventually
found part of a leg bone with
an unusually clean break.
FINDING THE FOSSIL
Continue…
Two days later, using
only hand-held
lamps, Motsumi and
Molefe found the
matching leg.
A WALK THROUGH TIME
•Some 3.5 million years ago,
two ancient hominids walked
across an open plain in eastern
Africa
•A nearby volcano had recently
erupted, Rain had fallen giving
the ash the consistency of wet
cement
•The hominids footprints were
captured in fossilized tracks.
FOCUS ON: Australopithecus
WHEN: 4 to 2
million years
ago
WHERE: parts of
eastern,
southern and
central Africa
BRAIN SIZE:
around 300 to
500 cubic
centimeters
DIET: mainly
plants; probably
some insects
and small
animals
FOCUS ON: Australopithecus
Continue…
AVERAGE ADULT
HEIGHT: females: 1.1 meters (3
feet, 6 inches)
males: 1.4 meters (4
feet, 6 inches)
AVERAGE ADULT
WEIGHT:
females: 30 kg (66
pounds)
males: 65 kg (143
pounds)
.
INTERPRETING THE FOOTPRINTS
• Experts interpreted footprints at
Tanzania.
•One hominid was clearly larger than
the other. In the hall a male and a
female walk together.
•This scene has evidence.
Who Walked Here?
•The two hominids who
made the Laetoli
footprints were not the
only ones to leave their
mark
•They also found tracks
of carnivores and threetoed horselike
mammals known as
Hipparion.
A STAR SPECIES
•Researchers have found
hundreds of fossils from
dozens of
Australopithecus
afarensis.
•Best understood of the
early hominids.
EXAMINE THE EVIDENCE: Leg bones
•
•
•
Thigh Bone is angled;
Knee and foot are near
the midline of the body
(Human)
Thigh Bone is not angled;
knee and foot are father
from the midline of the
body (Chimp)
Thigh bone is angled
(homid)
AN UNFAMILIAR FACE
Australopithecus
afarensis had a
project face and
AT HOME IN THE TREES
•Altougt
Australopitecus
afarensis walked
upright when on the
ground, this homid
was still very apelike
(like a monkey)
•Member of this
species probably spent
part of their time in
trees, finding food and
shelter there
TELLTALE TRACKS
•In 1978, paleanthropologists
in eastern Africa discovered a
trail of ancient human
footprints at the Laetoli site in
tanzania.
•2 early hominids, probobly
member of the genus
Australopithecus, walked
upright across the African
plan.
EXAMINE THE EVIDENCE: Footprints
•big
toe is in line with other toes
•foot
is arched
•impression
is deep at the heel,
indicating the heel struck the
ground first
•impression
is deep at the big
toe, indicating the hominid
pushed off from the big toe at
the end of each step
LUCY
•Most familiar is Lucy
•Lived in Eastern
Africa more than 3
million years ago
•Lucy walked upright,
like modern humans
Examine the Evidence: Primate
skeletons
•long fingers and toes are good for
climbing treesshort
•legs are helpful for moving around in
trees
•wide and short pelvis suggests upright
posture
•thigh bones angle in toward knees,
making upright walking easier
ONE OF THE FAMILY
•1974, Lucy was named
after the Beatles' song "Lucy
in the Sky with Diamonds,"
•Researchers listened to as
they celebrated on the night
of their remarkable find.
BRANCHES ON THE FAMILY TREE
•Only one species of hominid on the
planet today: modern humans or homo
sapiens
•Between about 3.4 and 1.5 million
years ago, at least 11 hominid species
lived in Africa.
•Many of them were members of the
genus Australopithecus
•Australopith went extinct about 1.4
million years ago
FEATURED FOSSIL: Taung Child
The 1924 discovery of this
ancient African fossil
helped disagree that
notion known as the Taung
Child
Kenyanthropus platyops:
hominid lived much earlier
than many of the others
but it has surprisingly
advanced features
Like flat face.
MALE VS. FEMALE
The Paranthropus boisei skulls
both have wide, flat faces. only the
larger skull has a crest on top.
In modern gorillas, males have a
similar crest while the smaller
females do not
EVOLUTIONARY DEAD END?
Human evolution is often thought
of successive species looks more
like modern humans.
Paranthropus robustus- seems to
have died out leaving no
descendants.
EARLY TOOLS
Around 2.5 million tears ago something new appears
in the record
Stone tools, sharp edges flakes of rock.
DAILY LIFE, 1.8 MILLION YEARS AGO
Early members
Paranthropus
robustus may
have used the
interiors, or cores,
of antelope horns
as tools.
EARLY STONE TOOLMAKERS
Ancestors developed mental
capacities beyond those of modern
apes.
first toolmakers had small brains and
archaically proportioned bodies.
"HANDY MAN"
•Paleoanthropologists Louis
and Mary Leakey discovered a
lower jaw at Olduvai Gorge,
Tanzania.
•Had a slightly larger brain
than other early African
hominids known at the time.
"HANDY MAN"
Continue…
•This larger-brained
species was capable of
making the stone tools
previously found at the
sit
•They named it Homo
habilis, or "handy man."
Turkana Boy
1.6 million year old skeleton
almost complete found in Kenya,
an eight-year-old boy.
Named "Turkana Boy,"
more than five feet tall and much
more fully developed than a eightyear-old.
Turkana Boy
Continue…
the boy was still growing
and probably would have
been six feet as an adult.
Turkana Boy is a member
of the Homo ergaster,
TALL AND LANKY
When this fossil was found in
1984, the only other ancient
hominid was Lucy. But
Turkana Boy is much more
complete.
HOMINIDS OF LAKE TURKANA
•Researchers found a lot of hominid
remains in Africa's Rift Valley
•the surrounding areas were once home
to early hominids.
• A wide variety of hominids have been
found there some early members of our
own genus, Homo, from almost two
million years ago.
TWO'S COMPANY
The 1975 discovery of
the nearly complete
Homo ergaster skull
changed the idea that
only one species of
hominid could exist at a
given time.
.
LAKE TURKANA TOOLS
•the hominids from around
two million years ago had
a resembled to modern
humans
•the stone tools they made
were still very simple.
FOCUS ON: Homo ergaster
WHEN: 1.9 to 1.4 million years
ago
WHERE: Africa
DIET: probably mostly plants
with some meat
AVERAGE ADULT WEIGHT:
females: 56 kg (123
pounds) males: 68 kg (150
pounds)
WHAT DID EARLY HOMINIDS EAT?
•Meat, probably ate it raw.
•They know because they
found skeletons from animals
that had cut marks from stone
tools.
GROUP LIVING?
•Scientists are not sure
exactly how large early
hominid groups were.
•no question that
ancient primates were
social animals
African plains
New hominid species
continued to emerge and
thrive on the African plains.
ANCIENT COUSINS
different species of the genus
Homo lived in Africa around
two million years ago
Homo ergaster is the most
plausible ancestor of modern
humans
FEATURED FOSSIL: Skull from
Olduvai Gorge
the genus Homo is notable for its
large brain, estimated at nearly 80
percent the size of an average
modern human brain.
this skull is very different from
other known Homo skulls found in
Africa from the same period.
NEW TOOLS
around 1.5 million years ago, a
more complex type of tool
appeared.
first time in human history
hominids visualized the tools in
their heads before starting to make
them.
OUT OF AFRICA
We were not the first hominids to exit Africa.
Some of our relatives began leaving that continent at
least 1.8 million years ago, long before Homo sapiens
evolved.
Best fossil evidence for early hominid migrations comes
from the Caucasus.
DEEP UNDER DMANISI
Scientists discovered remains
of ancient rhinoceroses
about 1.8 million years old
the oldest sample of human
fossils found outside of Africa.
THE FIRST EMIGRANTS?
First hominids to leave
Africaare Homo ergaster.
The tall body form of Homo
ergaster allowed for walking
over long distances in the open
sun.
SIMPLE TOOLS
Artifacts found at Dmanisi
a core
a chopper
a cutting flake
EXAMINE THE EVIDENCE: Dmanisi
skull
Scientists thought the tall and
relatively slender Homo ergaster
was the first hominid to leave
Africa
The skulls from Dmanisi are
puzzlingly varied in their size and
anatomical details, so more than
one species may have lived in
this region 1.8 million years ago.
ANIMAL EMIGRANTS
Researchers digging at Dmanisi
found hundreds of animal fossils.
Some time before 1.8 million
years ago, these adaptable
creatures migrated north into the
Caucasus.
Zhoukoudian, China
Before excavations began in
the 1920s, people dug up
fossilized bones from ancient
cave
Later researchers digging
there found fossil remains of
an ancient hominid they
named "Peking Man."
THE FIRST EUROPEANS
Humans began spreading out from Africa almost two
million years ago.
The first early humans to penetrate the harsh climates of
western Europe arrived quite early over one million years
ago.
HOW DID HOMINIDS REACH
EUROPE?
•the Mediterranean Sea
•the Strait of Gibraltar
•By land
FEATURED FOSSIL: Gran Dolina Boy
Researchers working in the
Sierra de Atapuerca of Spain
have found remains of early
hominids.
Most complete fossils is the
"Gran Dolina Boy," who was
around age 11.
FEATURED FOSSIL: Gran Dolina Boy
Continue…
The Gran Dolina
hominids were
among the first
Europeans,
having reached
northern Spain
by around
800,000 years
ago.
Bodo skull
The skull of Homo heidelbergensis was found in
Africa; others of the same species have been
found in Europe and Asia.
Kabwe skull
The Kabwe skull,
the first ancient
hominid fossil ever
found in Africa,
was discovered by
miners.
NEANDERTHAL
First Homo neanderthalensis fossil
was found in 1856 hundreds more
have been found.
EXAMINE THE EVIDENCE: Neanderthal
skeleton
Neanderthal:
low braincase and doublearched brow ridge
flaring, funnel-shaped chest
flaring pelvis
robust fingers and toes
Modern human:
tall, rounded braincase and
small, divided brow ridge
cylindrical, barrel-shaped chest
narrow pelvis
slender fingers and toes
SKELETON STAFF
First complete Neanderthal
skeleton
project took two years to
complete.
THE NEANDERTHALS
Neanderthals: remarkable group. First appearing
about 200,000 years ago
Brains large as ours, outstanding toolmakers.
they dominated Europe and parts of western
Asia until they died out less than 30,000 years
ago.
NEANDER VALLEY, GERMANY
In 1856, workers digging for lime found bones in
the Neander Valley, thought they discovered an
ancient cave bear.
Bones were classified unknown species of
human, Homo neanderthalensis.
NURTURING NEANDERTHALS?
1950s, scientists found remains
of 9 Neanderthals in Iraq.
One adult male had arm bones
that were severely deformed
indicating he had suffered from a
major disability
FINAL DAYS
Neanderthals died out less than 30,000 years
ago
FOCUS ON: Homo neanderthalensis
WHEN: 200,000 to 30,000 years ago
WHERE: Europe and western
CHANGING VIEWS
Scientists think Neanderthals lived in complex social
groups
Controlled fire
Fairly proficient hunters
They did bury their dead
TELLTALE TEETH
Front teeth of many Neanderthals have been
worn down dramatically
Maybe they used their teeth as tools.
40,000-YEAR-OLD DNA
DNA is a delicate molecule
Neanderthals and modern humans are
two separate species.
handling ancient DNA takes great care
EARLY CHILDHOOD
Fossils of children are rare, found the remains of a
number of young Neanderthals, from newborn to
several years old.
Young Neanderthals and modern humans resemble
each other more closely than the adults do
Roc de Marsal, France
In 1961, a skeleton of a Neanderthal child was
found beneath the floor of the Roc de Marsal
cave
HOW LONG DID CHILDHOOD LAST?
Female chimpanzees, are considered
fully adult at 13.
Studies on fossils of hominid children
suggest that early humans grew up
quickly and that the long childhood
and teenage years of our species may
be unique.
FEATURED FOSSIL: Roc de Marsal
child
Some of the characteristic Neanderthal traits
are visible even at an early age ( 3-4 years old).
Making Better Tools
300,000 years ago, hominids began
making more advanced stone tools using
a new technique.
Neanderthals were masters and used it to
make a wide variety of handsomely
shaped, sharp tools.
THE EXPANSION OF HOMO SAPIENS
Our species evolved 150,000 years ago,
short time we have existed have populated the
entire globe.
Today Homo sapiens is the only living species of
hominid around the world.
HOW DID MODERN HUMANS
SPREAD AROUND THE GLOBE?
Migrated on foot
certainly took thousands of years and
many generations
People probably settled in one location
for a while
MODERN HUMAN
Homo sapiens first appearing in Africa
around 150,000 years ago now populates
the entire world.
Our closest relatives have died out
EXAMINE THE EVIDENCE: The
modern human
•high, vertical forehead
•small nasal aperture
•Chin
•cylindrical rib cage
•narrow pelvis
THE SYMBOLIC WORLD
One of the very first
symbolic objects may be a
75,000-year-old engraved
ochre plaque from South
Africa.
Scientists are
confident that we
emerged in Africa.
Fossils from the
period between
200,000 and 100,000
years ago are rare.
Hominid fossils allow
scholars to trace the
evolution of the modern
human body.
Until recently, the earliest
evidence of modern
behavior could be seen
in the cave art of Europe,
which dates back some
35,000 years.
DNA studies suggest that
Homo sapiens had appeared
by about 150,000 years ago.
In 2003, announced the
discovery of Homo sapiens.
At the time of their discovery,
these skulls were the oldest
fossils ever identified as
modern humans.
The skull known
as Omo 1 has
many features in
common with
modern human
skulls.
 After about 200,000 years ago,
nearly modern humans lived across
Africa.
 Two partial skulls were found on
opposite ends of the continent: one
in Morocco, and the other in South
Africa.
 Paleoanthropologists don't know
exactly where in Africa Homo
sapiens first evolved.
 A partial skull, which had
certain modern features,
was discovered in
Sudan in 1924.
 Then in 1996,
researchers determined
a likely age of about
133,000 years.
• First moved into
Asia
• Before 1920, people
dug up bones from
ancient caves
• Zhoukoudian, China
found remains of
hominid named
Peking man
• Evolved in eastern Asia
and lived there for 1.5
million years
• Skull found in Island of
Flores, Indonesia, from
a hominid nicknamed
"The Hobbit.”
• Flores Hominid:
lived 18,000 years
ago
• Same time as
modern humans
• It had a tiny brain
• Hominids left Africa
• Deep below Spain’s
Altapuerca Hill’s,
there is a pit of
bones
• Found the best and
most preserved
fossil hominid skulls
in the Pit of Bones