Characteristics of the Primates
Comparative Primate Anatomy
Human Origins
• Origin of the human
genus Homo is one of
the most intriguing
and controversial
questions in paleoanthropology.
• The oldest fossils of
our genus are at least
2.3 to 2.5 million
years old.
The Human Skeleton
Chimpanzee, early Homo, modern Human
Hip Anatomy
Chimp, early Hominid, and Modern Human
comparative anatomy
Human Origins
Precursors of Modern Humans
• Homo ergaster and Homo erectus
(2 MYRS to 400,000 years ago
(some researchers are ‘lumpers’ and some are ‘splitters’)
• Homo sapiens neandertalensis
(Neanderthals--200,000-35,000 years ago)
• Homo sapiens sapiens
(Modern Humans—ca. 40,000 years ago, although some
early forms appear more than 200,000 years ago)
The earliest stone tools, from Africa, date to
2.6 MYRS
Why Africa? Why Then?
• A period of environmental cooling and drying in Africa may have set
the stage for the evolution of Homo.
• Many types of animals suited to a drier environment originated
between about 2.8 million and 2.4 million years ago, including the
first species of Homo.
• Toolmaking humans may have had an advantage in obtaining
alternative food sources.
• The new foods might have included underground tubers and roots
and meat obtained through scavenging or hunting.
• Brain enlargement, early stone tool use, and expansion of diet all
may have been ways of adapting to fluctuating environments.
Early Homo and Homo Erectus
2.6MYRS
1.5MYRS
Early Homo, Homo Erectus, and
Homo Sapiens
Early Distribution of Homo Erectus
Homo Erectus House and Dinner Remains
The Strange History of Neanderthals
The First Neanderthals were found in alpine
Neander Valley, Germany, in 1856
The Strange History of Neanderthals
• Neanderthals lived in Alpine Europe
beginning 200,000 years ago.
• They were tough and highly adapted to
freezing conditions, but disappeared
around 30,000 years ago.
• It’s always been thought that modern
humans, moving into Europe from Africa
somehow wiped them out - but the truth
may be rather different.
The Levallois Tradition:
Sophisticated Techniques, Efficient Tools
• For thousands of
years Neanderthals
held the upper
hand, before new
technology, horrible
environmental
conditions, and
sheer luck allowed
modern humans to
survive them.
Neanderthal Thinking:
Honoring the Dead at Shanidar Cave, Iraq
80,000 years ago
Cave Bear Worship at Chauvet Cave,
France
Whose Art?
Much Cave Art Cannot be Firmly Attributed
to H. sapiens sapiens
Ancient DNA and the H. sapiens sapiens –
Neanderthal Debate
• Several ancient Neanderthal remains have
been typed and found to differ significantly
from human mitochondrial DNA.
• A team of scientists in Germany have
recovered and sequenced Y-chromosome
DNA from a 49,000 year-old Neanderthal.
Did Neanderthals and Homo Sapiens
Sapiens Mate?
• Some scientists argue that if there were
widespread, successful matings among
Neandertals and the ancestors of modern
humans, then there would be contribution of
Neandertal genetic sequences to the genomes
of modern humans.
• Others aren’t so sure. Perhaps a larger nu
number of tested samples will yield different
results.
A Good Source for the Controversy
• http://www.indiana.edu/~ensiweb/dna.nean.html
Indonesian Flores Population ‘Hobbits”
(until 13,000 BP) compared with
Humans Elsewhere
The Multiregional Hypothesis:
We are All Family
Those people we call Homo
erectus, Neanderthals and
others along with Homo
sapiens, formed a single
species. This species arose
in Africa two million years
ago in the form called Homo
erectus and spread out over
the world, developing
adaptations to regional
conditions.