Humanity’s Place in Evolution and Evolution’s Place in Humanity

1. Humanity’s Place in EvolutionandEvolution’s Place in Humanity By: Merritt Goodman, JoAnna Piscitello, Richard Robinson, Aaron McKinney, Elizabeth Jasperse

2. The Gossiping Ape By: Richard Robinson

3. Humans are a very social creatures. • As a society we form everything from nations to tribes to clubs/organization

4. The History of the African Guess • In the 1860s Darwin began comparing humans to great apes. • From this comparison, Darwin noticed a close resemblance between the two anatomies. • This led Darwin to his “African Guess” in 1871.

5. Evolution Stages (cont.) • Stage 1: pushed the ancestors out of the forest and onto the African savannas (5 million years ago) • Stage 2: Invention of the first stone tools (2.5 million years ago) • Stage 3: Massive hand axes were being constructed (1.5 million years ago) • Stage 4: Mastery of fire and formation of spears and other tools (.5 million years ago) • Stage 5: Cave paintings, jewelry, more cultural activities (50,000 years ago)

7. Wandering Evolution • As our ancestors moved through these transitions, they began to change habitats. • As the habitats changed, the way we moved adapted as did our diets. • These changes also affected the anatomy of the hominids.

8. Wandering (cont.) • About 2.5 million years ago, the first known homo appeared. • these homos were the first to have features like opposable thumbs and big brains • the first homo had a 50% larger brain than the hominids, relative to their body size • At this point all traces of tree climbing were gone. • This homo is known as Homo ergaster and is the first warrant the title: human being

9. Evolving a Theory of Mind • Studies show that chimps have an understanding of some basic facts. • These studies also show that the common ancestor of humans and chimps could not understand that they all had brains. • As the habitat changed, bigger social groups began forming.

10. Passions • Some scientists suggest that the most basic behavior of hominids is the ability to find a mate • Even a more select group believes that we are still ruled by the same behaviors today

11. Not So Happily Ever After • A male– many offspring; a female is limited • As a result certain qualities are sought • According to David Buss, UT psychologist, women prefer older men and men prefer younger women (Zimmer 278) • Ian Penton Voak of St Andrews Univ. did a face test to find which type is more attractive to women

12. Are You Cheating On Me? • No obvious signal that lets people know that their mate is cheating • The thought of sexual betrayal makes a man’s heart beat 5 extra times a minutes (equivalent to 3 cups of coffee)

13. Toward Language • As hominid bands expanded, their complexity grew as well • Grooming • Language is not a product of evolution • Simply another way to express our alliances with one another

14. The Dawn of Us

15. In the Beginning… • 4.5 billion years ago • 3.85 billion years ago • 250 million years ago • 600,000 years ago common ancestor of human species evolved • Between 200,000-100,000-biologically modern humans evolved in Africa • 50,000 years ago-left Africa and replaced all other human species.

16. Old Theory of Evolution • Claims that modern human evolution began a million years ago. • A single human species, homo erectus, lived in Africa and spread throughout the world. • Different regions continued to mate with one another so that no one group fragmented into another species. • They evolved distinguished characteristics in relation to climate and eventually become modern humans within their particular region.

17. New Theory of Evolution VS. Homo Erectus Neanderthals • -Two distinct species neither was the ancestor of the Homo Sapiens. • -After a proposal that modern humans actually evolved out of African immigrants and that the three groups were actually distinct species, Allan Wilson analyzed mitochondrial DNA to determine different lineages. • Wilson discovers Africa is the source of the common ancestor of living humans. • “Mitochondrial Eve”-common African ancestor estimated somewhere in the neighborhood of 200,000 years old. • Scientists began formulating theory called “Out of Africa”

18. “Out of Africa” • As Homo spread out of Africa, it evolved into many distinct species that didn’t breed with one another. • Homo erectus-Asia Homo neanderthalensis- Europe and Near East • While these species spread, Homo sapiens begin to evolve from older hominids back in Africa. • Homo sapiens then began to spread to Asia and Europe. • All other human species become extinct and homo sapiens survive.

19. Cultural Evolution • Something occurs, possibly population boom, that causes homo sapiens to invent modern tools and art, more advanced than that of the other homo species. (Brain Change) • When Homo sapiens spread to the Homo erectus, the resident hominids may have pulled back into the inland jungles to find refuge. • Culture continues to evolve. For example: language, airplanes, music, mathematics, cooking, technology. • Because people are spreading and mixing, it may be very hard for natural selection to produce much change. Evolution in modern humans has slowed drastically. • Zimmer discusses the possibility of computers evolving an intelligence like our own and perhaps even a consciousness.