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History of Human Evolution

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

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History of Human Evolution

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  1. History of Human Evolution By Ariadna and Jessica

  2. THE FIRST HUMANS • Hominids- earliest members of the human family. • First hominid lived in Africa, 6 or 7 million years ago.

  3. A VERY ANCIENT RELATIVE Chad’s skull is the oldest hominid fossil in this gallery Sahelanthropus tchadensis lived at least six million years ago

  4. 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.

  5. FOUR-MILLION-YEAR-OLD FRAGMENTS CONTINUE…. • Fossils are called Australopithecus Anamensis.

  6. 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.

  7. 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.

  8. LITTLE FOOT In 1997, scientists in South Africa found a nearly complete skeleton of a hominid who lived more than 3 million years ago.

  9. LITTLE FOOT Continue… Surrounded by soli rock, it could be among the most complete early hominid skeletons ever uncovered.

  10. LITTLE FOOT Continue… • “Little Foot” because its tiny foot bones were the first to be discovered. • probably belonged to an early species of Australopithecus.

  11. 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.

  12. 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.

  13. 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.

  14. FINDING THE FOSSIL Continue… • Two days later, using only hand-held lamps, Motsumi and Molefe found the matching leg.

  15. 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.

  16. FOCUS ON: Australopithecus

  17. 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) .

  18. 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.

  19. 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 three-toed horselike mammals known as Hipparion.

  20. A STAR SPECIES • Researchers have found hundreds of fossils from dozens of Australopithecus afarensis. • Best understood of the early hominids.

  21. 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)

  22. AN UNFAMILIAR FACE Australopithecus afarensis had a project face and

  23. 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

  24. 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.

  25. 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

  26. LUCY • Most familiar is Lucy • Lived in Eastern Africa more than 3 million years ago • Lucy walked upright, like modern humans

  27. 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

  28. 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.

  29. 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

  30. FEATURED FOSSIL: Taung Child The 1924 discovery of this ancient African fossil helped disagree that notion known as the Taung Child

  31. Kenyanthropus platyops: hominid lived much earlier than many of the others but it has surprisingly advanced features Like flat face.

  32. MALE VS. FEMALE The Paranthropusboisei 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

  33. 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.

  34. EARLY TOOLS Around 2.5 million tears ago something new appears in the record Stone tools, sharp edges flakes of rock.

  35. DAILY LIFE, 1.8 MILLION YEARS AGO Early members Paranthropus robustus may have used the interiors, or cores, of antelope horns as tools.

  36. EARLY STONE TOOLMAKERS Ancestors developed mental capacities beyond those of modern apes. first toolmakers had small brains and archaically proportioned bodies.

  37. "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.

  38. "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."

  39. 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 eight-year-old.

  40. 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,

  41. TALL AND LANKY When this fossil was found in 1984, the only other ancient hominid was Lucy. But Turkana Boy is much more complete.

  42. 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.

  43. 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. .

  44. 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.

  45. 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)

  46. 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.

  47. GROUP LIVING? • Scientists are not sure exactly how large early hominid groups were. • no question that ancient primates were social animals

  48. African plains New hominid species continued to emerge and thrive on the African plains.

  49. 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

  50. 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.

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