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THE EVOLUTION OF GENUS HOMO
6 SPECIES OF HOMO
1. HOMO habilis1. 2.3-1.5 mya
2. East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia) & southern Africa
3. Increased brain size (680-800ml)
4. Stone tools
EXAMPLE: Homo habilis at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania
Brain size & face showed advances towards more human-like form
Skeletal remains discovered at Olduvai Gorge in 1986 by Don Johanson revealed limb sizes and proportions nearly identical to australopithecines
6 SPECIES OF HOMO
2. Homo ergaster1. 1.8-1.6 mya
2. Lake Turkana, Kenya
3. Increased Brain Size (800-880 ml)
4. Thinner Skull with smaller facial bones (than Homo erectus)
EXAMPLE: Turkana Boy Skeleton
• 90% of skeleton of adolescent male found west of Lake Turkana in the mid 1980s
•1.6 mya, very modern skeleton, similar to that of fully modern human
6 SPECIES OF HOMO
3. Homo Erectus1. 1.8 mya – 33,000 ya
2. Africa, then Russia, China, Java, Italy, etc. (p. 270-71)
3. 50% increased brain size (900-1600 ml)
4. Fire, clothing, shelters, cooking
Homo erectus Facial Morphology
EXAMPLE: Peking Man Reconstruction
6 SPECIES OF HOMO
4. Homo antecessor1. 780,000 ya
2. Gran Dolina, Spain (oldest fossil humans in EU!)
3. Increased Brain Size (1000 ml)
4. Direct ancestor of H. heidelbergensis & H. neanderthalensis (?)
EXAMPLE: Homo antecessor
• Mixture of "archaic" and "modern" traits, with especially modern-looking mid-face
• Other features are not unique & could be considered a form of European H. erectus
6 SPECIES OF HOMO
5. Homo heidelbergensis1. 130,000 ya – 700,000 ya
2. Germany, China, Ethiopia, Greece, Hungary, Zambia, etc. (p.289)
3. Increased Brain Size (1000-1400 ml)
4. “Prepared Core” tools, wooden spears, dealt with changing environments
EXAMPLE: The Steinheim Cranium
The Steinheim specimen excavated in the 1930s from Germany
1st archaic cranium discovered in Europe
Archaic Homo sapiens
• Hominids with larger brains & more modern cranial features than classic H. erectus
• Recently divided into Homo antecessor & heidelbergensis
• Taxonomy is problematic: some fossils could be H. erectus, others could be direct ancestors of later Neanderthals or pre-modern forms of H. sapiens
AFRICAN ARCHAICS
EUROPEAN ARCHAICS
Kabwe, Zambia Bodo, Ethiopia
Arago, France Petroloma, Greece
6 SPECIES OF HOMO6. Homo neanderthalensis
1. 28,000 ya – 225,000 ya
2. Belgium, Croatia, Germany, France, Iraq, Israel, Italy (p.297)
3. Increased Brain Size (1200-1700 ml)
4. “Retouched flakes” (tool use), big game hunters, buried dead, cave art, early language?, compassion
EXAMPLE: Original Neanderthal Skullcap
Neanderthal Features
Neanderthal Adaptations
African European-SW Asian East Asian Australian
Modern Human Regional Variation
• Part of mDNA extracted recently from bones of a 60,000 year old modern Homo sapiens skeleton found in 1974 on the shores of Lake Mungo in Australia
• Oldest DNA extracted from a human so far!
• Comparison of this DNA with that of 9 other ancient Australian skeletons, 2 Neandertals, and 3,453 contemporary people from around the world indicates: "Mungo Man" had a unique genetic marker
• Indicates that a now lost genetic line of modern Homo sapiens existed in Australia BEFORE arrival of later Australian Aborigines
• This evidence provides significant support for rejecting the "out of Africa" complete replacement model of modern Homo sapiens evolution
Recent Research: “Mungo Man”