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The process of becoming human beings.

• Some basic data out of the fossil record.

• Human evolution: from the apes, primates and Austhrolopithecus towards modern Hommo Sapiens Sapiens.

• Hommo Sapiens Sapiens: our biological characters

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Human evolution: primates and apes• Gibbon

• Orangutan• Gorilla

• Chimpanzee• Bonono

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Primates and apes

• The primates include the most familiar of the placental mammals, because they include us, Homo sapiens.

• Primates also include familiar animals, such as the chimpanzees, gorillas, and monkeys, as well as the somewhat less familiar lemurs, lorises, galagos, pottos, sifakas, indris, aye-ayes, and tarsiers.

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Human evolution: Austhrolopithecus

About 5-6 million years ago apes lived that were the ancestors to both chimpanzees and humans. The animals that finally gave rise to chimps were adapted to living in deeper forest, whilst the ancestors of humans lived more in the sparse woodland and the edges of the plains of Africa. Although we don't know if it was a direct human ancestor, Australopithecus was certainly closely related to the animals we are descended from. There were many species of these bipedal apes living in Southern and Eastern Africa between about 4.5 and 1.5 million years ago. Australopithecus afarensis is one of the older and more lightly built species.

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Paranthropus• All species of Paranthropus were bipedal, and many lived during a

time when species of the genus Homo (which were possibly descended from Australopithecus or more likely from Kenyanthropus), were prevalent. Paranthropus first appeared roughly 2.7 million years ago, just before the beginning of the Pleistocene. Most species of Paranthropus had a brain about 40 percent of the size of modern man. There was some size variation between the different species of Paranthropus, but most stood roughly 1.3-1.4 m tall and were quite well muscled. Paranthropus is thought to have lived in wooded areas rather than the grasslands of the Australopithecus.

• The behavior of Paranthropus was quite different from that of the genus Homo, in that it was not as adaptable to its environment or as resourceful. Evidence of this exists in the form of its physiology which was specifically tailored to a diet of grubs and plants. This would have made it more reliant on favorable environmental conditions than members of the genus Homo, such as Homo habilis, which would eat a much wider variety of foods.

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Kenyanthropus Platyops

• Kenyanthropus platyops is a 3.5 to 3.2 million year old (Pliocene) extinct hominin species that was discovered in Lake Turkana, Kenya in 1999 by Meave Leakey. The fossil found features a broad flat face with a toe bone that suggests it probably walked upright. Teeth are intermediate between typical human and typical ape forms. Kenyanthropus platyops, which means "Flat faced man of Kenya", is the only described species in the genus. However, if some paleoanthropologists are correct, Kenyanthropus may not even represent a valid taxon. It may simply be a specimen of Australopithecus afarensis, which is known from the same time period and geographic area. Other researches speculate that the flatter face position of the rough cranium is similar to "Homo rudolfensis" and suspect it to be closer to the genus Homo, perhaps being a direct ancestor. However the debate has not been concluded and the species remains an enigma.

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Evolution of humans • This list will conduct in

chronological order, following genus.

• Sahelanthropus – Sahelanthropus tchadensis

• Orrorin – Orrorin tugenensis

• Ardipithecus – Ardipithecus kadabba – Ardipithecus ramidus

• Australopithecus – Australopithecus anamensis – Australopithecus afarensis – Australopithecus bahrelghazali – Australopithecus africanus – Australopithecus garhi

• Paranthropus – Paranthropus aethiopicus – Paranthropus boisei – Paranthropus robustus

• Kenyanthropus – Kenyanthropus platyops

• Homo – Homo habilis – Homo rudolfensis – Homo ergaster – Homo georgicus – Homo erectus – Homo cepranensis – Homo antecessor – Homo heidelbergensis – Homo rhodesiensis – Homo neanderthalensis – Homo sapiens idaltu – Homo sapiens (Cro-magnon) – Homo floresiensis

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H.E.: our spices.

• Homo Habilis• Homo Ergaster

– Homo Nearderthalensis– Homo Heidelgergensis

• Homo Sapiens– Homo Floresiensis– Homo Erectus

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Homo Habilis• Homo habilis (IPA /ˈhoʊmoʊ ˈhæbələs/) ("handy man",

"skillful person") is a species of the genus Homo, which lived from approximately 2.5 million to 1.8 million years ago at the beginning of the Pleistocene. The definition of this species is credited to both Mary and Louis Leakey, who found fossils in Tanzania, East Africa, between 1962 and 1964. Homo habilis is arguably the first species of the Homo genus to appear. In its appearance and morphology, H. habilis was the least similar to modern humans of all species to be placed in the genus Homo (except possibly Homo rudolfensis). Homo habilis was short and had disproportionately long arms compared to modern humans, however it had a reduction in the protrusion in the face. It is thought to have descended from a species of australopithecine hominid. Its immediate ancestor may have been the more massive and ape like Homo rudolfensis. Homo habilis had a cranial capacity slightly less than half of the size of modern humans. Despite the ape-like morphology of the bodies, H. habilis remains are often accompanied by primitive stone tools (ie. Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania and Lake Turkana, Kenya).

• Homo habilis is thought to be the ancestor of the lankier and more sophisticated, Homo ergaster, which in turn gave rise to the more human-appearing species, Homo erectus. Debates continue over whether H. habilis is a direct human ancestor, and whether all of the known fossils are properly attributed to the species.

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Homo Ergaster• Homo ergaster ("working man") is an extinct hominid

species (or subspecies, according to some authorities) which lived throughout eastern and southern Africa between 1.9 to 1.4 million years ago with the advent of the lower Pleistocene and the cooling of the global climate.

• H. ergaster is sometimes categorized as a subspecies of Homo erectus. It is currently in contention whether H. ergaster or the later, Asian H. erectus was the direct ancestor of modern humans. H. ergaster may be distinguished from H. erectus by its thinner skull bones and lack of an obvious sulcus. Derived features include reduced sexual dimorphism, a smaller more orthognathic face, a smaller dental arcade, and a larger (700 and 850cc) cranial capacity. It is estimated that H. ergaster stood at 1.9m (6ft3) tall with relatively less sexual dimorphism in comparison to earlier hominins. Remains have been found in Tanzania, Ethiopia, Kenya, and South Africa.

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Homo Neanderthalensis

• The Neanderthal (Homo neanderthalensis) or Neandertal was a species of the Homo genus that inhabited Europe and parts of western Asia. The first proto-Neanderthal traits appear in Europe as early as 350,000 years ago. By 130,000 years ago, full blown Neanderthal characteristics had appeared and by 50,000 years ago, Neanderthals disappeared from Asia, although they did not reach extinction in Europe until 33,000 to 24,000 years ago, perhaps 15,000 years after Homo sapiens had migrated into Europe.

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Nearderthalis• Neanderthals had many adaptations to a cold climate, such as large

braincase, short but robust builds, and large noses — traits selected by nature in cold climates, as observed in modern sub-arctic populations. Their brain sizes have been estimated as larger than modern humans, although such estimates have not been adjusted for their more robust builds. On average, Neanderthal males stood about 1.65 m tall (just under 5' 5") and were heavily built, and muscular due to their physical activity and robust bone structure. Females were about 1.53 to 1.57 m tall (about 5'–5'2").

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Neandertalensis• The characteristic style of stone tools in the

Middle Paleolithic is called the Mousterian Culture, after a prominent archaeological site where the tools were first found. The Mousterian culture is typified by the wide use of the Levallois technique. Mousterian tools were often produced using soft hammer percussion, with hammers made of materials like bones, antlers, and wood, rather than hard hammer percussion, using stone hammers. Near the end of the time of the Neanderthals, they created the Châtelperronian tool style, considered more "advanced" than that of the Mousterian. They either invented the Châtelperronian themselves or "borrowed" elements from the incoming modern humans who are thought to have created the Aurignacian.

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Homo Erectus• Homo erectus (Upright Man) is an extinct

species of genus Homo. • H. erectus originally migrated from Africa

during the Early Pleistocene, around 2.0 million years ago, and dispersed throughout most of the Old World, reaching as far as Southeast Asia.

• Fossilized remains dating to 1.8 and 1.0 million years old have been found in Africa (e.g., Lake Turkana and Olduvai Gorge), Europe (Georgia), Indonesia (e.g., Sangiran and Trinil), and China (e.g., Lantian). H. erectus remains an important hominin since it is believed to be the first to leave Africa. However, some scholars believe that H. erectus is an evolutionary lineage too derived to have been the ancestor to modern H. sapiens.

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Homo Erectus• Homo erectus has fairly derived

morpholoigcal features, and a larger cranial capacity than that of Homo habilis. The forehead (frontal bone) is less sloping and the teeth are smaller (quantification of these differences is difficult however, see below).

• Homo erectus would bear a striking resemblance to modern humans, but had a brain about 75 percent (950 to 1100 cc) of the size of that of a modern human's. These early hominines were tall, on average standing about 1.79 m (5 feet, 10 inches).

• The sexual dimorphism between males and females was almost the same as seen in modern Homo sapiens with males being slightly larger than females.

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Homo Floresiensis• Homo floresiensis ("Man of

Flores") is the proposed name for a possible species in the genus Homo, remarkable for its small body, small brain, and survival until relatively recent times. It is thought to have been contemporaneous with modern humans (Homo sapiens) on the Indonesian island of Flores.

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Homo Heidelbergensis• Homo heidelbergensis

("Heidelberg Man") is an extinct species of the genus Homo and the direct ancestor of Homo neanderthalensis in Europe. According to the "Recent Out of Africa" theory, similar "Archaic Homo sapiens" found in Africa (ie. Homo rhodesiensis and Homo sapiens idaltu), and not Homo heidelbergensis, are thought to be direct ancestors of modern Homo sapiens. Homo antecessor is likely a direct ancestor living 750,000 years ago evolving into Homo heidelbergensis appearing in the fossil record living roughly 600,000 to 250,000 years ago through various areas of Europe.

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Homo Heidelbergensis• Homo heidelbergensis remains

were found near Heidelberg, Germany and then later in Arago, France and Petralona, Greece. The best evidence found for these hominins date between 400,000 and 500,000 years ago.

• H. heidelbergensis stone tool technology was considerably close to that of the Acheulean tools used by Homo erectus. The first fossil discovery of this species was made on October 21, 1907.

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Homo Sapiens Sapiens

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Tools