Human Evolution

EVOLUTION OF HUMAN BEINGS
Introduction
human evolution, the process by which human beings developed on
Earth from now-extinct primates.
• The primary resource for detailing the path of human evolution will always be fossil
specimens. Certainly, the trove of fossils from Africa and Eurasia indicates that, unlike
today, more than one species of our family has lived at the same time for most of human
history. The nature of specific fossil specimens and species can be accurately described,
as can the location where they were found and the period of time when they lived; but
questions of how species lived and why they might have either died out or evolved into
other species can only be addressed by formulating scenarios, albeit scientifically
informed ones. These scenarios are based on contextual information gleaned from
localities where the fossils were collected. In devising such scenarios and filling in the
human family bush, researchers must consult a large and diverse array of fossils, and
they must also employ refined excavation methods and records, geochemical dating
techniques, and data from other specialized fields such as genetics, ecology and
paleoecology, and ethology (animal behaviour)—in short, all the tools of the
Classification of humans
• Kingdom: Animalia
• Multicellular organisms; cells with a nucleus, with cell membranes but lacking cell walls
• Phylum: Chordata
• Animals with a spinal cord
• Class: Mammalia
• Warm-blooded chordates that bear live young; females have mammary glands that secrete milk
to nourish young
• Order: Primates
• Mammals with collar bone; eyes face forward; grasping hands with fingers; two types of teeth
(incisors and molars)
• Family: Hominidae
• Primates with upright posture, large brain, stereoscopic vision, flat
face, different use of hands and feet
• Genus: Homo
• Hominids with S-curved spine, recognisable as human
• Species: Homo sapiens
• Humans with high forehead, well-developed chin, thin skull bones
Stages In Human Evolution
• 1. Dryopithecus
• These are deemed to be the ancestors of both man and apes. They lived in China,
Africa, Europe and India. The genus Dryopithecus refers to the oak wood apes. When
Dryopithecus was alive, the tropical lowlands which it inhabited were densely forested,
so the members could have predominantly been herbivores.
• 2. Ramapithecus
• Their first remains were discovered from the Shivalik range in Punjab and later in Africa
and Saudi Arabia. They lived in open grasslands. Two pieces of evidence confirm their
Hominid status:
• Thickened tooth enamel, robust jaws and shorter canines.

• Usage of hands for food and defence and extrapolations of upright posture
• 3. Australopithecus
• The fossil of this genus was first discovered in 1924 in South Africa. They lived on the
ground, used stones as weapons and walked erect. They were 4 feet tall and weighed
60-80 pounds.
• 4. Homo Erectus
• The first fossil of Homo Erectus was found in Java in 1891. These were named as Pithecanthropus
Erectus. These were considered as the missing link between the man and apes. Another discovery
made in China was the Peking man. This specimen had large cranial capacities and is believed to
have lived in communities. Homo erectus used tools comprising quartz. Tools made of bones and
wood were also discovered. There is evidence of collective huntings. There is also evidence of the
use of fire. The Homo Erectus is believed to dwell in caves.
• 5. Homo Sapiens Neanderthalensis

• The Homo Erectus evolved into Homo Sapiens. During evolution, two sub-species of Homo
Sapiens were identified- Homo sapien Neanderthal and Homo sapiens sapiens. The cranial
capacity of Neanderthal grew from 1200 to 1600 cc. Some small hand axes had also been
discovered. This species of hominids could hunt big names such as mammoths.
• 6. Homo Sapiens Sapiens

• The remains of Homo Sapiens were first discovered in Europe and were named Cro-Magnon. In
these, the jaws are quite reduced, the modern man’s chin appeared, and the skull was rounded.
Their cranial capacity was about 1350 cc. They gathered food through hunting. Art first appeared
during this time.
Tools, hands, and heads in the Pliocene and
Pleistocene
Refinements in hand structure
Primates are hand-to-mouth feeders that pluck and catch items
selectively by hand before ingesting them. Without tools, emergent
hominins would have relied on the versatility and strength of their
hands to collect food and on their teeth and jaws alone to process it.
Unless they used tools to fashion carrying devices such as bags from
animal skins, they would have needed a reliable source of water
nearby, and they would also have been limited in the types and number
of objects that they could transport through their range. In addition to
transporting objects and water, there is the more obvious utility of
animal skins in protecting against night chills, rain, and strong sunshine.
Sharp-edged stones, even small flakes, would be a boon to early hominins who learned how to
select and make them for cutting hides, meat, sticks, and other plant material. Stones also
would assist in pounding open hard-shelled fruits and nuts, bones for marrow, and skulls for
brains. There may have been a span when early hominins used naturally occurring stones and
other objects as tools and weapons, much as some wild chimpanzees do today.
• Before hominins controlled fire and either built sturdy shelters on the ground or effectively
defended caves and rock shelters, they may have constructed platforms in trees for daily activities
as well as night lodging. Raw materials, stone hammers, cutting tools, and sticks and stones for
defense could be stored in the trees to be used repeatedly. Handheld rocks, clubs, and long
stabbing sticks, spears, or other missiles would constitute a formidable defense, especially if
employed from the vantage of a tree platform.

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EVOLUTION OF HUMAN BEINGS

• Thickened tooth enamel, robust jaws and shorter canines.

• 5. Homo Sapiens Neanderthalensis

• 6. Homo Sapiens Sapiens

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