Human Evolution

1
Human Evolution
2
Characteristics

• Complex reasoning
• Exceptional ability to learn
• Make and use sophisticated tools
• Communicate using complex language
• Very large brain size relative to body size
• Hands are capable of fine manipulation and
  coordination
• bipedal

3
Human Phylogeny

• Homo sapiens are primates.
• Primates are a small group of mammals that are
  characterized by large brains, forward-directed
  eyes, flexible hands and feet, arms that can
  rotate fully.
• Have common ancestor from 60-70 million years
  ago.
• Early on, gave rise to prosimians (lemurs), then
  anthropods which splits into monkeys and
  hominoids (gibbons, orangutans, humans,
  chimpanzees, gorillas).
• Continental drift then was separating South
  America (New World) from Africa and Eurasia (Old
  World)

4
Phylogeny of Primates
5
Hominid Cladogram
6
Hominid Fossil Record

• Hominids are the clade that ends in the modern
  human.
• Between 6-7million years ago (mya) Sahelanthropus
  was beginning to walk upright
• 3.4 mya Austalopithecus were using tools
• 2 mya Homo guatengensis and Homo habilis (handy
  man) had evolved
• 800 000 - 200 000 years ago human brain size
  increased in the Homo heidelbergensis and gave
  rise to both the Homo neanderthalensis and Homo
  sapiens.

7
Out of Africa

• All early hominids evolved and lived in Africa.
• The first species to spread outside of Africa was
  Homo erectus about 1.9 mya they spread throughout
  Eurasia and survived until 100 000 years ago.
• 500 000 to 300 000 years ago ancestors of the
  Neanderthals moved from Africa
• Soon after modern humans spread to Europe and
  Asia and eventually the Americas.
• Some small sequences of the Neanderthal genome
  are found in humans of Asian and European
  descent, which suggests interbreeding between
  early Homo sapiens and Neanderthals.

8
(No Transcript)