Primates

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Chapter 6

• Section 3

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Primates

• What type of species belong to group Primates?
• Humans, monkeys, and apes
• All are mammals
• What characteristics do all Primates have?
• Opposable thumbs
• Binocular vision
• Flexible shoulders
• These characteristics indicate that all primates
  evolved from a common ancestor

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Primates

• Opposable thumbs
• Allow you to cross your thumb over your palm and
  touch your fingers
• This is what allows us to hold things
• Allow tree-dwelling primates to hold on to
  branches
• Binocular vision
• Permits you to judge depth or distance with your
  eyes
• Flexible shoulders
• Allow tree-dwelling primates to move from branch
  to branch
• Allows humans to backstroke

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Primates

• What are the two groups of primates?
• Strepsirhines
• Lemurs
• Tarsiers
• Haplorhines
• Monkeys
• Apes
• Humans

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Strepsirhines
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Haplorhines
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Hominids

• 4 6 million years ago humanlike primates
  appeared that were different from other primates
• Hominids
• Eat meat and plants
• Walk upright on two legs
• Share some characteristics with gorillas,
  orangutans, and chimpanzees.
• They have a larger brain which separates them
  from apes

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African Origins

• 1920s a skull was discovered in South Africa
• Had a small space for a brain
• Humanlike jaw and teeth
• Australopithecus one of the oldest hominids
  discovered
• In 1974 an almost complete skeleton was found in
  Africa
• Thought to have walked upright
• This fossil indicates that modern hominids may
  have evolved from similar ancestors

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Early Humans

• 1960s a hominid fossil which was more like
  present-day humans was found
• The hominid was named Homo habilis
• Between 1.5 2 million years old
• Gave rise to another species known as Homo
  erectus
• 1.6 million years ago
• Has a larger brain
• Both are thought to be ancestors of humans
  because they have larger brains and more human
  like features

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Humans

• Homo sapiens
• Humans today
• Evolved about 400,000 years ago
• By 125,000 years ago there were 2 early human
  groups
• Neanderthals
• Cro-Magnon

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Neanderthals

• Neanderthal Characteristics
• Short
• Heavy-bodies
• Thick Bones
• Small chins
• Heavy brow ridges
• Family groups lived in caves and used stone tools
  to hunt
• Disappeared from the fossil record 30,000 years
  ago
• Represent a side branch of human evolution

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Cro-Magnon Humans

• Have been found in Europe, Asia, and Australia
• Date from 10,000 40,000 years ago
• Stand 1.6 1.7 m tall
• Physical appearance is almost the same as modern
  humans
• Thought to be direct ancestors of early humans