HUMAN EVOLUTION GENUS HOMO The following are

HUMAN EVOLUTION: GENUS HOMO

The following are misconceptions about evolution

Evolution involves only random changes— things happening by chance. Random mutation is the For example, streamlined ultimate source of genetic variation But natural selection (the process by which only some variants survive) is not random body shapes evolved among some aquatic animals like sharks and dolphins. They could swim faster and therefore better capture prey and escape danger. They were more likely to survive, reproduce, and pass on their traits to the next generation.

Evolution is about progress. Organisms are always changing and getting better, with humans as the culmination. Evolution is not about Beetles and finches— organisms marching up a ladder of progress Many organisms— including some mosses, fungi, opossums, and crayfish—have changed little over long periods of time They are fit enough to survive and reproduce in their environment changed and diversified greatly as they adapted to changing climates or new competitors. But that doesn’t mean they got “better” Humans were definitely not the last organism to evolve. Numerous other species have evolved since the onset of human evolution

Evolution is directed toward an intentional goal or need The process of biological If an individual has a evolution is not intentional There is no evidence that evolution responds to what a species “needs” Evolution does shape adaptations that enable organisms to survive and thrive in their environments particular genetic variation, What occurs? It will have more offspring and the population will evolve Without this process of adaptation, or natural selection, a population may die out

FUN FACT!!!!!!! #1 Why do we have so much white in our eyes? Our eyes say it! Get it! No really do you get it? Think here/now! Compared to other primates, humans have huge ‘whites of the eyes’, or sclera. This means that humans can easily read each other’s gaze. In experiments, great ape infants usually follow a gaze only when the experimenter also turns his head. But human infants follow the gaze when the experimenter moves only his eyes. The whites of our eyes may help a lot in communicating with one another

Individuals can evolve during their lifetimes Evolution happens to If pressure for long necks populations and species, not to individuals An individual giraffe’s neck will not grow longer during its lifetime due to selection pressure to eat from taller trees (La. Marck) exists, then individual giraffes with longer necks will survive and reproduce more often than those with shorter necks They will produce offspring with longer necks, resulting in a population or species shift to giraffes with longer necks

Gaps in the fossil record disprove evolution Science actually predicts New fossils are constantly gaps in the fossil record Many species leave no fossils at all, and the environmental conditions forming good fossils are not common The chance of any individual organism becoming fossilized is incredibly small being discovered. These include many transitional fossils—e. g. , intermediary fossils between birds and dinosaurs, and between humans and our primate ancestors Our lack of knowledge about certain parts of the fossil record does not disprove evolution

FUN FACT!!!!!!!!!! #2 Your BRAIN sucks! No wonder it’s good to eat Literally. nutritious foods that offer a lot of energy The brain of a newborn baby is even more amazing, as it takes up about 60% of the baby’s energy as the brain grows at an astonishing pace Did you know that your brain makes up about 2% of your body weight… but uses about 20 -25% of your body’s total energy, just for its basic activity?

Humans are no longer evolving, and we can’t actually observe evolution in action Human evolution usually occurs over so many generations that we can’t observe it sometimes it happens over a relatively short span Thoughts on what? Ability to digest milk Humans, are lactoseintolerant and cannot digest milk Nearly 80% of adults of European ancestry have a gene that enables them to digest milk Researchers think that this genetic change evolved in response to the spread of dairy farming 5, 000– 10, 000 years ago

Humans are too complex to have evolved Humans are the product of Human eye-Scientists think evolutionary processes that go back more than 3. 5 billion years We evolved new physical traits and behaviors on top of those inherited from earlier primates, mammals, vertebrates, and the very oldest living organisms that 550 million years ago or more, a lightsensitive spot on the skin of an ancestral creature provided a survival advantage Random changes over millions of years led to the evolution of a pit with a narrow opening, a retina, and eventually a lens

Mas Ojo Eyes corresponding to these stages exist in living species. According to one calculation, only 364, 000 years would have been needed for a complex eye like ours to evolve from a light-sensitive patch

FUN FACT!!!!!!!!!!!!! #3 Why do we get goose bumps? The body hair of all mammals automatically stands up when cold Creating a fluffy layer of warmth. When we’re cold, the muscles around the hair follicles contract a reflex left over from when our ancestors had long body hair. But since we don’t have much body hair, all we see are the goose bumps on our skin

If humans evolved from apes, there wouldn’t still be apes. Humans and chimpanzees Humans evolved a series of both evolved from a common ape ancestor that is now extinct Based on genetic differences between humans and chimpanzees, scientists estimate that this common ancestor lived between 8 and 6 million years ago differences from this common ancestor; chimpanzees evolved their own unique series of differences Like many other species that evolved from the same common ancestor, modern humans and modern chimpanzees continue to exist at the same time

FUN FACT!!!!!!!!! #4 Why do we have wisdom teeth? When our back molars are impacted in our jaw, they don’t seem very wise! That’s funny (yes, Summer it is funny) They’re the last teeth to come into place, and having them was helpful to our early ancestors who ate tough, uncooked foods that wore away their teeth. But with cooking and making food softer, the size of our jaws has diminished, often with room for the last molars to form in the jaw…but – ouch! – not enough room to erupt. BOOM! That’s funny

How Did We Evolve? 1) Before 5 mya: In Africa, our ancestral lineage and the chimpanzee lineage split. 2) Before 4 mya: The hominid Australopithecus anamensis walked around what is now Kenya on its hind legs. 3) >3 mya: Australopithecus afarensis (“Lucy”) lived in Africa. 4) 2. 5 mya: Some hominids made tools by chipping stones to form a cutting edge. There were perhaps four or more species of hominid living in Africa. 5) 2 mya: The first members of the Homo clade, with their relatively large brains, lived in Africa.

Previous slide Cont. 6) 1. 5 mya: Hand axes were used. Also, hominids had spread out of Africa and into much of Asia and Europe. These hominids included the ancestors of Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis) in Europe and. Homo erectus in Asia. 7) 100, 000 years ago: Human brains reached more or less the current range of sizes. Early Homo sapiens lived in Africa. At the same time, Homo neanderthalensis and Homo erectus lived in other parts of the Old World. 8) 50, 000 years ago: Human cultures produced cave paintings and body adornment, and constructed elaborate burials. Also, some groups of modern humans extended their range beyond Africa. 9) 25, 000 years ago: Other Homo species had gone extinct, leaving only modern humans, Homo sapiens, spread throughout the Old World.

Is this real, How do we know? Primate Behavior (evidence #1) Primates include lemurs, lorises, tarsiers, monkeys, and apes – a group of species that is well known for being social, smart, and very adept at using their hands. They are also very vocal and communicative with the members of their social group. And they move around in a wide variety of ways, including sometimes on two legs. Video 1 Video 2 Video 3 Video 4

Follow the footsteps (evidence #2) Footprints are a kind of Estimates of height, evidence of behavior often called a 'trace fossil' geological evidence of biological activity. This is in contrast to 'body fossils', fossilized remains from organisms' bodies. Scientists can learn a lot from sites where human footprints have been found weight, and gait of the humans who made the footprints - which also tells us how many people made the footprints. Features of the substrate that the footprints were formed in (was it soft? hard? wet? dry? ).

Feet Continued Aspects of the environment that the humans who made the footprints were living in, especially if there are footprints left by other animals. Several human footprints sites have been discovered.

Mas Pies Lets watch this video Feet Found 800, 000 years ago

Stone Tools (evidence #3) Stone tools and other artifacts offer evidence about how early humans made things, how they lived, interacted with their surroundings, and evolved over time. Spanning the past 2. 6 million years, many thousands of archeological sites have been excavated, studied, and dated. These sites often consist of the accumulated debris from making and using stone tools.

Stone……… Because stone tools are less susceptible to destruction than bones, stone artifacts typically offer the best evidence of where and when early humans lived, their geographic dispersal, and their ability to survive in a variety of habitats. But since multiple hominin species often existed at the same time, it can be difficult to determine which species made the tools at any given site. Most important is that stone tools provide evidence about the technologies, dexterity, particular kinds of mental skills, and innovations that were within the grasp of early human toolmakers.

Early Stone Tools The oldest stone tools, known as the Oldowan toolkit, consist of at least: Hammerstones that show battering on their surfaces Stone cores that show a series of flake scars along one or more edges Sharp stone flakes that were struck from the cores and offer useful cutting edges, along with lots of debris from the process of percussion flaking This began 2. 6 million years ago

The Birth of the hand axe By about 1. 76 million years ago, early humans began to strike really large flakes and then continue to shape them by striking smaller flakes from around the edges. The resulting implements included a new kind of tool called a handaxe. These tools and other kinds of ‘large cutting tools’ characterize the Acheulean toolkit. Homo Habilis made these

Hammerstone

Oldowan Tools from Lokalalei, Kenya

China

Things start to change These toolkits were established by at least 285, 000 years in some parts of Africa, and by 250, 000 -200, 000 years in Europe and parts of western Asia. We start to make points and attach them to spears and are able to expand quickly what our food sources are and what we can eat. We start to take off as a species. The beginning of us! Homo Erectus made these

Cranial capacity for Genus Homo

How we Get food (evidence 4)

Experiments and microscopic studies show that early humans used the ends of these bone tools to dig in termite mounds. Through repeated use, the ends became rounded and polished. Termites are rich in protein and would have been a nutritious source of food for Paranthropus robustus (above). 1. 5 mya

Stone tool marks on this extinct zebra ankle bone fossil look like those made during butchery experiments. Scientists have made experimental stone tools and used them to butcher modern animals. There is a strong similarity between the marks their tools made and the marks on fossil animal bones, indicating that early humans used stone tools to butcher animals by this time. 2. 6 MYA

Humans in Central Africa used some of the earliest barbed points, like this harpoon point, to spear huge prehistoric catfish weighing as much as 68 kg (150 lb)– enough to feed 80 people for two days. Later, humans used harpoons to hunt large, fast marine mammals. 90, 000 years old

Hunting large animals was a risky business. Long spears were thrust into an animal, enabling our ancestors to hunt from a somewhat safer distance than was possible with earlier weapons. Three wooden spears like this one were found at Schöningen, Germany, along with stone tools and the butchered remains of more than 10 horses. These spears are currently the oldest known wooden artifacts in the world. (400, 000 years)

Stone or bone projectile points, like the one seen here, attached to spears or darts and enabled humans to exploit fast -moving prey like birds and large, dangerous prey like mammoths. 104, 000 years.

The semicircular wound on this fragment of a horse shoulder blade was made by a weapon such as a spear, indicating it was killed by early humans. Other horse bones from the same site have butchery marks from stone tools. 500, 000 years old (England)

Technologies enabling plant and animal domestication, as seen in by these stone sickle blades from Dynastic Egypt and Ali Kosh, southern Iran, represent a turning point of human interaction with the environment. 4, 650 - 4, 150 years old (Egypt) and about 8, 600 - 8, 000 years old (Iran)

Early humans may have made bags from skin long ago. By around 26, 000 years ago, they were weaving plant fibers to make cords and perhaps baskets. Some of the oldest known pottery from Japan’s Jomon culture, seen here, is about 18, 000 years old. On the right 6, 000 years old.

The earliest hearths are at least 790, 000 years old, and some researchers think cooking may reach back more than 1. 5 million years. Control of fire provided a new tool with several uses—including cooking, which led to a fundamental change in the early human diet. Cooking released nutrients in foods and made them easier to digest. It also rid some plants of poisons. Building shelters 400, 000 years ago. Scientists found post holes and other evidence of multiple shelters at this site. 49 feet long in some areas!

At Qafzeh, Israel, the remains of as many as 15 individuals were found in a cave, along with 71 pieces of red ocher and ocher-stained stone tools. The ocher was found near the bones, suggesting it was used in a ritual. 101, 000 years old.

Burial Our ancestors often buried the dead together with beads and other symbolic objects. Burial rituals heightened the group’s memory of the deceased person. These rituals may imply a belief that a person’s identity extends beyond death.

We start recording ourselves By around 8, 000 years ago, humans were using symbols to represent words and concepts. As seen in this Assyrian lapis lazuli cylinder seal from Bablyon, Iraq, cylinder seals were rolled across wet clay tablet to produce raised designs. True forms of writing developed over the next few thousand years.

More Documents This ocher plaque has marks that may have been used to count or store information. A close-up look at the object shows that the markings are clearly organized. This systematic pattern suggests to some researchers that the markings represent information rather than decoration. 77, 000 years old

More This fossil mammal bone has three rows of tally marks along its length. They may have been used to add or multiply. 25, 000 years old

Making Clothes Awls and perforators were probably invented in Africa and carried to colder climates, where they were used to pierce holes in clothing. Later, humans used bone and ivory needles to sew warm, closely fitted garments—perhaps like those carved on some human figurines. 30, 000 -22, 000 years.

Cosmopolitan Awls and perforators were probably invented in Africa and carried to colder climates, where they were used to pierce holes in clothing. 77, 000 years.

Art and Music By 40, 000 years ago, humans were creating musical instruments and two- and three-dimensional images of the world around them. By 17, 000 years ago, they had developed all the major representational techniques including painting, drawing, engraving, sculpture, ceramics, and stenciling. Working on stone, ivory, antler, and occasionally clay, they created imaginative and highly complex works of art.

Our Brains Evolve-SLOWLY From 6– 2 million years ago: During this time period, early humans began to walk upright and make simple tools. Brain size increased, but only slightly. From 2 million– 800, 000 years ago During this time period early humans spread around the globe, encountering many new environments on different continents. These challenges, along with an increase in body size, led to an increase in brain size.

Brains Continued From 800, 000– 200, 000 years ago Human brain size evolved most rapidly during a time of dramatic climate change. Larger, more complex brains enabled early humans of this time period to interact with each other and with their surroundings in new and different ways. As the environment became more unpredictable, bigger brains helped our ancestors survive.

The top graph shows how Earth’s climate has fluctuated over the past 3 million years. Notice how much the fluctuations increased between 800, 000 and 200, 000 years ago. To construct this graph, scientists studied fossils of tiny organisms found in ocean sediment cores. The bottom graph shows how brain size increased over the past 3 million years—especially between 800, 000 and 200, 000 years ago. A large brain capable of processing new information was a big advantage during times of dramatic climate change. To construct this graph, scientists measured the brain cavities of more than 160 early human skulls.

Time-Line of Hominid Evolution: 5 Adaptive Radiations First Adaptive Radiation: 6 -7 mya in the late Miocene, potential last common ancestors Second Adaptive Radiation: 4 -5 mya in early Pliocene, first true hominids Third Adaptive Radiation: 3 -4 mya in middle Pliocene, more hominids Fourth Adaptive Radiation: 2 -3 mya in late Pliocene, more & “robust” hominids Fifth Adaptive Radiation: 2 -1. 8 mya in late Pliocene & early ice age, genus Homo

6 SPECIES OF GENUS HOMO 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Homo habilis Homo ergaster Homo erectus Homo antecessor (“archaic” Homo sapiens) Homo heidelbergensis (“archaic” Homo sapiens) Homo neanderthalensis

Rise of the genus Homo • Earliest fossils from same African sites as Australopithecines • Most date between 2. 4 and 1. 8 mya • Homo habilis means “handy man” • Growing consensus that there may have been 2 or more species of Homo living at the same time by about 2 mya

Homo habilis http: //www. archaeologyinfo. com/homohabilis. htm

1. Homo habilis 2. 3 -1. 5 mya East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia) & southern Africa Increased brain size (680 -800 ml) Stone tools

Homo habilis

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

Homo ergaster http: //www. archaeologyinfo. com/homoergaster. htm

2. Homo ergaster 1. 8 -1. 6 mya Lake Turkana, Kenya Increased Brain Size (800 -880 ml) Thinner Skull with smaller facial bones (than Homo erectus)

Turkana Boy Skeleton • 90% of skeleton of adolescent male found west of Lake Turkana in the mid 1980 s • 1. 6 mya, very modern skeleton, similar to that of fully modern human

Homo erectus http: //www. archaeologyinfo. com/homoerectus. htm

3. Homo erectus 1. 8 mya – 33, 000 ya First hominid to migrate out of Africa! Africa, then Russia, China, Java, Italy, etc. (p. 270 -71) 50% increased brain size (900 -1600 ml) Fire, clothing, shelters, cooking

Homo erectus Facial Morphology

EXAMPLE: Peking Man Reconstruction

Archaic Homo sapiens • Hominids with larger brains & more modern cranial features than classic H. AFRICAN ARCHAICS 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 premodern forms of H. sapiens Kabwe, Zambia Bodo, Ethiopia EUROPEAN ARCHAICS Arago, France Petroloma, Greece

4. Homo antecessor 780, 000 ya Gran Dolina, Spain (oldest fossil humans in EU!) Increased Brain Size (1000 ml) Direct ancestor of H. heidelbergensis & H. neanderthalensis (? )

Homo antecessor • Mixture of "archaic" and "modern" traits, with especially modernlooking mid-face • Other features are not unique & could be considered a form of European H. erectus

5. Homo heidelbergensis 130, 000 ya – 700, 000 ya Germany, China, Ethiopia, Greece, Hungary, Zambia, etc. (p. 289) Increased Brain Size (1000 -1400 ml) “Prepared Core” tools, wooden spears, dealt with changing environments

The Steinheim Cranium The Steinheim specimen excavated in the 1930 s from Germany 1 st archaic cranium discovered in Europe

Homo neanderthalensis http: //www. archaeologyinfo. com/homoneaderthalensis. htm

6. Homo neanderthalensis 28, 000 ya – 225, 000 ya Belgium, Croatia, Germany, France, Iraq, Israel, Italy (p. 297) Increased Brain Size (1200 -1700 ml) “Retouched flakes” (tool use), big game hunters, buried dead, cave art, early language? , compassion

Original Neanderthal Skullcap

Neanderthal Features

Neanderthal Adaptations

Modern Human Regional Variation African European-SW Asian East Asian Australian

Out of Africa (Single Region) About 130, 000 years ago, the first anatomically modern Homo sapiens evolved in East Africa (probably from H. erectus) then migrated out of Africa to Europe, Asia, and the rest of the world. At this point, H. sapiens may have interbred with or out-competed other existing species, such as H. erectus and H. neanderthalensis.

Multiregional Hypothesis. Africa and 1. 8 mya, Homo erectus evolved in East then began to migrate to Europe and Asia (due to lack of water and shelter) A very successful species, H. erectus survived until 33, 000 years ago! So…the Multiregional hypothesis argues that modern H. sapiens evolved from the different H. erectus stocks in different regions (continents) at the same time. After H. sapiens evolved in these different regions, may have been interbreeding, thus sharing of genes.

Compromise (Mostly Out of Africa) About 130, 000 years ago, the first anatomically modern Homo sapiens evolved in East Africa (probably from H. erectus) and then migrated out of Africa to Europe, Asia, & rest of world. At this point, H. sapiens did interbreed with members of other species (H. erectus & H. Neanderthalensis)

Recent Research: “Mungo Man” • Part of m. DNA 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 Neanderthals, 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