Human Evolution
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Human Evolution "Most scientists believe that science generally approaches ever nearer to an objective description and understanding of its subject matter -- objective both in "Honey you may have come from monkeys, but I the sense that one scientist's description or conclusion sure didn't" -- Mrs. Guilleroy, elementary school can be achieved independently by others, and in the sense that his or her conclusions are not dictated by teacher, DeSoto, MO emotion, desire, or a priori expectations" -- Douglas Futuyma Phylogenetic relationships “Light will be thrown on the origin of man Order Primates Suborder Prosimii and his history.” Infraorder Lemuriformes (lemurs) Infraoder Lorisoformes (galagos, lorises) Suborder Tarsiiformes (tarsiers) -- Darwin, 1859 Suborder Anthropoidea Infraorder Platyrrhini (New World primates) Infraorder Catarrhini Superfamily Cercopithecoidea (Old World monkeys) Superfamily Hominoidea Family Hylobatidae (gibbons) Family Hominidae Subfamily Ponginae (orangutan) Subfamily Homininae (gorillas, chimps, Charles Darwin bonobos, humans) Human Origins & Evolution: Humans in same clade as African Great Apes Most parsimonious tree Molecular Evidence - mtDNA tree Humans, Chimps/Bonobos, and Gorillas are a H, C, G relationship monophyletic clade. A) Molecular & Morphological Bonobo Evidence G C B H Fig. 19.4 Human Origins & Evolution: Human Origins & Evolution: Key Points Human Origins & Evolution Morphological Evidence 1) Humans evolved from knuckle walker Fig 19.16 Behavior- Knuckle walking -Shared by G & C, but not in H 2) Humans and Chimps are closest living relatives Fossil- Dryopithicus (10mya fossil) A) Molecular & Recent Morphological Evidence -”woodland ape” “The Progress of Man” G C B H -shared characters with G, but not C & H •Bush, not a ladder Fossilized and extant wrist bones - •Multiple species coexisted •Exact relationships unclear -comparative study (G ancestral, C & H derived) Ardipithecus ramidus Gracile Australopithicines Human Origins & Evolution Ardipithecus ramidus Early hominid Approx. 4.4 mya East Africa Possibly bipedal? Forest dwelling Figure 19.15 Australopithecus afarensis Gracile Australopithicines Australopithecus afarensis Fig. 19.11 How do we know they were bipedal? Tanzania, Africa 1. Skeletal structure 3.0-3.9 mya 2. Fossilized footprints Australopithecus afarensis “Lucy” Under 5 ft tall Sexually dimorphic Prognathism Figure 19.15 Brain:400-500 cm3 Bipedal “Lucy” Bipedal Bipedalism Homo habilis Homo habilis Why did bipedalism evolve? 1. To see over savannah Moderate brain size grasses All African (?) Stone Tool use (Fig. 19.29) 2. To free hands to carry H. habilis Reduced Prognathism food 1.9-1.6 mya (Ancestors living in forest) Figure 19.15 Fig. 19.27 Homo erectus Homo erectus Homo erectus Homo erectus Widespread use of Fire! Expansion of brain size 1.2-0.4 mya H. erectus: 700 cm3 1st H. sapiens (Cro-magnon): 1,600 cm3 Modern: 1,200 cm3 Figure 19.15 The genus Homo: H. floresiensis Homo floresiensis Homo neanderthalensis H. Sapiens “The Hobbit” 0 H. neanderthalensis H. helmei 0.4 18,000 H. heidelbergensis years ago 0.8 H. cepranensis H. antecessor 1.2 H. floresiensis H. erectus 1.6 H. georgensis Millions of years ago H. ergaster Figure 19.15 2.0 Homo Neanderthalensis Homo Neanderthalensis Homo Neanderthalensis What happened to Neandertals? •Hybridization with H. sapiens? •Elimination by H. sapiens? H. Neanderthalensis H. Neanderthalensis H. Neanderthalensis 300 to 30 kya 300 to 30 kya 300 to 30 kya Tool use (Fig. 19.29) Language (Fig. 19.30) Large brains Figure 19.21 Homo Neanderthalensis Modern humans: Homo sapien Homo sapien: Brain Size Sequencing the Neanderthal Genome What is a human? Fig. 19.31 •Genetic differences between Opposable thumb H. sapiens and our close Bipedal relative Large brain •Possbile role of hybridization Tool making Language Creativity November 16, 2006!! Modern Humans Where did modern humans arise? African Replacement Supported by fossil How did intelligence and reason evolve? evidence (continuity of morphological •Tool use traits within regions) •Social interactions (e.g. parental care) •Possibly, selection for problem solving - Fig. 19.22 & 19.24 competition and cooperation for limited resources Multi-regional theory “Single African Origin” Most-recent common ancestor: •Lived in Africa •120 to 220 kya African replacement (“Out of Africa”) African replacement African replacement Human Evolution: Summary neandertals African replacement African replacement Predict: Genetic diversity should decrease when moving away from the Flores humans source. H. erectus, >1 mya H. sapiens, 250 yka.