Paleoanthropolog

y study of human origins and evoluti

-The

-Paleoanthropologists use two terms th

are easily confused:
Hominoid: refers to the group that
contains the great apes and humans.
Hominid: refers to branches of the
evolutionary tree closest to humans.

There are two main groups of hominid

1) Australopithecines, which came fir

and are all now extinct

2) Members of the genus Homo, with all

species extinct except one:
Homo sapiens

Major Features of Human Evolution

1) Brain Size: Hominoids of about 6 mya had
brain volumes of about 400-450 cm3.
-This is close to the volume of a modern day
chimpanzee.

Modern humans have a brain volume of abou

1,300 cm3 in size.

This tripling in size is associated with trends

as the development of complex language an
bipedal locomotion.

2) Jaw Shape: the hominiod ancestors of man

had long prognathic jaws, similar to moder
day gorillas and chimpanzees.

During human evolution, the development of

shorter jawbones resulted in a flatter face wi
a more pronounced chin.

Along with the change in jaw shape came a n

pattern of dentition (teeth), and a flattening
the zygomatic arches around the eyes.

Note the reduction in the angle of the faci

bones, and the flattening of the zygomatic
arches on the sides of the skull.

Also note that the modern human does no

have a sagittal crest.

3) Bipedal posture: Based on skeletal fossils,

clear that our ancestors walked on all four lim
when they were on the ground.

The evolution of bipedal locomotion was li

to key structural changes in the skeletons of
early hominids.
The pelvis of hominids evolved to be flatter
Less narrow than those of the apes.

Our feet evolved to have all of the digits fac

forward, aiding in balance for walking.

Evolution of Bipedal Locomotion

4) Reduction in the size difference between m

and females.

In hominoids, the size difference between ma

and females is a major feature.

Ex: In gorillas and orangutans, the size differ

is sometimes more than two times.

In humans, the average difference is 1.2 tim

Australopithecines: Early Hominid

and the Origin of Bipedal Posture

Australopithecus africanus: first discover

1924 by Raymond Dart.

Southern Ape of Africa

Discovered in a South African quarry, the fos

Evidence was clear that A. africanus walked
two feet, and had human-like hands and teet
Age: 2-3 million years

In 1974, in the Afar region of Ethiopia, a mor

complete skeleton was found.
Nicknamed Lucy, she stood only about
meter tall.
The skeleton was sufficiently different from
A. africanus to be named a new species,
Australopithecus afarensus.

The new species was named for the region in

which it was found.

The age given for A. afarensis is approxima

3.5 to 4.5 million years old.

Fossilized footprints found in Laetoli, Tanzani

confirmed evidence that A. afarensis walked
a bipedal manner.

Skeletal evidence also indicated that A. afare

also led a partially arboreal existence.

Long arms in relation to body size suggest th

A. afarensis may have led a mixed savannah
forest existence.

Australopithecus amanensis
Discovered in 1995 by Mary Leakey, A. aman
is one of the oldest known australopithecines

Fossils found include parts of jawbones, arm

and leg bones. A complete skeleton has not
been found.
Dentition is marked more ape-like, with la
canines and a parallel jaw structure.

A fossilized arm joint is more human like th

ape-like.

Australopithecus robustus
A relative of A. afarensis, this species had a
very thick and heavy skull.
A. Robustus was about the same size as
A. afarensis, with a large jaw and teeth well
adapted to chewing.
This species had a sagittal
crest.
Age: 2.1 1.6 mya

Australopithecus
bosei
A. Bosei is very similar to A. robustus, excep
that its skull and teeth are larger.

Disagreement exists over the placement of

both A. robustus and A. bosei in the homini
ancestry.
It is widely held now that both
are relatives of A. africanus.
Age: 2.3 1.1 mya

Some Proposals For The Evolution

Of Hominids

1) Australopithecus afarensis was the ancest

both to the later forms of australopithecines
to Homo.

2) Scientists believe that divergence betwee

Australopithecus and Homo occurred
between 3.0 and 2.5 million years ago.

3) One branch led to Australopithecus african

and then to the more specialized A. robustus
the variant A. bosei.

4) The other major branch led to Homo habil

the earliest member of the genus Homo.

5) Portions of the H. habilis population gave

to Homo erectus, and part of the H. erectus
population led to development of Homo sapi

6) Modern man emerged as recently as 40,00

years ago.

7) Examination of the trends in evolution ind

that not all organ systems have evolved at th
same rates.

The concept that different features of an organi

evolve at different rates is known as mosaic evo

8) Efficient bipedal movement is a trait that

appeared very early, and it is probably the sin
most important development in the emerge
of man.