This document provides an overview of human evolution from 8 million years ago to the beginnings of civilization. It describes the major hominid species that existed in Europe during this time period such as australopithecines, Homo habilis, Homo erectus, and Homo neanderthalensis. It discusses challenges in defining species and transitions between species as gradual processes. The document also outlines the Neolithic Revolution around 11,000 years ago when humans transitioned to agriculture and the first settled villages emerged in the Fertile Crescent region.

1. Europe Before Civilization:

2. 8 Million Years of Hominids

3. Hominid
• Humans (and all human ancestors after human/chimpanzee split approx.
4-6 million years ago)
– Range due to initial division followed by gradual divergence accompanied by continued
interbreeding
– Includes astralopithecines
• Chimpanzees + bonobos
• Gorillas
• orangutan

4. Family Tree

5. Hominid Skeletons
(Side view)

6. Australopithecines
(4-2 MYA)
Taung Child – 2.4 MYA

7. Homo habilis and tools
2.4-1.4 MYA

8. Homo erectus
1.8 million – 70,000 KYA

9. Homo heidelbergensis
600K-400KYA?

10. Homo neanderthalensis
300K-30KYA

11. Gigantopithecusblacki
1 million – 300KYA

12. Homo floresiensis

13. Homo Plasticus?

14. The “Missing Link”
• How does one species emerge from another?
– If species X evolves into species Y, then there must be a point at which a child belongs to
the new species Y but his or her parents still at species X.
– Members of different species (generally) by definition cannot interbreed, yet obviously a
child of species X should be able to breed with other members of species X
– So what’s going on?
• The “teapot theory” OR at what point does cold water become hot?
• Reality is a continuum
– You can think of this like a bell curve OR a flip book
– There IS no disruption point Things smoothly and continuously link from one to the next.
Change is gradual and cumulative
– Intermediate forms die out
– Can only be understood BACKWARDS, but is lived FORWARDS

15. Continuous Flow

16. Hominid Skulls
(Homo sapiens on far right)

17. Rift Valley

18. Skull Distribution

19. The Third Chimpanzee
Bonobo

20. What Makes Us Human? War?

21. Agriculture?

22. Farming?

23. Sociality?

24. Tool Use?

25. Culture?

26. Intelligence and the Encephalization
Quotient

27. So, what makes us unique?
• Reductio ad absurdum
• On one level, perhaps nothing. Remember the continuum!
• But keep these four things in mind:
– Manipulator organ (for humans, hands + esp. opposable thumb)
– Disproportionate brain size (7.4X expected norm adjusted for body mass)
• Bottlenose dolphins are next, at 5.4X
– Communication (language)
– History

28. Thomas Hobbes
Life, pre-civilization:
“Nasty, brutish, and short”
— The Leviathan

29. Centers of Agrarian Revolution

30. Chronology
• Hunter-Gatherer: 100 KYA – 20 KYA
• Pastoral: 20 KYA- 11 KYA
• Neolithic Revolution: 11 KYA
– “Hilly Flanks”

31. Fertile Crescent &Hilly Flanks

32. Domestication

33. Pestle, for grain preparation

34. Beer

35. Skara Brae, Orkney, Scotland

36. Neolithic Farmhouse

37. CatalHuyuk, Turkey

38. CatalHuyuk

39. Jericho, West Bank, Israel

40. Tell of Jericho

41. Jericho, Wall Cross-Section

42. Neandertal

43. Neandertal (Side View)

44. Range