Early humans evolved from ape-like forms to modern humans over time. While today's humans look very different from Australopithecus afarensis, which resembled apes, both share some similar attributes. Later hominids such as Homo habilis, Homo erectus, Homo neanderthalensis, and Homo sapiens continued to evolve, with larger brains and bodies that more closely resembled modern humans with each successive species. The key physical traits that evolved include increases in brain size, stature, and more human-like facial features and body proportions over millions of years.

1. By: Sarah Cortese

2. People did not always look like they do now, but started off looking very similar to apes. The early humans evolved from the ape like form, to the modern day human, what we know to this day. Although humans nowadays look completely different from the first hominid, the Australopithecus afarensis, who looked very similar to apes; the modern day human still has some similar attributes.

3. This hominid was much more ape like than human They also had hair that covered their bodies. These hominids were short, about four feet tall. They were light in weight, about fifty pounds. They had a small brain, the size of an orange. Australopithecus afarensis walked on two legs. Although they were different from an ape, they still had were able to climb trees easily. Brain Orange

4. This hominid had a longer, flatter head than the modern day human. Their brains were only two thirds as large as humans today, but were bigger than the Australopithecus afarensis. They walked in a slightly hunched position. The Homo habilis was taller than the Australopithecus afarensis, their ancestors. We think that an adult would be about 1.5m tall because of the size of the leg- and thigh bones.

5. This hominid was the first to look like a real human. Their brains were two-thirds the size of a modern human. They were also about the same size as a modern human. The Homo erectus’s teeth and jaw shape somewhat resembled a modern human. This hominid had long dangly arms. Their faces were not like an ape or a modern human. They also had very thick eyebrow ridges. Thigh bone is almost exactly the same as modern day human so this hominid walked completely upright.

6. This hominid is believed to have been taller and stronger than the modern day human. They had large brains, which let them to be very smart. Their brains were, in fact, bigger than ours today. The Homo sapiens Neanderthalensis had a skull that grew forward, much more than a Homo erectus. This left more space for a larger brain. An average hominid was about six centimetres taller than a Homo erectus. Although their eyebrow ridges were not as thick as the Homo erectus, they were still fairly thick.

7. The brains of this hominid were as large as a modern day human. An adult could reach as much as two metres tall, taller than an average, human to this day. They had very high foreheads and jutting chins. This hominid had identical vocal systems to the modern human. They looked very similar to a modern human, and some say that if they wore modern clothes and were put in the world today, they would be hardly recognizable.

8. Humans first descended from apes and continued to change until what we look like to this day, a modern human. Although a lot of similarities were lost throughout the different ages, there are still some similarities that are the same with all the early humans. For example, every human, unlike apes, has opposable thumbs. This means the thumb of a human is disjointed from the other fingers. Even though there are things that have stayed the same throughout the ages, there are also things that have continuously changed. An example is how the brain, and brain capacity has changed little by little throughout the years, causing the newest to be, for the most part, smarter and more complex in everyday life.