1) Fossil evidence from sites in South Africa like Sterkfontein provide insight into early hominids that lived over 3 million years ago, including Australopithecus africanus. 2) As hominids evolved, they exhibited skeletal changes associated with bipedalism as well as increases in brain size and cultural adaptations like tool use. 3) Genetic and fossil evidence supports the 'Out of Africa' theory where modern humans evolved in Africa around 200,000 years ago and migrated elsewhere, replacing earlier hominid species like Neanderthals.

1. Evolution of Humankind
Fossil Hominids from South Africa-the Cradle of Mankind
 Hominid
- Biological group include humans, human-like animals (gorilla, chimps, orang-utans, our
ancestors)
 Sterkfontein richest Hominid fossil site-World Heritage site known as Cradle of Mankind
- Cold be because depression in ground people pushed-mud slide
Hominid studies depend on:
 Fossilised remains
 Genetic evidence (mitochondrial DNA through mother’s line)
 Archaeology
Trends in Human Evolution:
Human biological evolution:
 Skeletal changes linked to bipedalism
- Morphological alterations – arrangement and size of bones, hip size and shape, knee
size, leg length and shape/orientation of vertebral column
- More delicate skeleton
- Shift foramen magnum to more forward position
- Rounder skull
- Increased cranium size-develop language and intelligence
- Flatter face-less sloping forehead, small eyebrow ridges (usually absent), less protruding
jaw, more developed chin, more rounded jaw, change in dentition
 Advantages bipedalism:
- Free arms completely (use/make tools more efficiently, stretch fruit, pick fruit, seeds in
trees, use hands social display communication)
- See further over savannah grass (better nutrition) however more easily seen by
predators
- Foraging/scavenging out in open savannah bodies exposed less sunlight (better
temperature control)
- More energy efficient walk on two legs-energy reproducing
 Changes in skull and endocranial features
- Large brain outcome substantial energy saving development ie:bipedalism
- Bipedalism change energy/fat allocation in body-additional energy brain
 Changes in manipulative ability of hand (fine motor skill)
 Walking upright
- Adapt to climate change cooling globally
- Rainforests in Africa replaced savannah, patches woodland
- Tree climbing apes more adept walking-rewarded shrubs, carcasses, roots in savannah

2. Evolution of Humankind
Human cultural evolution:
 Living socially co-operative groups-increased chances of survival
 Use of tools (stone, wood, bone)
 Parenting
 Fire (manipulate environment suit us)
 Shelter
 Clothing (occupy more niches)
 Abstract thought (communication, language, art)
 Increase intelligence-taught behaviour adapt changing climate
 Food-gathering
 Domestication of plants and animals
Note: Hominids are bipedal animals in fossil record showing mixture ape-like and human-like feature
Characteristics shared with apes:
 Opposable thumb
 Bare finger tips
 Long free rotating arms
 Stereoscopic vision
 Eyes cones/rods
 Large brains compared to body mass
 Portion of brain centres that process information from hands and eyes enlarged
 Olfactory (smell) brain centres diminish
 Dentition similar monkeys/apes
 Jaws teeth gentle curve
 Few offspring, long parental care
Characteristics that make us different from other primates:
 Always bipedal
 Flat face (senses closer brain)
 Large brain
 Opposable thumb (power/precision grip) Note: Apes-only power
 Complex language, writing, technology
 Sophisticated culture suggest consciousness lacking apes (art/jewellery)
- Cro-magon culture
- Tool kits more sophisticated, wider variety raw materials (bone/antler)
- New implements making clothing, engraving and sculpting
- Fine art ie: decorated tools, beads, ivory carving humans/animals, clay figurines, musical
instruments, cave paintings
- Found Blombos caves, Pinnacle point, Border cave, Southern Africa

3. Evolution of Humankind
Patterns of dispersal:
 Modern man preceded by evolutionary forms of Hominid showed bipedalism
 Archaic man (habilis and erectus) and modern man (Homo sapiens sapiens) characterised
enlarged brain cases and use of tools
Australopithecus afarensis:
 >3mya
 Example of Lucy
 Awash Valley (Ethiopia)
Australopithecus africanus:
 >3mya
 Taung child discovered by Raymond Dart
 Mr Ples from Sterkfontein Caves in Cradle of Humankind discovered by Dr Robert Broom,
Raymond Dart, John Robinson
 Little Foot discovered by Ron Clarke
 Laetoli footprints discovered in volcanic ash in Tanzania
Australopithecus sediba:
 Latest find placed between Australopithecus and Homo species
 Discovered Malapa Fossil Site Cradle of Mankind by Professor Lee Berger
 Transitional species
- A lot of argument/controversy
- Link theory together
- Lead to weight of gradual change (show shifts from one form to another)/common
ancestor
Homo habilus:
 2mya
 Handy man/first tool maker
 From Lake Turkana (Kenya) and Olduvai gorge (Tanzania)
Homo erectus:
 1.5mya
 Disputed ancestor of humans and Homo neanderthalensis
 Found in Europe
Homo sapiens:
 100000-25000mya
 Example Border cave in KZN, Klasies river mouth

4. Evolution of Humankind
 Earliest use of fire to make ochre artefacts at Blombos cave and Pinnacle cave (Mossel Bay)
 San as world’s oldest extant people
Migration of modern humans around the world:
 Both theories state climate played huge role man movements
 Follow prey
 Changes sea level during ices ages led to land bridges developing-allow migration, across
seas, inhabit new continents
 Resources limited/more hospitable climate
 Early humans strandlopers-migrate along shores living off sea
Multiregional Continuity Model:
 After Homo erectus left Africa, dispersed portions of Old World
 Regional populations slowly evolved into modern humans
- Groups were isolated
- Climate pressure, ocean levels rise, spontaneous change
This model suggests that:
 Some level gene flow between geographically separated populations prevented speciation
after dispersal
 All humans derive from Homo erectus
 Natural selection regional populations since original dispersal is responsible for regional
variants (races)
 Emergence of Homo sapiens not restricted one area, phenomenon occurred throughout
geographical range where humans lived
Out of Africa theory:
 Most widely accepted
 Modern humans evolved recently out of Africa
 Migrated into Eurasia and replaced all populations which had descended from Homo erectus
- Homo erectus from Africa migrated to Europe and Asia
Critical to this model are:
 Homo erectus colonise large portion planet
 Changes occur
 Genetic and fossil evidence interpreted to show that archaic Homo sapiens evolved to
anatomically modern humans in Africa (200 000-150 000 years ago)
- Mutations in Africa especially Homo sapiens
 Successful second wave Members one branch of Homo sapiens left Africa (125 000-60 000
years ago) over time these humans replaced earlier humans ie: Neanderthals/erectus
 Homo sapiens co-habited with Homo erectus eventually outcompete them/adaptable so
colonise quickly
 DNA testing early humans interbred Neanderthals

5. Evolution of Humankind
 Date earliest out of Africa migration (earliest migrants with living descendents)-60000 years
ago suggested by genetics
 Migration out of continent could have taken place 125 0000 years ago according to Arabian
archaeology find tools in region
 Modern human variation relatively recent phenomenon
Alternatives theory evolution:
 Intelligent design
- All living forms intelligently designed by supreme being
- Evidence scientific based not faith based
 Creationism
- All living forms created by God (image)
- Some explanations in form of stories (Zulu/San)
Note: All humans genetically very closely related to each other and to primates