Human Evolution Essay

Essay on The History of Human Evolution
The History of Human Evolution
By definition, human evolution is the development, both biological and cultural, of humans. Human
ideologies of how the evolution of man came to be is determined by cultural beliefs that have been
adopted by societies going back as far as the Upper Paleolithic era, some 40,000 years ago. Through
the study of paleoanthropology, we have come to determine that a human is any member belonging to
the species of Homo Sapiens. Paleoanthropologists, while studying the evolution of humans, identify
and explain evolutionary changes that occur throughout time that aid in the development of the
human species. It will be through the examination of human physical traits, human origins from
pre–humans to modern...show more content...
Modern humans have a "braincase volume of between 79.3 and 91.5 cubic inches".(Gallagher)
Throughout the development of humans, one can notice that the brain has more than tripled in
size. This augmentation may be related to behavioral patterns of the hominids with an increase in
number and sophistication of stone tools and other artifacts. The art of tool making along with
other learnt skills made it possible for hominids to heighten their ability to live in a range of
different environments. "The earliest hominine fossils show evidence of marked differences in
body size, which may reflect a pattern of the different sexes in our early ancestors".(Gallagher)
Females tended to be smaller, weighing in at about 70 lbs and measuring 3 to 4 feet tall, while
men were on average 5ft tall and weighing 150lbs. This drastic size difference between genders
decreased through time, sometime after a million years ago. "The third major trend in hominine
development is the gradual decrease in the size of the face and teeth."(Microsoft Encarta) Unlike the
apes (from whom we derived) that were characterized by large, tusk–like canine teeth, the earliest
hominine remains were smaller in size and had canines that projected slightly. Also we can see a
reduction in the size of the face and jaws. "In early hominines, the face was large and positioned in
front of the braincase. As the teeth became smaller and the brain expanded,
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Human Evolution Essay
Human Evolution
When people take a look at African history in general many topics and ideas come to mind. How
the people of Africa lived, how they developed civilizations and cultures, and how their oral
traditions came about are just a few examples. When I am trying to learn about different groups of
people and different areas of the world I most likely start at the very beginning of their existence.
Africa being the origin of man and the home for the majority of developments of early humans
suggests that human evolution is an extremely import topic in African history today. Keeping this in
mind it is obvious that if any elements from our African Civilizations class should be required taught
in U.S. high schools, the origin of man...show more content...
These were vital to their progress, transformation to humans, and were evident during the early ape,
Australopithecus as well as the later Homo existence. Even though there have been many
archaeological findings that have provided useful information on this subject, there is still a lot that
remains unanswered. There still remains a missing link in the change from monkeys to humans."
Recent research, however, has provided so many 'links' in the form of fossil evidence that one
scholar has remarked:" It would be far more truthful to say that it is the chain that is missing whilst
the links exist."(( Posnanksy in Zamani, 1974, pg.53) –Shillington 2). If America wants to make
progress in this area, requiring this subject to be taught in high schools would be a very positive
step. The more students that are educated about evolution at a young age, the more there will be
who seek professions in this field as adults. A new generation of talented and highly qualified
scientists in this area would propel the world closer to finding explanations and answers in the future.
Even though no one can see or feel it, we as humans are in the process evolving right now. Human
evolution is inevitable, and will not stop unless the world comes to an end. Learning about human
evolution, in a since, is learning about yourself and how we came to be. Keeping this in mind, I feel
that students

All living organisms in one way or another interact with the natural eco–system that is on Earth,
which consists of the mixture of atmospherical, ocean, and land systems. As time progressed, the
eco–system of Earth changed resulting in genetic mutation, migration to different environments
better suited to preferred habitats, and extinction. Genetic mutations appeared in cases that led to the
birth of new species by creating further genetic differences that allows more of a kind of species to
survive by increase the chances of producing offspring and give adaptations to survive based around
a new habitat. Furthermore, responses to environmental factors show that records of some organisms
responded by creating change to their environments instead of themselves. Humans, with larger
brains than other animals, have shown to do this substatially well as they possess greater intelligence
than other life forms on Earth. This raises the possibily that environmental factors affected the
evolution processes of Homo sapiens. From the study of fossil records from dispersive
environmental conditions, they show to have stimulated developmental features because of the
environment thus affecting human evolution. Over the years, diverse groups of human ancestry have
emerged from different climates with evidence of adaptaions such as, little to no body hair, heavy
amounts of hair on face and head, skin color, upright walking, increase of cranial size, and ability to
understand the creation and

Human Evolution And The Human Race Essay
This essay is a continuation of an earlier work written for this class. I feel there is room to not only
clarify ideas proposed, but expand and introduce supplemental ones to further define previous claims.
The aim is to propose that though evolution and innovation are incredibly beneficial and important to
the human race, through a series of questionable morals and vast amounts of wrongdoings have
created a situation of over–innovation, or innovating past the point of benefit. Though from a
cynical perspective, it is vital that we question what we do. Are we doing what is truly best for
ourselves, our planet, and our neighbors? Or are we striving so arduously that we have essentially
skewed right from wrong, and found ourselves in a situation that humans have lost the sense of
morals when it comes to how far we can push innovation?
Innovation is the way that species evolve and ameliorate their means to their ends, whatever that
end result may be. Undoubtedly, human evolution is an impressive trend of wise decision
making, trial and error, and frankly luck. To paraphrase a great mind of our time, Richard
Dawkins stated that human creation is a nearly impossible event, and our evolution a rare and
improbable one. In fact, our creation is still being proven as more and more evidence confirms the
idea of The Big Bang. This is because of the pure improbability, it's hard to comprehend and come to
terms with our creation, which is why humans have invented ways to cope

Human Evolution
Human Evolution, the biological and cultural development of the species Homo sapiens, or human
beings. A large number of fossil bones and teeth have been found at various places throughout
Africa, Europe, and Asia. Tools of stone, bone, and wood, as well as fire hearths, campsites, and
burials, also have been discovered and excavated. As a result of these discoveries, a picture of human
evolution during the past 4 to 5 million years has emerged.
Human Physical Traits Humans are classified in the mammalian order Primates; within this order,
humans, along with our extinct close ancestors, and our nearest living relatives, the African apes, are
sometimes placed together in the family Hominidae because of genetic...show more content...
Much later (perhaps 50,000 years ago) hominines were able to cross the water barrier into
Australia. Only after the appearance of modern humans did people move into the New World, some
30,000 years ago. It is likely that the increase in human brain size took place as part of a complex
interrelationship that included the elaboration of tool use and toolmaking, as well as other learned
skills, which permitted our ancestors to be increasingly able to live in a variety of environments.
The earliest hominine fossils show evidence of marked differences in body size, which may reflect
a pattern of sexual dimorphism in our early ancestors. The bones suggest that females may have
been 0.9 to 1.2 m
(3 to 4 ft) in height and about 27 to 32 kg (about 60 to 70 lb) in weight, while males may have been
somewhat more than 1.5 m (about 5 ft) tall, weighing about
68 kg (about 150 lb). The reasons for this body size difference are disputed, but may be related to
specialized patterns of behavior in early hominine social groups. This extreme dimorphism appears
to disappear gradually sometime after a million years ago.
Face and Teeth The third major trend in hominine development is the gradual decrease in the size of
the face and teeth. All the great apes are equipped with large, tusklike canine teeth that project well
beyond the level of the other teeth. The earliest hominine remains

Evolution Of Human Evolution
Introduction
The human species has depended on a material culture for millions of years. Without it, humans
would not be able to survive. Many people believe that because we have so many technological
advancements and that humans can build or make anything necessary for their survival. Even with
the current technology and other advancements, research has proven that humans are still evolving.
Much of the evolution that is happening today has to do with the human genome and adapting to
current issues in the world. There has been much research done on the human genome and how it is
still mutating and changing. Natural selection has a big part in how the genome changes. Mutations
are another point to look at when determining if the human species is still evolving. A third point to
look at is gene flow and how that affects different populations. The purpose of this paper is to review
multiple different articles to establish whether or not the human species is currently evolving. The
articles used for this paper confirm that humans continue to evolve. While humans have the
technology and skills to make their environments suit their needs, it can clearly be seen that humans
continue to evolve and adapt.
Review of the Literature
Mutations
Some mutations in an allele increase to a greater frequency in a short period of time due to natural
selection. Examples of this include alleles in the gene for lactase persistence so that adults can
break down lactose in dairy products and in

Human Evolution
Human Evolution
Human Evolution, the biological and cultural development of the species Homo sapiens, or human
beings. A large number of fossil bones and teeth have been found at various places throughout
Africa, Europe, and Asia. Tools of stone, bone, and wood, as well as fire hearths, campsites, and
burials, also have been discovered and excavated. As a result of these discoveries, a picture of human
evolution during the past 4 to 5 million years has emerged.
Human Physical Traits Humans are classified in the mammalian order Primates; within this order,
humans, along with our extinct close ancestors, and our nearest living relatives, the African apes, are
sometimes placed together in the family Hominidae because of genetic...show more content...
Associated with these changes is a gradual reduction in the size of the face and jaws. In early
hominines, the face was large and positioned in front of the braincase. As the teeth became smaller
and the brain expanded, the face became smaller and its position changed; thus, the relatively small
face of modern humans is located below, rather than in front of, the large, expanded braincase.
Human Origins The fossil evidence for immediate ancestors of modern humans is divided into the
genera Australopithecus and Homo, and begins about 5 million years ago. The nature of the
hominine evolutionary tree before that is uncertain.
Between 7 and 20 million years ago, primitive apelike animals were widely distributed on the African
and, later, on the Eurasian continents. Although many fossil bones and teeth have been found, the
way of life of these creatures, and their evolutionary relationships to the living apes and humans,
remain matters of active debate among scientists. One of these fossil apes, known as
Sivapithecus, appears to share many distinguishing features with the living
Asian great ape, the orangutan, whose direct ancestor it may well be. None of these fossils,
however, offers convincing evidence of being on the evolutionary line leading to the hominid family
generally or to the human subfamily in particular. Comparisons of blood proteins and the DNA of
the African great apes with that of humans indicates that the line leading to modern people did

Essay on human evolution
The central purpose of this essay is to critically discuss the importance of understanding human
evolution and the history of psychology for the modern psychologist. For the human evolution, the
essay will be addressing on how we and other species descended from our ancestors and how the
different environment has helped to us to become more adaptable. Regarding the history of
psychology, the essay will be discussing on how psychology branched off from the philosophy
approach to become its own science. The essay will then go on discussing how the understanding of
both human evolution and history of psychology would be used by modern psychologist.
Every story has a beginning and an end. To be able to understand the importance of modern...show
more content...
They were full bipedal and their brain size and brain patterns evolved by increasing (590–687 cc).
Their diet was mainly meat which might have an influence on their rapid growth of their brains.
(Tobias 1987).
The next species to appear were the Homo erectus which might have descended from Homo habilis.
They were the first human whose fossils were found outside of Africa. They also had larger brain
than the species before them. Homo sapiens sapiens came after the Homo Neanderthalensis; they are
the only human species around. This could have been due to the result of increase brain sizes that
allows more cognitive abilities that help them adapt to different environment changes and hence
survive. Global evidence have been found of art, music, and culture and advanced tool making. In
Mithen's 3 phase of mind proposes that the shape of the Neanderthals' frontal lobe was similar to the
one of the modern Homo sapiens and this indicated that they were able to cope with complex
cognitive functioning. Evidence for this could be explained using the phonological approach by
Frank Gall (1758–1828).
Human evolution links with the history of psychology through Thomas Wynn's cognitive
archaeology. Thomas Wynn (1979) wanted to find the link between archaeology and psychology. He
used Piaget's theory of development to argue that old humans had functional operational intelligence
which requires for

The Evolution of Humans Essay
The Evolution of Humans The evolution of humans was (and is) a very important time. The first
being of evolution was Australopithecus Afarensis or "Lucy". Then we moved on to Homo erectus
and Homo Neanderthal. When the weather got hotter, we were Homo Sapiens Sapiens and finally,
the modern man. This evolution did not happen overnight. It took millions of years. The past is
hardly forgotten, but the imminent is next. The future of evolution is being studied as well as the
past. Most people were skeptical of the idea that humans are not a perfect species but scientists all
over the globe have made some shocking discoveries. Now that humans have researched the past
changes, we can assume the future of evolving humans. We can tell we are...show more content...
The evolution of humans took a very long time but it was all in good reason. The Australopithecus
Afarensis was the first "man". The "Lucy" (another name for Australopithecus Afarensis) was an
ape–like creature that roamed for a few million years and was first to discover food. Lucy was first
of many but had the most struggles. The animal starved until it ate and had to learn from
trial–and–error. If the orange berries made you sick, you didn't eat the orange berries. If the sapling
that has red fruits gave delicious food, then you ate that red fruit. Meat did not come until the
Neanderthals starved for any type of food so they hunted. Then came the Homo erectus which is
pretty much a Lucy with less hair. The evolution occurred due to too much hair making Lucy hot.
The Evolution was also for the ice age. But as the ice thawed, we evolved into the Homo Neanderthal
, or Neanderthal. The Neanderthal was a Homo erectus with even less hair than Lucy. The
Neanderthal was the being that created tools and changed life on earth. Forever. When the
Neanderthal created tools, houses came along pretty fast. When the house came along, the need to
climb trees became less and less. After the need to climb trees was unnecessary, the need for long,
climbing toes became useless and so, the long, climbing toes turned to short, stubby toes.
Afterwards, the Homo Sapiens Sapiens came along which no big deal. The beings where just
shedding hair that never grew back. When the hair was lost,

Human Evolution
Human evolution is the biological and cultural development of humans. A human is any member
of the species Homo sapiens, meaning "wise man." Since at least the Upper Paleolithic era, some
40,000 years ago, every human society has devised a creation myth to explain how humans came to
be. Creation myths are based on cultural beliefs that have been adopted as a legitimate explanation
by a society as to where we came from.
The science of paleoanthropology, which also tries to create a narrative about how humans came to
be, is deeply technical. Paleoantropology is the science of the evolution of humans, and it is the base
of all research in that field. Humans have undergone many different changes during the last hundred
...show more content...
We share almost 99 percent of our genetic material with chimpanzees. Yet we have several traits
that are very different. Two legged walking, or bipedalism seems to be one of the earliest of the
major hominine characteristics to have evolved. To accommodate this strange position, we have
developed a specialized pelvis, hip and leg muscles, and an S–shaped vertebral column. Because
these changes can be documented in fossil bone, bipedalism is seen as the defining trait of the sub
family Homininae. Much of the human ability to make and use tools and other objects stem from the
large size and complexity of the human brain. Most modern humans have a braincase volume of
between 79.3 and 91.5 cubic inches. In the course of human evolution the size of the brain has more
than tripled. The increase in brain size may be related to changes in hominine behavior. Over time
stone tools, and other artifacts became increasingly numerous and sophisticated. It is likely that the
increase in human brain size took place as part of a complex interrelationship that included the
elaboration of tool use and tool making, as well as other learned skills, which permitted our
ancestors to be increasingly able to live in a variety of environments.
The earliest hominine fossils show evidence of marked differences in body size, which may reflect
a pattern of the different sexes in our early ancestors. The bones suggest that females may have been
3 to 4 ft in height and

Homo Sapien Human Evolution
Charles Darwin stated that the evolution of man would take not thousands of years but millions of
years. In the case of the human species (Homo sapien) evolutionary theory posits that this has been
the case. Human evolution begins with the primate lineage which also includes new and old world
monkeys, and apes (Phelan, 2015). It is important to note that researchers have determined that the
chimpanzee is the humans closest living relative. While, humans and chimpanzees have similar
genetic and anatomical structure which signifies a close evolution relationship, it is also important to
note the anatomical differences that distinguish Homo sapiens. Unlike chimpanzees, humans
evolved toward bipedalism, grew larger brains and eventually became bigger in size (Phelan, 2015).
As Darwin suggested human evolution has branched down for millions of years and thus has many
significant events that result in the human beings that we are today....show more content...
The fossil of one of the species known as Lucy was found on November 24, 1974, at the site of
Hadar in Ethiopia (Arizona State University , n.d.). Lucy, a three million plus year old hominid
female shed light on the life and evolution of Australopithecus and Homo animals. Next, the Homo
habilis appeared as the first species that was bipedal and had a larger brain volume than the
chimpanzee (2015). This species also had smaller teeth. Stone tools found by archaeologists suggest
that the Homo habilis may have been the first species to use more civilized methods for food
preparation (2015). The Homo habilis quite possibly gave rise to the Homo ergaster who begot
Homo Heidelbergensis, who begot the Homo sapien (Smithsonian National Museum of Natural
History,

The Importance Of Human Evolution
Evolution is the idea of similarities among organisms the indicate a common ancestor from which
all species link back to. Michael Park states that "Different species exist because, in the continuous
process of adaptation, species can and do give rise to new species. Environments to which species
are adapted are always changing (Park, 47)." Human evolution is the process of humans changing
from primate ancestors to what is now modern–day homo sapiens. The shared DNA could have
shaped our individual susceptibility to modern day diseases or adaptation to new environments and
climates. Evolutionary history does violate how humans see themselves in the modern world.
However, I believe this is a natural part of evolution that is brought about by the long–term evolution
of a single species. In his book park explains this idea through the idea of adaptation stating that
"Each living species has its own unique set of adaptations to its own unique environmental niche,
and these can be described (Park ,48)." The way humans view themselves is part of the process of
evolutionary history itself the modern worldview is a by–product of our evolutionary history. Park
states that "In fact, we are unique in that we can consciously change certain behaviors if they are not
giving us the desired results (Park, 49)."
Evolution at its core is a change in a species behavior or physical features to adapt and survive in
their environment. However, humans are different as were highly advance humanities views
change based on the time we live rather than biological needs like other animals. For example, one
of the biggest parts of evolutionary history that violates modern human views is our current diet
and an overabundance of food. For most of our evolution, the only foods humans could eat were
those things directly accessible in their local environment, animal or plant. We ate, farmed and
cultivated only what we needed to survive and evolved and change accordingly like, for example,
our teeth and face to meet those dietary habits. Humans have no longer evolved to better solve their
food means rather a technology has involved creating food manufacturing, and cold storage, which
allows almost any food from any part of the world is

The Future Of Human Evolution Essay
The Future of Human Evolution
Evolution, the science of how populations of living organisms change over time in response to their
environment, is the central unifying theme in biology today. Evolution was first explored in its
semi–modern form in Charles Darwin 's
1859 book, Origin of Species by means of Natural Selection. In this book, Darwin laid out a strong
argument for evolution. He postulated that all species have a common ancestor from which they are
descended. As populations of species moved into new habitats and new parts of the world, they faced
different environmental conditions. Over time, these populations accumulated modifications, or
adaptations, that allowed them and their offspring to survive better in their...show more content...
The question is can humans evolve (physically), that is through changes of some sort to the general
human gene pool, enough to be considered a different species sometime in the future. The answer to
this is tricky. The answer is
"yes" if there is no human intervention and "not likely" (or atleast
controlled) if there is human intervention. The more interesting answer is the latter. The first answer
deserves some mention. Through the subtraction or addition (that is through chance changes of
some sort) of alleles (different forms of a characteristic gene) from the overall gene pool until homo
sapiens are no longer is feasible. One might ask how and were this is occurring. The answer is
human genes are changing all the time through radiation and spontaneous mutations (the latter more
rapidly no than ever since the human population is now larger than ever) and one can see these
changes to the overall gene pool in the disappearance of certain human tribes within parts of Africa
and South America..
These tribes unfortunately take exclusive alleles with them. What about Natural
Selection in present human culture. Some peoples are growing faster than others, for
example–Chinese faster than any other in the present world, thus the large
Chinese population.

Persuasive Essay On Human Evolution
How did Humans evolve? Everybody in the world had asked this question to themselves and to
others. It has always been a curious topic for people to about human creation especially when an
individual is young. Some tends to ask parent and nowadays some tents to go on google and search
it. But the results for the answers are different in different cases. Like if an individual would ask a
religious parents about creation of humans, they would get more biblical answer that are related to
god [Intelligent Design]. Or an individual could ask this question to a teacher and the answer would
be scientific which has theory and experiments and scientific discoveries [Darwinism]. Or the
young individual can be a kid and ask to his/her friend and get some childish imaginary story. Out of
all of this concept about evolution of humans the legal known concept Darwinism. It is taught in all
the publicly funded school because it has non–biased scientific support compared to other concepts.
But predictably the people believing in the other theory like the Intelligent Design also known as
I.D. would want publicly funded schools to teach I.D. too with Darwinism upon that some people
wants to replace Darwinism with I.D. in Public schools. The public schools should teach Darwinism
because it is scientifically supported by theories and experiments in spite of the flaws in the theory.
The scientific answer for the human evolution is "Darwinism." It is a theory of biological evolution
developed by

Essay about Human Evolution and Adaptation
Over the course of evolution, humans have evolved to adapt the ever–changing conditions to
improve their chances of surviving. Is there still room for natural evolution or has the time come for
us to use our technological innovations and further our development beyond previously thought
possible by biological means. Past trends have shown that as time has passed, significant body
structures have changed to counteract the changes to our environment. The changes that have been
most significant are: dentation; brain size; muzzle angles; average body weight, skull structure. Will
these continue to change and progress along similar trend lines, or has the time come for the
evolution of our species to become technologically driven?
As humans...show more content...
However as the planet warmed, natural selection may have started to favour a slighter stature in
humans. Therefore, as the skeletons and skulls got smaller the brain shrunk in size as a result
(McAuliffe, 2011). Another theory that is circulating the science community is that the decrease in
cranial capacity is attributed to the arrival of agriculture
One theory is that H. sapiens have reached the end of the evolutionary line. As evolutionary changes
have occurred, it is known that these changes become fixed in isolated populations. For example, the
Galapagos Finches that evolved from the mainland species to survive in the unique habitat of the
isolated islands. When natural selection occurs, a genetic mutation, e.g. spine suited to bipedal
locomotion, is passed through the generations, as it provides some benefit to the value of life of the
organism. Eventually this mutated trait becomes the desired gene for further generations. However
if the populations where these mutations are occurring, the potential for significant mutations to take
effect within the gene pool decreases as a result of interbreeding between populations (Owen, 2009).
As H. sapiens have become extremely mobile, as in they can cover large distances thanks to the
development of technological innovations, the possibility between crossbreeding between separate
gene pools of different populations, the possibility that a potentially beneficial mutation can become
the desired gene is

Did Human Evolution: How Did Humans Come To Be?
How did humans come to be? Human evolution is the lengthy process of change from ape like
ancestors to what we are today. One of the earliest human traits is the ability to walk upright.
Another one is having a large complex brain. They are also able to make tools and draw
decorative art figure drawing on cave walls that we are still able to see today. Humans are primates,
it shows evidence that homo sapiens have a close relationship with a group of primate species. Early
humans first evolved in Africa and much of the evolution was happening there also. Most fossils of
early humans are mostly found entirely in Africa. Most scientists currently recognize some fifteen to
twenty different species of early humans. Most early humans did not

Evolution Of Human Evolution
The study of Anthropology has numerous fields including paleoanthropology or the search of
fossilized remains of humanity's ancestors. Paleoanthropology can help explain the theory of
evolution. Evolution is the theory proposed by Charles Darwin and argues that organisms change
physically over time. Part of Darwin's theory of evolution is the idea of natural selection. Darwin
also stated that organisms must have a common ancestor. The theory of human evolution is that
humans evolved from primates. Paleoanthropologists can compare remains to understand show how
humans or hominids evolved.
The evolution of hominins first began in African between 10 to 5 million years ago. The
adaptation which set hominins apart from hominoids or other primates was bipedalism.
Bipedalism is the ability for species to walk on two legs instead of four. Bipedalism is an example
of natural selection. While the skeletal structure of primates allows them to stand on their hind legs
for short periods, the ability to stand on two legs provided many advantages for early hominids.
Bipedalism allowed the hominids to survive and reproduce. Since bipedalism was a practical
adaptation, this trait was passed down through the different species of hominins. While the reason
hominin became bipedal is unknown various theories have been proposed. Theories suggest the
humans became bipedal to adapt to climates affecting our ancestor's ability to gather food. The
theory states that the climate in the caused

Essay on The Importance of Human Evolution
Introduction
The main purpose of this essay is to critically discuss the importance of an understanding of human
evolution and the history of psychology for the modern psychologist. The essay aims to critically
discuss the study of human evolution which includes some of the species that evolved over the
years before we now have our species, the history of psychology and the different prominent figures
that are responsible for psychology being the field it is today. Finally, how an understanding of this
can aid a modern psychologist. To conclude, this essay will collate previous research done on human
evolution, history of psychology and the importance of this for the modern psychologist.
Human Evolution
Human evolution started with Charles...show more content...
The next major species found after the Australopithecus was the Homo habilis. Around the same
time period they came into existence, two other species were present, homo rudolfensis (Alexeev
1986) and homo ergaster (Archaeology Information n.d). The brain size of Homo habilis was about
590–687 cc, unlike the Australopithecus they should evidence of tool usage (Tobias 1987).
The homo ergaster species has a brain size of approximately 860cc (Australian museum n.d).
They also showed evidence of tool making and there was a possibility of vocalization (). It is
evident through this how the species are becoming more and more progressive, from the first
species discussed not showing evidence of tool making and their brain size getting larger as each
species is evolving. The next set of species is the homo Neanderthalensis; they evolved from a
species named homo Heidelbergensis, who were thought to be the first species that acquired
protolanguage (de Beaune et al. 2009). Homo Neanderthals had a brain size was about 1100–1400
cc (Holloway, Sherwood and Hof et al 2009). They showed evidence of tool usage; they were able
to cope with frequent and dramatic changes in climate/ scenery () This shows that they were more
able to adapt to environmental changes than the previous species discussed.() The Neanderthals
first showed evidence of burial of the dead with gifts and also care for the elderly; this is an
indication of social and cognitive abilities as they were able

Jorge Riojas
Richard Jacobson
1370.101
17 November 2017
The Evolution of Humans One of the most astonishing things on earth is the human body. They
consist of many organs that work together to maintain the person alive. The humans body
composition is complex, but what was the origin? How did we become who we are today? These
are the questions that intrigued me, and allowed me to understand how the human body evolved over
the years. By the examination of our ancestors, and our body we will understand how we look today.
Human evolution is "the process by which human beings developed on Earth from now–extinct
primates" (Human Evolution, 2017). It is thought that human evolution began with a species of ape
called Australopithecus, or one referred to as Neanderthals. These species most closely resemble the
beginning of humans because they were a type of ape that walked up–right. As time progressed our
primates began to adapt to the environment, and slowly changed into who we are today; Homo
sapiens. Charles Darwin– an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist–was known for developing
the theory of evolution. He explained that evolution was a "decent with modification" (On the
Origin of Species, 1859). This meant that we all originated from a different species. However, we do
not look exactly alike because we adapted to the environment we were exposed to. Although we all
originated form a certain species, after undergoing serval mutations throughout generations to ensure

Evolution And Its Impact On Human Evolution
Humans have gone through many stages of adaptation, allowing for great expansion and our
unrivaled dominance of the earth. So it could seem as though humans have reached the peak of
evolutionary development. Evolution is often thought of as a natural process, and were it not for
humans, this might be true. However, evolution, in the strictest sense, is a change in the genetic
structure of a population (Jurmain, et al., 5). While natural selection is a major contributor to the
process of evolution, humans are no longer as heavily influenced by these forces, as they once were.
In fact, since the dawn of medicine, humans have actively impeded the process of evolution. By
ensuring the survival and reproductive success of those who would otherwise be considered "unfit,"
in that they would not otherwise survive. Francis Galton, and others, suggested regulation to control
reproduction, and reduce/eliminate "unfit" characteristics. The eugenics movement led to a number
of concerns over what the concept of "fitness" entails, often prioritizing physical characteristics over
beneficial traits (Jurmain, et al., 391).
Even today, and with great understanding of human genetics, concerns exist regarding the ability to
control reproduction, and by extension, evolution. Some early works used genetics as a way to
describe how humans differentiated. In one study, researchers sought to reconstruct a history of
human evolution. By combining genetic findings with pre–existing archaeological and

Human Evolution Essay

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