1. Early primates evolved adaptations like opposable thumbs and binocular vision to thrive in trees. They divided into prosimians and anthropoids, with the latter including monkeys, apes and humans. 2. The hominid Australopithecus afarensis, including the famous fossil "Lucy", showed evidence of walking upright 3.5 million years ago, even though its brain was chimp-sized. 3. Several hominid species evolved after A. afarensis, with Homo habilis having larger brains and making tools, and Homo erectus spreading across Africa, Asia and Europe around 1.5 million years ago.

1. The Human Race
Our Origins

2. Evolution of Primates
Primates
– Mammals with 5 flexible fingers
– Earliest dwelled in trees-arboreal
– Needed special adaptations for this:
Opposable thumb….Why?
Binocular vision
– Eyes in front of head
– Field of vision of eyes overlap—depth
perception….Why?
Rotating Shoulders

3. Evolution of Primates
Primates divided into 2
groups: prosimians and
anthropoids
Prosimians
– First primates
– i.e. Loris
– 30-40 million year fossils
show they were common
– Nighttime hunters…
How can you tell?

4. Evolution of Primates
Anthropoids
– Monkeys, apes, and humans
– Smaller eyes--day active
primates
– Color vision
– Larger brains
– Replaced prosimians rapidly

5. Anthropoids
Anthropoids
– Monkeys
Have tails
Old World—Asia and Africa
New World—Central and S. America
– Apes
NO TAILS
Larger brains than monkeys
Chimps, gibbons, orangutans,
bonobo, etc.
– Humans
Our closest genetic primate relative is?

6. Evolution of Humans
Vocab:
– Bipedal: walk upright on two legs
– Hominid: bipedal primates such as
humans and their closest fossil relatives
Hominids are the ONLY bipedal
primates:
– Locking knee joints
– Spine enters skull at
bottom of head
– Femurs (thigh bone)
tapers in

7. Evolution of Humans
Fossils are rare
– When they are found they must be
identified
– Hominid vs. chimpanzee
Chimps most closely related primate to
humans
Hominid jaws and teeth different
– Human’s more arc shaped with smaller canines
and larger gaps.
Hominid spine S– chimps’ is C shaped
Hominid pelvis is bowl-shaped, chimps’ long
Hominid thigh bones taper in—chimps’ out
– Human Evolution Video Clip

9. Early Hominids
Darwin Descent of Man
– 1871
– Said fossilized remains of
ape and human common
ancestor should be found
in Africa

10. Early Hominids
Genus Australopithecus
– LucyAustralopithecus afarensis
– Fossil found in Africa
– Hominids—shape of pelvis and femurs
showed they were bipedal. How?
– Short—3’6’’
– Brain size of chimps
– Jaws more rounded than apes
– Teeth like humans

11. LUCY
3.5 million years
old
40% complete
Female

12. LUCY
She walked upright
She was a bipedal hominid
–Bowl-shaped pelvis
–Thigh bones taper in
–Locking knee joint

13. •Showed us:
•walked upright
first
•brain size grew
AFTER.

14. LUCY VS. APE

15. SKULLS
Lucy had a small skull like an
ape, but she wasn’t one.
LUCY APE

16. SKULLS
A. afarensis (Lucy) Homo sapien

17. Early Hominids
• Genus Australopithecus
A. afarensis
• Genus Homo Time
Homo habilis
H. erectus
H. sapiens
NOT A COMPLETE LIST! THERE ARE
OTHERS!

18. APES Homo sapiens
Homo erectus
transitional species Homo habilis
Australopithecus afarensis
common ancestor to
ape and H. sapiens

19. Homo habilis
Means: Handy man
Small structure like
Lucy
Skull 2X’s the size
of Lucy
2- 1.8 mya in
Africa
Tools made of bone
and stone.

20. Homo erectus
Java man / Peking man
Africa / Asia / Europe
Larger than H. habilis
Larger brain
Excellent tools used,
used fire
1.5 mya – immediate
ancestor

21. Early Hominids
Two hypotheses on location where H.
sapiens evolved:
– Out of Africa:
idea like Darwin’s
states H. sapiens evolved IN Africa and
spread to rest of world
– Multiregional
H. erectus left Africa and THEN evolved into
H. sapiens
Different races reflect descent of each race
from H. erectus in different locations
– Out of Africa hypothesis supported by
most evidence.

22. Early H. sapiens
Homo Neanderthalensis
First discovered in Neander
Valley
Massive skulls, protruding brows
Great controversy on whether they died
off (genes no longer) or whether they
evolved with us (interbred so genes still in
our gene pool)
Modern H. sapiens probably evolved in
Africa and replaced Neanderthals.

23. Mated????
APES Homo neanderthalensis Homo sapiens
Homo erectus
transitional species Homo habilis
Australopithecus afarensis
common ancestor to
ape and H. sapiens