Introduction
Biological evolution is descent with modification. Theories of evolution have their roots in early Greek and Roman culture. Before seventh century B.C.E., people believed that supernatural forces were responsible for life. Philosophers Plato and Aristotle argued against this doctrine. They used logic to explain the origins of life. It was commonly accepted that the earth was only a few thousand years old, species were immutable, and that life is arranged linearly. In the seventh century, naturalist John Ray used the term “species” as the basic unit of classification. In the eighteenth century, Carolus Linnaeus created a hierarchical classification system for organizing species based on resemblance using phylogenetic trees. In 1809, French theorist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck published his theory of inheritance of acquired traits. In 1830, Charles Lyell introduced uniformitarianism as the mechanism for evolution; the theory that states that geologic change is relatively constant. In the mid-nineteenth century, Alfred Wallace and Charles Darwin both individually conceived natural selection as the mechanism for evolution. Darwin received credit for the theory of natural selection because he published his book, On the Origin of Species, before Wallace. In 1865, Gregor Mendel is the founder of modern genetics through his work with pea plant crosses. To this day, the work of Mendel and Darwin are widely accepted.
The Important Players in the History of Evolutionary Thought
Aristotle
In 300 B.C. Greece, Aristotle made his contribution to evolutionary thought. Aristotle organized living organisms hierarchically. This concept was known as scala naturae, or the Great Chain of Being. With plants at the bottom, Aristotle’s scala nat...
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...They discovered that when the climate was dry, there were no major changes in the brain, but when the climate changed, there were changes in the size of the brain. As soon as the size of the brain increased, stone tools appeared.
Homo erectus was the first to leave Africa, hunt, make fire, and create societies. Homo erectus lived 1.3 million years ago in the Great Rift Valley. Homo erectus evolved to have thinner arms, longer legs, and bigger brains. This is considered to be a huge evolutionary step away from ape bodies, to more human bodies. In Northern Kenya, Turkana Boy’s skeleton was found. At 5 foot 3 inches, Turkana Boy had a build closer to a human’s than to an ape’s. Turkana Boy represents the first true human. Although he was one of the first humans, he was still very primitive. Turkana Boy had a lower forehead, and a smaller brain capacity than a human.
Wilford, J. (2004).Another Branch of Early Human Ancestors Is Reported by Scientists. [Online], March. Available at: http://gateway.proquest.com [Accessed 28 March 2004].
In 1972, a group of researchers led by Donald Johanson, founding director of the “Institute of Human Origins” of Arizona State University, sets out to discover a hypothesized human ancestor, Lucy, in the Hadar Formation in Ethiopia. Donald Johanson’s group hypothesized the existence of a biped human ancestor, with the great ability to walk upright like humans, which of Lucy having a relatively small cranial capacity like that of an ape. This creature, Donald Johanson hypothesized, would be a “missing link” between the apes and humans, and prove that the populated humans developed the ability to walk upright before developing higher intelligence, which was opposed to the common b...
In East Africa, archaeologists have unearthed bones and tools of human ancestors called hominids that go back about five million years ago. Australopithecus, known as “the southern ape”, were an example of hominid creatures whom were short, hairy, and limited in intelligence. They walked upright, had some ability to communicate verbally, and could travel over long distances to obtain particular stone to fashion tools. These tools included choppers, scrapers, and more for food preparations. About one million years later, a new species of hominids that belong to the genus Homo evolved called Homo erectus. Homo erectus possessed a larger brain than the australopithecines and fashioned more advanced tools such as cleavers and handaxes, which were useful in hunting and
In my visit to the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), I observed many interesting things concerning the issue on evolution and natural selection. An example of evolutionism I saw in the AMNH was the Hall of Human Biology and Evolution. This hall concentrated on human evolution and how certain traits arose through successful generation—such as the change in the skeletal system as a result of walking upright. Fossils of Australopithecus afarensis, which is believed to be the earliest human relative, are dated back nearly 4 million years.
There are many different theories as to what evolution is, but they all conclude that evolution is a change in species over time. The modern theory of evolution is based on the concept of natural selection. Natural selection is the metapho...
Charles Darwin was a man of science. He had a true passion for all things involving both plants and animals. Darwin made many contributions to the field of science, but his main contribution that he is most well-known for involves his theories of evolution, or more specifically, how species tend to change over long periods of time through a process called natural selection. Natural selection is defined by Darwin as the “preservation of favorable variations and the rejections of injurious variations“ (Jacobus 900). Even though many of his theories have now been embraced by the scientific community as natural laws in motion, much controversy remains over whether or not his ideas should be perceived as true scientific law. Despite the discoveries of overwhelming amounts of evidence, many people still believe that evolution is exactly what Darwin called it—a theory, and nothing more.
The origin of modern humans is one of the most widely debated concerns in the area of paleoanthropology. Ever since the discovery of the Neanderthal in the mid 1800’s, scientists such as Charles Darwin and many others have been overly curious about the similarity of man to certain great apes and how over long periods of time have evolved from different archaic forms of humans up to today’s homo sapiens.
Have you ever just sat and thought to yourself how the universe was created also what it took to create the planets and living organisms. I am explaining the definition of “Evolution” as defined by the scientist Charles Darwin. “The process by which organisms change over time as a result of changes in heritable physical or behavioral traits. Changes that allow an organism to better adapt to it’s environment will help it survive and produce offspring.” Theory of Evolution which was first formulated in his book titled “On the Origin of Species” in the year 1859.
According to the film, Birth of Humanity: Becoming Human—Unearthing Our Earliest Ancestors, NOVA depicts that the Homo erectus was the middle ground of developing from apes to humans, using the Turkana boy as a reference. The Turkana boy was the earliest human skeleton, yet he still had a primitive upper body and a human lower region. At five feet and three inches, he is eight years old and still growing, based on his teeth and skull evaluation. His brain was larger than a chimpanzee but smaller than the modern human. With the creation of stone tools, it proved that the Homo erectus was capable of decision-making and understanding the stone’s properties. In addition, it would allow the Homo erectus to gain food by using the tool to his or her
The ongoing scientific investigation of how exactly evolution occurred and continues to occur has been an argumentative idea amongst society since Darwin first articulated it over a century ago. The scientific basis of evolution accounts for happenings that are also essential concerns of religion; both religion and science focus on the origins of humans and of biological diversity. For instance, in the reading “Truth Cannot Contradict Truth,” Pope John Paul II, addressing the Pontifical Academy of Science, discussed the matter of God as creator of man. The Pope explains that men cannot relate to animals because men are superior. The reasoning for that is because God created humans under his likeness. What the church is saying about mankind contradicts with the scientific evidence scientists have found on human evolution. By analyzing the different scientific approaches, one will be able to grasp a clear understanding that the theory of evolution by natural selection conflicts with the Judeo-Christian worldview of God as creator.
The thought of evolution is filled with theories, ideas and beliefs. The definition of evolution is rather simple. According to Jerry A. Coyle, evolution is “the change in the inherited characteristics of biological populations over successive generations (2). Evolution gives rise to diversity when it comes to the hierarchy of life otherwise known as biological organization. Many people find the topic of evolution to be troubling and very confusing. Throughout history churches have preached that evolution is atheistic and a sin if even thought about. Famous scientist, Charles Darwin, is said to really be the first to formulate debated theory of evolution by the means of natural selection. Eventually in the 20th century genetics was compounded with Charles Darwin’s theories of evolution. Even today scientists continue to study different aspects of the theory of evolution.
1.9 million years ago, Homo Habilis of East Africa had evolved into an entirely new species known as Homo erectus. Homo erectus directly translates to "Upright man" and for good reason. One of largest anatomical advancements of Homo erectus was their arm and leg bones which were very similar in shape and proportions to that of modern day humans. "Their legs would have made Homo erectus efficient long distance runners like modern humans."(Dennis). Along with their longer more developed legs, Homo erectus's leg were also hairless which allowed them to evaporate sweat and thus be more efficient at not overheating. This advantage allowed Homo erectus to chase down four legged mammals to the point of heat exhaustion and thus drastically increase the efficiency their hunting tactics. Another change in the legs of Homo erectus was their slightly more narrow pelvises. This forced the size of a child’s head to be smaller at birth and undergo most of its development during childhood. (Dennis)
According to Stringer and Andrews, the Out-of-Africa Model suggests that there is a fairly recent common ancestor that shares many of the anatomical characteristics displayed by modern Homo Sapiens (1263). This version is more parsimonious with regard to the fact that it ...
Gould, Stephen Jay. "Evolution as Fact and Theory." The Norton Mix. Editor Katie Hannah. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2010. 110-119.
Without evolution, and the constant ever changing environment, the complexity of living organisms would not be as it is. Evolution is defined as a process that results in heritable changes in a population spread over many generations (8).Scientists believe in the theory of evolution. This belief is based on scientific evidence that corroborates the theory of evolution. In Figure 1 the pictures of the skulls depict the sequence of the evolution of Homo-sapiens. As the figure shows, man has evolved from our common ancestor that is shared by homo-sapiens. The change of diet of homo-sapiens over time has thought to contribute to the change in jaw structure and overall skull shape.