Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Essays on human evolution
Natural history of homo sapiens
Essay of human evolution
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Essays on human evolution
Homo Sapiens, it is the scientifically referred name for the modern man, and the two names together means the man who thinks or the wise man. The human is one of the most distinguished species of the entire animal kingdom. They perform highly complex activities and solve serious matters or problems using the exceptionally large brain compared to the body size. It has been a widely accepted fact that the human’s primary weapon is the brain, or in other words, the intelligence of man could never be beaten by any of the forces in the universe. The highly complex and developed brain of the humans can theorize languages, justifications, problem solving, and many more functions. Humans are distributed all over the world including the ice-cold snowed …show more content…
Nevertheless, the physiology has no much difference from the related species. Usually a healthy average adult human weighs about 50 – 80 kilograms while the height could vary from 1.5 to 1.8 meters. Even though humans are the most sophisticated species ever known to live on the Earth, the ability to stand out any major disaster or a climatic or geographic shift is unknown, but other animals have proven their abilities in such occasions. On the other hand, Homo Erectus. Homo erectus was one of the hominid species, which is now extinct from the world. They were the first to stand in a standard upright posture out of all the hominids, and that has given their species name erectus. According to the fossil evidences, they lived until 1.3 million years from today and the earliest Homo erectus fossil dates to 1.8 million years. Until recent findings about the fossils of Homo habilis, it was believed that H. erectus descended into H. neanderthalensis. However, now the scientists state that both these species lived together for at least 500,000
They had everything that they needed to survive, but they still died out. They evidence says that they hunted, buried and ate too much than they could handle and when the Homo Erectus needed food they would starve for days. One by one they died off, and only they left behind their remains. Their remains were left behind buried under hardened ash and riverbeds. When their bodies were discovered, they had very thick layers of fat which helped them survive the beginning of the Ice Age. They ate too much food, and when the all the ice was frozen during the start of the Ice Age all the food that got stored underground went stale and was stuck underground which meant that they did not have the necessary things for survival. The Homo Erectus were brilliant hominids that "had" all the necessary supplies for life. They did not have any idea that their time was coming to an end, but they flourished in their time that they lived and now the Homo Erectus will the be the one only hominid to accomplish so much in the time that they
Four hypotheses of how the bodies got there occupation, water transport, predation, and death trap were ruled out. A new hypothesis was formulated what if Homo naledi intentionally buried their dead? Although there is not enough evidence yet to confirm this, such behavior would be significant in that it would precede previous cases of the behavior in Neanderthals and humans. This would add to the argument that Homo naledi are of the genus Homo. After the examination of these fossils and extensive research, it was concluded that Homo naledi were a new species of the Homo genus.
Homo erectus was the second hominid species. They are called erectus because they were the first to stand upright posture from all. In my research, there are fossil evidences showing that they have lived until 1.3 million years from today and the earliest Homo erectus fossil dates back to 1.8 million years. Given this d...
Australopithecus afarensis existed between 3.9 and 3.0 million years ago. The distinctive characteristics of A. afarensis were: a low forehead, a bony ridge over the eyes, a flat nose, no chin, more humanlike teeth, pelvis and leg bones resembled those of modern man. Females were smaller than males. Their sexual dimorphism was males:females; 1.5. A. afarensis was not as sexually dimorphic as gorillas, but more sexually dimorphic than humans or chimpanzees. A lot of scientists think that Australopithecus afarensis was partially adapted to climbing the trees, because the fingers and toe bones of the species were curved and longer than the ones of the modern human.
From all existing creatures, we humans differ because we are able to use our brain to make decisions. In
When looking at Africa, it is believed that the first H. erectus seems to have evolved here. This theory developed based on the fact that all of the previous hominins to make an appearance were also in Africa, so it stands to reason that the evolution from those early hominins to H. erectus would have occurred in the same location. That being said, evidence also shows that after H. erectus made his debut in Africa, he quickly migrated to other parts of the world, as fossil remains have also been found in Europe and Asia around the same time period. And, it is through the migration of H. erectus, that fossil remains show the greatest differences in physicality to one another. Anatomically, African H. erectus had a brain and brain case similar in size to previous hominins, however, smaller than “average” skulls were found showing that there were some African H. erectus with smaller skulls which may have been women (indicating sexual dimorphism) or children/youth, the skulls also had fairly large browridges with thin skull bones (typical of East African H. erectus, ve...
Research shows that the Neanderthals had a “protruding jaw, receding forehead, and weak chin.” (Ansering Genesis) The average brain of a Neanderthal was slightly larger than a modern humans brain. It is also stated that this specific species generally was larger in body size. The Neanderthals also tend to live mostly in colder climates. Researchers and paleontologists found many remains left by the Neanderthals, which include bones and stone tools, found in Eurasia, Western Europe to Central, Northern, and Western Asia. “Neanderthals (or Neandertals) are our closest extinct human relatives. There is some debate as to whether they were a distinct species of the Homo genus (Homo Neanderthalensis) or a subspecies of Homo sapiens. Our well-known, but often misunderstood, fossil kin lived in Eurasia 200,000 to 30,000 years ago, in the Pleistocene Epoch.” (Live Science) The Neanderthals had a very similar appearance to human, although they were “shorter and stockier with angled cheekbones, prominent brow ridges, and wide noses.” (Live
Monkey see, monkey do. Apes have always been thought to have an increased level of intelligence. Over the years, researchers have attempted to understand the degree of intelligence these primates possess. However, it is essential to understand the definition of intelligence in order to determine the amount of intelligence primates have. Intelligence is the capability of obtaining knowledge and being able to utilize it in everyday situations. There are many hypotheses that focus on the evolution of intelligence in primates that view a number of factors including brain size and modernism. Primate intelligence has been a topic of interest to many because it will allow us to further understand the close relationship between humans and primates. Additionally, we will be able to understand the difference between human and primate cognition. Some studies suggest that the human and primate brains possess many similarities. This demonstrates why primates tend to respond to stimuli in a manner that is closely related to humans. Researchers have conducted a number of studies in an effort to understand primate cognition.
What does it mean to be human? To most people it means being high on the food chain; or having the ability to make our own choices. People everywhere have a few things in common: We all must obey Natural laws, and we have preconceived ideas, stereotypes, and double standards. Being human is simply conveyed as human nature in “The Cold Equations”, by Tom Godwin, where the author shows the common ground that makes each and every one of us human.
Afterward, he revealed to us within a half million years, Homo ergaster or Homo erectus started to become apparent in East Africa. Later on, modern humans- Homo Sapiens, arrived eventually. Furthermore, learning how humans lived earlier in comparison today is much more complex. Each culture, religious practices, appearance, characteristics, and norms are different from this present day. (Christian 14-15).
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 scientific study of how humans developed did not begin until the 1800s in Europe. Until that time, people relied on religious explanations of how humans came into existence. Starting in the 1500s a scientific revolution began to sweep Europe. Thinkers started using scientific methods and experiments to try to better understand the world and the creatures living in it. Eventually these methods were turned to the question of human origins” (The Nature Of Human Origins, 1). Earth made it possible for species to change over time because Ancient Earth provides ability to plenty of time.The Homo Sapien a is very complex creature. The species started off very simple by living in caves and surviving with little food and then later evolved into a species that were able to do many more complex things. The first species was Sahelanthropus tchadensis They were one of the most simple humans in that time period and on. They had very small skulls compared to Homo Sapiens today and their motor skills were just the same. We have evolved and changed for the better both mentally and physically. The Evolution of Homo Sapiens started off simple, such as the Neanderthals, and now we are the most advanced species to ever walk the planet so far.
I consider the evolution of Homo sapiens to be the most important in the evolution of humans. The Homo sapiens walked this earth about 15,000 to 10,000 years ago around the Holocene Epoch period. (Levin)Fossils for this group were found around Africa over 400,000 years ago. Also in Israel, a tooth fossil was found around this same time to prove that man lived there as well. (Ancient Man and His First Civilizations:Homo-habilis, Homo-erectus, Homo-sapien-sapien)
The earliest humans appeared in East Africa. They traveled in small kinship-based groups. 95% of the earliest humans were hunter-gathers. The men hunted while the women and children gathered. The earliest humans followed migration patterns and eventually traveled to other continents by foot and boat. They were very adaptable to their environment and geography. They made tools to which helped them adjust to their surroundings, such as sewing needles or a bow and arrow. They would often bury these tools with those that had died. Some would even lay the dead on wildflowers and cover the body with garland and shrouds. Earliest people were very creative people. They are most known for their cave art and Venus figurines. Also, throughout their
The evidence for human evolution begins with the australopithecines. All the australopithecines were bipedal and therefore possible hominines. In details of their teeth, jaws, and brain size, however, they modify enough among themselves to be divided into five species: Australopithecus anamensis, A. afarensis, A. africanus, A. robustus, and A. boisei. Genus Homo are also divided in five different spices: Homo erectus, H. habilis, H. sapiens, and H. sapiens sapiens.