Australopithecus Afarensis

The robust australopithecines or paranthropines had a curved face with a arch for the cheek bones that are formed by connecting the zygomatic and the temporal bones together. The robust australopithecines had a bone ridge on top of their skull called a sagittal crest, which is also attached to the jaw muscles. They had a flexable base just above were their jaw bone connected to their cheek bone. With their really large back teeth (below the cheek bone) the robust australopithecines fossils were known to the researchers as the “nutcracker man”. They used these really large back teeth to eat tough foods and nuts. And their teeth in the front were smaller.

Australopithecus Afarensis: Even longer face, cranial capacity looks even more disproportionate with face, cheekbones are very distinctive

Michel Brunet and his team found the fossil in the sand dunes of northern Chad after “a decade of digging”(Whitfield 2002). This discovery is most definitely a new one and one that will cause the reinterpretation of all previous hominid research. What makes this find so spectacular is that the structure of the skull suggests a being that walked upright, though it lived in a time when apes and chimpanzees also existed. “Sahelanthropus has many traits that shout ‘hominid’. These include smaller canines, and thicker tooth enamel than apes. And the point at the back of the skull where neck muscles attach suggests that Toumai walked upright”(Whitfield 2002). The key to this discovery, Brunet believes, is the back of the skull that suggests a muscle attachment for upright walking ability, which supports the scientist’s theory that

The eight primates whose sequences were used are: Homo sapiens sapiens (modern human), Homo sapiens neanderthalensis (Neanderthal), Pan troglodytes (chimpanzee), Pan paniscus (bonobo), Gorilla gorilla (gorilla), Pongo abelii (Sumatran orangutan), Pongo pygmaeus (Bornean orangutan), and Hylobates lar (gibbon). Based on morphological similarities, it is hypothesized that Neanderthal is the most closely related species to humans. For instance, both species walk up right, have large brains, were able to develop and create tools and had spoken language—although more research is still needed to say for certain that Neanderthals did have spoken language. Additionally, it is also hypothesized that modern human and Neanderthal are both more closely related to the sister group of bonobo and chimpanzee, then to gorilla, then to the sister taxa of Sumatran orangutan and Bornean orangutan, and lastly the gibbon (the outgroup of this data). Hence, by developing the order of these eight primates through genetic data and phylogenetic character analysis, we can gain a new insight into the evolution of

The earliest known and accepted fossils are categorized as Australopithecus or the southern ape. A well known and famous fossil known as Lucy belongs to this fossil group, fossils of Australopithecus's have been found in areas such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Chad, and South Africa and are dated as far back as 4.2 - 2.3 MYA. These primates are known as bipedal apes meaning they walked upright, members of this primate group also had facial features that were apelike, had brains half the size of chimpanzees, and weighed on average of one-hundred and five pounds. It is thought these primates adapted to arboreal and terrestrial environments because dental exams of their teeth indicate a diet rich in vegetables, fruits, and leaves. On the contrary members of the Paranthropus primates have fossils that have also been recognized these fossils have been found in places like: Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa which are dated as far back as 2.8 - 1MYA. This species was thought

However the minority of species that branch off from the human evolutionary tree and are either claimed by extinction or evolved down a second evolutionary branch, and what differences existed in them that differed from our ancestors. The species such as Australopithecus Boisei lived in the same time period to that of Australopithecus Africanus and Aferensis. However based off the information (See research booklet) it I notice that the A. Boisei has a significantly decreased brain to body weight

In terms of lower limb proportions comparing Australopithecines and Paranthropus, only a few post cranial remains have been discovered. Comparing the post cranial remains of these genera to those of modern day non-human and human apes can give great insight to the locomotion and stature of Paranthropus and Australopithecines.

Many people often consider our first milestone in life to be our first step. It is the beginning of many important developments as an individual. It was also the beginning of our development as a species. Dr. Donald Johanson and Dr. Tim White discovered two of the most amazing specimens that would be the stepping-stones to the beginning of evolutionary development. Australopithecus Afarensis (Lucy) and Ardipithecus Ramidus (Ardi) were the first fossils found in Africa that showed signs of early evolutionary development that is connected to Homo sapiens in the evolutionary tree. Lucy and Ardi are important to our

fossils, burial sites, caves, and other sources of information. It is important to learn about

After reviewing the evidence, I believe that Dr. Donald Johanson is correct in his theory that Lucy is the missing link between ape and man. The anatomy of Lucy supports Johanson’s claim. The knee joint of Lucy had an outward slanting angle away from the knee just like humans. Lucy reconstructed pelvis with its short and curved ilium indicates bipedal human qualities. Unlike the Piltdown man, Lucy stood the test of time, Johanson’s fossils through potassium argon dating was found to be at least 3-million-years-old proving the integrity of Johanson’s find. Similar archeological finds also validate Lucy. The 1976 Laetoli footprints support the theory that there were hominids walking upright during the time of Lucy. In 1924, Raymond discovered the Tuang child in South Africa, it displays similar qualities of Lucy, small brain and bipedal abilities. Additional finds by Robert Broom, Richard Leakey, and many other creditable paleoanthropologists further prove Johanson correct.

The book identifies “Lucy” as an ancient demonstration of bipedalism and a bowl-shaped pelvis. Her species, Australopithecus afarensis, had both ape-like and human features. The adaptations she exhibited are an example a further branching off of species. Aside from bone structure, I found it logical that early hominids

The discovery of Ardipithecus Ramidus (Ardi) changed our whole insight of how humans evolved. The theory that we evolved from ape like species was disproven. Because of Ardi’s has close resemblance of qualities of both a chimpanzee and a human, she is thought to be the “missing link” between our last common ancestor and the Australopithecines. Ardi’s had a pelvis structure, which was evident that she was bipedal on the ground while she could also climb trees, using her long fingers and opposable big toe for grasping, however the flexibility that apes use to grab and scale tree trunks and vines she lacked. The way the hand, wrist and shoulder bones demonstration shown that she wasn't a knuckle walker and did not spend much time hanging or swinging

Australopithecus afarensis, called Lucy (named after the Beatles song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds (p. 290)); classified as australopiths and “the more primitive than any of the other later australopiths fossils.” A female partial hominid fossils (40% skeletal remains) discovered by Donald Johanson in Hadar, Ethiopia. A. afarensis considered as sexually dimorphic, that is male species are larger than females. Studies show that Lucy lived between 3.7 and 3.5 mya and had a combination features of both ape and human. Apelike features, the face forward-projecting jaw and small brain measured not more than 420 cm- about 1/3 the human brain size; humanlike features, had humanlike teeth, pelvis and leg bones; thus had an ability to walk upright

anamensis was probably around the same size as a modern chimpanzee. However, there was a huge difference in body size between the males and females. This body difference between genders is an example of sexual dimorphism and was similar to the difference between modern gorillas and orang-utans. There is not much fossil evidence in regards to the brain size of A. anamenis but enough to determine that the species probably had a relatively small brain. Portions of the tibia that were discovered were human-like and as mentioned before, indicated that the species was able to walk on two legs (bipedalism). Marks on the wrist bones that were found showed that A. anamensis had strong hand tendons that would have been useful for tree climbing. As for the elbow joint, it showed that it was more human-like due to the flexible rather than the rigid elbows that four-legged apes have in order to be able to support their bodies as they move about. Also in regards to climbing, A. afarensis’ forearms were pretty long and ape-like so they could be used to climb

For many years, scientists have been finding additional and new evidence about evolution and our family tree. This Face Changes the Human Story. But How? (Shreeve 2015) discusses the findings of mysterious fossil remains which effect human evolution by providing additional and new information as a new species. The new mysterious fossils could possibly be a missing link in human evolution between apes and humans. Science is always changing as scientist are constantly making new discoveries. This new mysterious species has the potential to expand and fill in the gaps of human evolution but it takes time and should not be rushed in order to execute the findings as accurately as possible.