Evolutionary Theory And The Human Species

Describe the major developments of early human and social evolution. Throughout, discuss tool manufacturing, language development, agriculture, social behavior, and population growth.

of some sort to the general human gene pool, enough to be considered a different

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.

timeline of modern humans, Homo sapiens, and how long they have been in existence. According to mainstream science, popular belief holds that the history of our species is confirmed to be confined to the past 12,000 years. This figure is a culmination based on what we know about evolution and what we have been able to gather through fossil analyzation and dating of artifacts as well as human remains. Although the subject of human antiquity, also referred to as human origins, does not prompt a great deal of debate there may actually be the need for some. A reexamination of the notion that humans have only existed a mere 12,000 years should be considered as there may be evidence to support a much greater antiquity of modern human life. Alternative researchers have offered up evidence of “forbidden archeology” that contradicts the mainstream beliefs of human origins, however these discoveries seem to have been swept under the scientific rug.

This chapter beings explaining the evolution of mankind. Prior to 11,000 BCE, all humans were equal. Due to our evolutionary past, we branched off from apes to humans and spread around the world. Nearly 4 million years ago, humans began their mark on earth in Africa. Jared Diamond compares human development on all seven continents about 13,000 years ago. Although many early humans were found primarily in Eurasia and Africa, over time they expanded and gained new territory. The early humans created tools as they evolved, and many became hunter and gatherers. Then, human history made a Great Leap Forward around 40,000 BCE. The Great Leap Forward was when the earliest humans created new technology and exciting innovations that did not exist previously

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.

Question #3: Why are non-human primates studied for how their behaviors related to our own origins? What types of studies are conducted and have these studies changed in recent years? Why or why not?

According to physical evidence, and theories, scholars have concluded upon a whole hypothesis. Based on their knowledge and belief, modern humans diverged from Homo sapiens between 200,000 and 150,000 years ago specifically in Africa, that between 125,000 and 60,000 years ago members of Homo sapiens left Africa, and that these

While there are many disagreements over how long the human species has been around, it is most agreed that about 2-2.5 million years is an acceptable figure. This means that human beings have only been around for 1/4000 of the time that the earth has existed. This makes it all the more impressive that in this short amount of time, human beings have managed to spread to every landmass (except for the polar regions) and that they control the fate of a great number of other species.

Recent Ancestor theory suggests that Adam and Eve were the first humans who were miraculously created from dust of the Earth and rib, not preceded by any pre-human hominids, and are the ancestors of all humans. It proposes the fact they were instantly created in a universe that was less than 6 days old, around 6000 years ago. There are many scientific problems with this view as it does not agree with the ‘age’ of the earth, fossil progression, genetic similarities with other creatures and allowance for genetic diversity. This view basically is biblical

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.

Human evolution is the gradual process in which people, or Homo sapiens, originated from apelike ancestors. Scientific evidence, particularly in the form of fossils and secondary remains, show that the physical and behavioral traits shared by all people evolved over a period of approximately six million years. Humans are primates. Both genetic and physical similarities show that humans and the great apes (large apes) of Africa, chimpanzees (including bonobos, or so-called “pygmy chimpanzees”) and gorillas share a common ancestor that lived between 8 and 6 million years ago. The volume of fossils found in Africa suggests that most evolution occurred there and is likely the place of origin for early humans. This brings to fruition the “out of Africa” theory, also called the “single-origin hypothesis.”

The human population has always wondered where they came from, or how they came to be. Why do they have certain characteristics that distinguish them from other species, or how did they acquire these characteristics? Why do they have similar traits to other species? There are many questions about the existence of the human population that they would love to have the answer to. Unfortunately, there is not an answer that is a proven fact. Luckily, there are theories that try to explain where humans and other species evolved from. The two well-known theories of evolution are accredited to Jean Baptiste Lamarck and Charles Darwin. Jean Baptiste Lamarck developed the theory of acquired characteristics, which is often known as Lamarckism (Stanford 17). Lamarck’s theory stated that, “all organisms make adjustments to their environment during their lifetime that could be passed on to their offspring, making those offspring better adapted to their environment” (Stanford 17). Lamarck says that organisms adapt to their environment during their lives and the characteristics that they acquire during their lifetime are passed off to their offspring; The offspring are now better adapted to the environment. Charles Darwin had a different approach in his theory of evolution. Darwin believed in his theory of evolution by natural selection. Natural selection is the idea that “individuals with favorable variations would survive and reproduce, but those with

Humans have existed on Earth for approximately 3.4 million years. The oldest known human ancestor is "Lucy," an Australopithecus. Over this extensive period of time, humans have evolved significantly. Homo Sapiens have grown from 3 to almost 6 feet (average), lost most of the body hair, became leaner and adapted to walking. Humans have come a long way, from Australopithecus to Homo sapiens, from living in trees to living in cities. Slowly, through hundreds of thousands of years, we mutated over and over again, natural selection ensuring that no destructive mutations continue. From the slow evolution, four distinctive species emerged and died out, each giving way to its ' descendant: Homo Habilis, Homo Erectus, Homo Sapiens Neanderthalesis, and Homo sapiens Sapiens.

Human evolution according to research started over 6 million years ago. The outcome of the evolution process is the current human beings. Scientific studies have revealed over the years a remarkable affinity between the chimpanzees/Apes and human beings. Even though this reality is not a definitive prove that human beings evolved from apes, it does show that the human beings are in one way or another related to other primates. Scientists suppose that the humans and the primates shared a common ancestor. The subject of what makes humans what they are and their origin has been the exclusive purpose leading to many scientific studies globally (Coolidge & Wynn, 2011). Studies believe that Africa was the origin of evolution millions of years ago. Fossil remains have been discovered in different parts of Africa as well as other regions of the world. Different hominins have been discovered around the world in the last 1 million years. Thus, the different discoveries have led to comparisons between the various species of hominins to clarify on their similarities as well as differences. This essay seeks to explain whether they were distinctively different species or regional versions of the same species.