The Discoveries Of East Africa

Homo erectus was first found in Africa and the fossilized remains dated 1.8 and 1.0 million years old. The Homo erectus traits are very similar toward the modern human traits. Homo erectus brain size was smaller than the Homo sapiens. Homo erectus had a brain size of approximately 650 cc and Homo sapiens had a brain size of approximately 1251

In the quest to explain human origins it is necessary to find a species that bridges modern man (Homo sapiens) with the apes. To fill this gap evolutionists have set forth Homo erectus, who lived approximately 400,000 to 1.6 million years ago (Johanson and Shreeve1989). Although the distinctions are somewhat vague, below the neck, Homo sapiens and Homo erectus are practically Identical and Homo erectus was responsible for pioneering the use of standard tools (such as the hand axe), big-game hunting, and the use of fire (Johanson and Shreeve1989).

Despite her short stature and hirsute frame, Lucy the Australopithecus afarensis, whose discovery is today commemorated with a Google Doodle, was from a species that could be a forerunner to modern humans.

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

This week’s video is about how humans evolved and their ancestor, homo erectus. The homo erectus were the first apes to be able to walk on two feet just like humans. They evolved from apes about two million years ago. Compared to apes, homo erectus had bigger arms, longer legs, and bigger brains. This made them really similar to humans. They even have the same skeletal structure as humans. Although they have similarities they also have differences. Unlike humans the homo erectus had smaller brains and slightly larger jaw structures.Although they had smaller brains they were able to think more advanced than apes. They also grew at a faster rate than humans. They are the perfect example of human evolution.

Neanderthal the most recent archaic human, who was introduced to this world between 300,00 and 100,000 years ago then after many years were replaced by humans between 35,000 and 24,000 years ago. Neanderthals inhabited Eurasia from the Atlantic regions of Europe eastward to Central Asia and from as far north as present-day Belgium southward to the Mediterranean and southwest Asia.” (www.britannica.com). Human populations that were very similar to Neanderthals lived in eastern Asia and Africa. Neanderthals lived in these locations because they had many limestone caves where they lived; limestone caves also preserve bones very well. “The name Neanderthal (or Neandertal) derives from the Neander Valley near

An ancient human species, known as the Neanderthals, emerged into this world 300,000 to 100,000 years ago. The Neanderthals occupied Eurasia, from Europe to Central Asia. During this time, Europe was in an Ice Age, which means the Neanderthals had a difficult time surviving because of the harsh weather. Around 24,000 years ago, this species disappeared; this was around the time when the Homo sapiens arrived from their original home in Africa (Tuttle). Even though the modern humans showed up and started competing for food and land, the Neanderthals were skilled in a variety of areas. According to the journal Smithsonian, Neanderthals learned how to control fire for warmth and cooking, make clothing for the severe weather conditions, and become

Apart from “Lucy”, there have been hundreds if not thousands of human fossils found. Archaeologists could tell by the Homo Erectus fossils found that this species of hominids had a brain larger than any of its ancestors, was robust, and possibly the smartest species of its time. Some interesting evidence found to support this claim span from South Africa, North America, and even Asia. There has been traces of ash found in the Wonderwerk Cave of South Africa dating back to about 1 million years ago, including traces of fire similar to traces found in Israel dating back as far as 800,000 years ago. Later, there were also ancient stone tools and hand axes discovered in caves located in China, suggesting that the people inhabiting the area were hunters or created these objects to cut some type of tough material.

Scientists have been able to discover things about our past that are almost inconceivable over 150 years ago when Charles Darwin was releasing his book, “The Origin of Species” (Gibbons, 2009a). Fossils from different australopith species have been found that lived between 4 million and 2 million years ago that show the clearer transition to human. The author, Kate Wong (2013) believes the Australopithecus sediba is the most important human ancestor discovered. Even though the discovery of Au. sediba allowed anthropologists to see human species a long time ago, there are opinions on whether it was the most important human ancestor discovered. This essay will explore how hominids have gone through many changes to get from Ardipithecus to Homo habilis and the important discoveries by scientists and what I think is the most important to the study of human origins.

The earliest H. erectus is found in Arica, and one of most spectacular fossil comes from Nariokotome. According to these fossils, the anthologists found that H. erectus share some features with modern human beings. Firstly, the ratio of arm length and leg length of H. erectus is much more like human being. This feature means that H. erectus has adapted the life on the ground. Secondly, H. erectus has a larger brain size. Thirdly, a sets of footprints that are found in Ileret show us the footprints that can be dated to 1.5 may and we notice that H. erectus can walk like modern humans because they have same feet with us. In the process of cleaning the face bone of the Bodo skull, Tim White notice that there are many marks that left on the cheek, and he think these marks were made by stone tool and maybe it is a form of ritual, which may be a evidence that human try to

Throughout the Paleolithic area, homo sapiens were able to successfully disperse throughout six continents and settle down in different environments. Their survival was due to the development of various tools, the change in physical structure of humans, and gains in socialization.

One of the major concerns of Anthropologists is how are we different from other animals? One glaring difference between humans the every other animal in existence is our geographic dispersal. The human species is arguably the most widely dispersed animal on earth. The level of human dispersal while being unique in history was not done entirely by humans. Earlier hominins dispersed out of Africa into Southwestern Asia, then into South East Asia, the Levant, and then into the northern latitudes of Eurasia. The hominins who dispersed across the old world precede Homo sapiens, and two of these earlier species of Homo are identified as Homo erectus and Homo heidelbergensis. These earlier species of Homo did disperse across the Eurasian continent, but are not found in the Sahul or in the Americas. In both the Sahul and the Americas the only species of Homo to ever occupy these localities is Homo

I agree with you Lilian. Homo Erectus was the only hominid that migrated out of Africa. They were sufficiently developed to adapt new environment. They leave Africa during warm stages between ice ages due to a phenomenon. Many researchers believe that Homo Erectus larger brains explains their intelligence and cognitive ability to adapt on new

       In the article, "Natural History of Homo erectus" by Susan C. Antón discussed our view of H. erectus is different today than when Pithecanthropus erectus, then only the second fossil hominin taxon to be discovered, was described by Dubois (1894) (Antón, C. Susan, 162). H. erectus was the most primitive and smallest-brained of the fossil hominins (Antón, C. Susan, 162). Therefore, early observations expended significant effort showing that the Indonesian fossils from Trinil were actually hominins (Antón, C. Susan, 162). Thus, it took the dismissal of Piltdown and the broad acceptance of Australopithecus as a hominin ancestor, along with the substantial Asian

The first fossil was found in 1960 when a team led by scientists Louis and Mary Leakey uncovered the fossilized remains of a unique early human at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania.