The Evolution of Man

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

these changes is a gradual reduction in the size of the face and jaws. In early

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change”(Evolution Quotes). So far in the saga that is Earth humanity has been on the winning side of change. Humans have evolved over time from simple hunter gathers to an advanced species of builders and thinkers. Humans have built complex cities, created advanced medicine, and even left their own plant for the moon. Despite all these remarkable achievements humans were not the first species of Homo to expand across the globe. Before Homo sapiens dominated the Earth, their cousins Homo-Neanderthals roamed Europe and Asia hunting big game and thriving. However, between 30,000 and 40,00 years ago the Neanderthal population began to decrease drastically. It is unclear what caused this drastic drop in Neanderthal population, but one leading theory points an evolutionary finger at Homo sapiens. The introduction of Homo sapiens into the Neanderthal environment negatively affected the Neanderthal population size through increased food completion, Homo Sapien violence, and interbreeding

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.

It is believed that humans are at their “dodo moment of truth” but unlike the dodo, humans are far from extinction and don’t have to worry about total annihilation of the human race. Our life was theorized to begin in Africa and we then traveled to different parts of the world. As time passed, our race evolved to adapt to their environment to survive. Our cousin race, the Neanderthal, wasn’t very intelligent compared to the Homo Sapiens/Erectus. Our direct ancestor, while smaller in size and brain capacity, and weaker in strength, was more evolved and intelligent than our cousins. This is why the Neanderthal became extinct and Homo Sapiens evolved further into humans. (Dresner)

Is the evolution theory a fact or a myth? This is the question I pondered for quite some time as I contemplated on the idea of the origin of human species. Were we created by a higher power or are we descendants of ape like ancestors? Hundreds of articles and substantial proof have helped shape my belief that evolution in fact, does exist.

I took the time to take the Human Variation Quiz before reviewing the text and lesson. I wanted a less informed view.

How did humans come to be? Human evolution is the lengthy process of change from ape like ancestors to what we are today. One of the earliest human traits is the ability to walk upright. Another one is having a large complex brain. They are also able to make tools and draw decorative art figure drawing on cave walls that we are still able to see today.

The species that you and all other living human beings on this earth belong to is Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens, believed to have evolved over a very long period in Africa, Asia and Europe. Like other early humans that were living at this time, they gathered and hunted food, and evolved behaviors that helped them live day to day with the challenges of surviving in unstable environments. Homo sapiens different characteristics such as larger brain, different size of canines, and material cultural as in tool use have all helped them evolve, but in their own unique way. Some traits may be a little somewhat similar to primates such as birth, sexual relations, family, bone organization. Meanwhile it’s mainly humans whose evolution is growing rapidly

The study on the evolution of human beings often presents many challenges. One of the main challenges is the limited evidence and the constant emergence of new forms of evidence. From time to time, scientists encounter the challenge of naming the fossils and putting them into their appropriate group of species. This paper is going to be discussing the Homo erectus, Homo Heidelbergensis, and Archaic Homo sapiens. The paper will make comparative analysis of the individual species and point out why they deserve to be categorized as distinct species instead of a one species that has different characteristics due to geographical differences.

Humans, formally known as Homo sapiens, are some of the most fascinating creatures to inhabit this planet. We as human animals possess many traits unique to our species, but one of the most remarkable traits is our upright posture and inherent inclination to walk on two legs. We share this rare trait with few organisms, who even so only express limited bipedal behaviors. Human ancestors first initiated the transition to bipedalism approximately 6 million years ago through the upright steps of the Sahelanthropus. However, Homo erectus was the first human ancestor to express full bipedality, which occurred only 1.9 million years ago. Some of the preceding forms of locomotion used by human ancestors included quadrupedalism or pronograde posture, suspensory locomotion, and knuckle-walking (Watson, 2008). These forms of motion were used not only by human ancestors such as the Australopithecus afarensis, but can also be observed in modern times in some of our close relatives, apes and chimpanzees. This transition to bipedalism was facilitated by structural changes comprised of an angled thigh bone, a more sturdy and broad pelvis, a wider patella, an S-shaped spine, and long femurs. The compilation of all of these adaptations allowed hominids to not only support their entire body weight while standing upright, but efficiently take long strides, therefore allowing them to travel greater distances. Though much is known about the implications for the transition to bipedality, the

The evolution of the human body can be observed from studying the intermediates found in ancestral organisms. Shubin proposes that every attribute that makes us human can be traced back to a time that showcases its importance for survival. Every single trait in the human body has been selected for through multiple mechanisms of evolution, natural selection being one of them. This theory is intriguing because not long ago it was unheard of to relate humans to fish, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds. Every highly specialized characteristic such as balance, sight, smell, and more began as an extremely simple mutational advantage. The complexity seems unfathomable to many as to how the human body as been come to be, but everything can be explained logically once scientists take a closer look at other organisms. Selective pressure is constantly promoting the survival of advantages mutations and quickly removing disadvantageous traits. Organisms were not designed to be what they are today but rather they underwent a lengthy experiment of trial and error.

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

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.