The Origin Of The Primate Species

As fossil evidence has shown, we see that all pre-human forms, from Proconsul to Australopithecines, have resided in parts of Africa. We don’t see any movement out of Africa until the appearance of the Homo erectus fossils. These fossils have been found not only in Africa, but have also been found in parts of Europe and Asia. This is when scientists begin to disagree on how these pre-modern humans spread from Africa to other continents. Some scientists believe in the hypothesis known as the Multiregional Theory. This theory states that Homo erectus left Africa about two million years ago and from there migrated to Europe and Asia. These H. erectus then evolved, simultaneously, into Homo sapiens, or the modern looking and

The theory was broken down into two parts of the world, Southern and Northern Cradle. The southern cradle is located in Africa and Northern in Europe. This theory was explained how the human species originated in Africa in the area of Kenya and Ethiopia and over time, man left Africa over 40 thousand years ago and ended up in Europe. With evolution over 20 thousands years, man makeup changed to accommodate the harsh living environment during that time of glaciation. The climate was very cold and man

sapiens, such as Neanderthals, via interbreeding until they replaced these archaic hominids (Bonvillain and Miller 2013:272). Once it has been established that humans originated in Africa, we must then explore the possibility and likelihood of interbreeding taking place once they left.

This discovery was Ardipithecus ramidus, whose nickname is “Ardi”. Ardi seemed to fill the “gap” between apes and humans. Ardi had a mix of primitive traits and others that hominids share. Her pelvis supported bipedal locomotion, but feet had a divergent hallux, which relates to climbing trees and holding onto branches (Smiley, Unit 7). Ardi engaged in both bipedalism and arboreal activity, therefore, living in the forests. Ardi’s brain was still small and ate fruits, based on her teeth structure. She still had an projecting muzzle, giving her an ape-like appearance and was about 120 cm tall. Therefore, Ardi had characteristics that were common to both panins and hominins (Smiley, Unit

There is vast evidence that helps support the out-of-Africa theory, and if modern humans first evolved in Africa, there must have been distinct behavioral and morphological changes that occurred before leaving the African continent. Tattersall (2000) examined data from the fossil record, looking for evidence of cognitive and behavioral changes that were necessary for modern humans to acquire prior to spreading throughout the world. Fossils were used to compare the various parts of the skeletal structure of Neanderthals to H. sapiens found in Africa. Differences were found when comparing the rib cage and pelvis. With these differences found, a possible advantage of the structure of Homo sapiens over Neanderthals can be suggested. In addition,

I agree with you James that the complete replacement model or Out of Africa model suggests that modern humans were firstly originated in Africa from a single group of Homo sapiens approximately around 200,000 years ago, which they continuously evolve then migrated out from Africa, then spread out into the broader world throughout Eurasia, which replaced other archaic humans, such as Neandertals in Europe. Researchers like Stringer and Andrew supported this due to the evidence they have shows that the identified oldest fossils of Homo sapiens originated from Africa, and also, a variety of various DNA studies on modern human populations all suggest that common lineage from a small gene pool was derived in

Where did we come from? This question has plagued us as a species since our conception and it has been the pinnacle of humanity to discover what we are and how we came to be. Through the use of modern science and our understanding of evolution, we are closer to determining how our species evolved than we have ever been before. Our closest hominid relative, the Neanderthal, is one such link to our past that we study to understand how we came to be. In studying this species, it brings about questions that have puzzle scientist in recent years. These are questions that delve deeper into the differences and similarities between Homo sapiens and Neanderthals. Many modern humans migrated out of Africa around 125,000 to 60,000 years ago leaving behind what are now modern Africans in the continent. Those who migrated out of Africa dispersed over time, colonizing much of Europe and Asia. This theory is known as the Out of Africa Theory (Stringer, 2000).

Two theories explaining the origin of humans are popular today among evolutionists. The first theory, multiregional continuity model states, modern humans evolved from several different groups of hominids that interbred at some point at produce modern humans(Actionbioscience.org, 2017). Multiregional continuity contradicted the ‘out of Africa’ theory with the data and the evolutionary development within the homo-species and its culture use and fossil findings. The evolutionary development of the brain in hominins was associated with increasing social complexity and the development of what we know as culture. Culture can be believed as the accumulation of knowledge, rules and mental abilities that humans utilise in order to survive. Obtaining

There is far more to anthropology than what is often taught in grade school, where students usually learn a simplified progression from “ape to human.” In reality, species can rarely be organized neatly, and anthropologists’ ability to organize at all relies heavily on the discovery and analysis of evidence. As a result, there exist many vexing and long-lasting mysteries that uncovered evidence and scientific findings cannot solve as of yet. One such mystery is that of the origin of platyrrhines. New World monkeys inhabit Central and South America today, but they appear to have African ancestors. The issue is figuring out how they made their way from Africa to South America.

The ‘Out of Africa’ theory proposes that modern humans adapted to their environments, creating many diverse and significantly different cultures. The different physical features found in current humans from different continents are believed to have occurred only in the past 600,000 years. Figure 3 shows that the Homo erectus evolved into modern humans who moved out of Africa into all other continents without interbreeding. This is also shown in the diagram; the black horizontal lines show that there was no interbreeding between the different Homo

The past works in mysterious way allowing small pieces to leak through to the surface that will one day reveal the answers to the most prominent questions. Ian Tattersall made the claim that in 2012 “…there is nothing in the fossil record that we can regard as a convincing intermediate between any australopith or “early Homo” and the Turkana Boy (Tattersall, 2012, p.94).” In his argument it was difficult to find the missing link that pulled the last species in the Australopith genus, A. Sediba, and the first Homo Species, H. Habilis. The gap was too much of a gray area to even make a definitive speculation according to the fossil records where there is nothing. When Homo Habilis was discover, there were very few specimens to analyze and produce a conclusion is this was the cusp of evolution that many scientists were pondering. They were still searching for more, and this search brought them to the Cradle of Humanity where many specimens have been found along with what is perceived as the last Australopithecus, A. Sediba. This species was found by Lee Burger in the eroded cave system known as Malapa. The features of Sediba were still pretty primitive with having a small brain, longer limbs, and a slightly protruding face. Once they started to die off or some scientist believe began to interbred, came the Early Homo. Homo Habilis and Homo Erectus (H. Ergaster) were the evolutionary species that graced the plains of Africa

The early species of Homo erectus existed between 1.8 million and 300,000 years ago and it is believed that the species had crossed over several continents such as Africa, Asia, and Europe (Foley, “Hominid Species”).

One of the most significant concerns in paleoanthropology is the ancestral origin of the modern humans. The story of human evolution dates back to antiquity, and explains a long process that hominids went through to become the modern humans. These processes have been explained through the study of fossils and understanding of the underlying evolution theories. Although new fossil records are uncovered from time to time, scientist maintains the basic evolution story. It is still debatable on which hominid gives ancestry to modern humans. Therefore, the essay attempts to compare and contrast the hominids that lived about 2 million years ago in Central East Africa like Homo habilis, Homo rudolfensis, and Parantropus boisei, and which one of them

INTRODUCTION There are several competing theories for the origins of human evolution. The multiregional hypothesis and the recent single-origin hypothesis (also known as the ‘Out of Africa’ model), are two of the most dominant. Each hypothesis shows a different origin which has been deduced from evidence found in fossil records, DNA sequences and archaeological sites. Ref 2,11,12,16 plus general uni book about human evolution( u find a title) OUTINE OF MULTIREGIONAL HYPOTHESIS The multiregional hypothesis (an idea of Alfred Russel Wallace and Ernst Haechel, furthered by Franz Weidenreich 1873-1948) proposes that modern humans evolved simultaneously in all regions of the world.

Africa played a pivotal role in human evolution. It’s the site of the beginning of human evolution, as they slowly evolved from their primitive ancestors and continued to evolve for millions of years. A majority of the fossils, some dating back almost 7 million years, are found in Africa. As ancient humans migrated out of Africa they stayed close to the coast. Scientists have been able to trace their migration to areas around the Indian Ocean, South Asia, and even as far down as Australia, also referred to as Out of Africa Theory (OOA) by many scientists.