Lived: 5-4 million years ago

Distribution: Eastern Africa

Trends:
• Ape-like dentition
o Relatively large anterior dentition
o Thin tooth enamel
o Strong crown asymmetries
o Enlarged buccal cusps on upper and lower premolars
o Has a greater length to breadth ratio then later hominids
• Low, blunt, less projecting canines than other apes
• Upper and lower incisors larger then Australopithecines and smaller than chimpanzees
• Lower molars are broader than those of comparably-sized apes.
• Strong indications of an anterior positioned foramen magnum (the skull rested atop the vertebral
column), suggests bipedalism.
• Opposable big toes and thumbs
• Eyes facing forward

Dates: 4 to 2.7 million years ago

Distribution: Eastern Africa

Trends:
• Frontal squama enclosing frontal portion of the brain is similar in size to many chimpanzees and gorillas
• Lateral corner of supraorbital torus is vertically thicker than both common chimpanzees and bonobos
• Roof of supraorbital torus slopes evenly up the frontal squama
• Relatively thick squama
• Outside of the squama slopes inward toward the midline
• Males had larger and higher more tapered crowns then females.
• Large anterior teeth
• Maxillary incisors reflects plesiomorphism (lateral incisor is much smaller than the medial incisor)
• Lateral transmission of force from the heel to the base of the lateral metatarsal while stepping
• Well-developed medial longitudinal arch
• Adducted big toe (non-opposable big toes)
• Enhanced finger mobility and powerful wrist flexion (powerful hamate bone, could indicate some tree-
climbing activities were still present)
• Parallel postcanine tooth rows
• Canine-premolar diastema
• Large molars with ascending size order
• Serrated molar roots
• Femoral neck is anterior-posteriorly flattened; making it relatively tall; making it resistant to bending
stresses from one-legged support.
• Lived in a forest margin or savanna-woodland environment

Dates: 3 to 2 million years ago

Distribution: Southern Africa

Trends:
• Bipedal
• Short and wide iliac blade
• Well-developed sciatic notch
• Strong anterior inferior iliac spine
• 6 lumbar vertebrae (compared to the 5 of humans)
• Forward projecting anterior superior iliac spine
• Very small articular surface for the sacrum
• marked outward flare of the iliac blades
• Large, bulbously cusped, broad postcanine teeth
• Thicker enamel on tooth walls
• Anterior lower premolars are always bicuspid
• Long and robust canine roots
• Retracted palate (from a position in front of the face to under it)
• Forward zygomatic processes of the maxilla, zygmatic bone, and
the front of the masseter muscles (creates zygomatic prominence)
• Expansion of anterior part of temporalis muscle
• Broad nasal aperture
• Anterior pillars extending above the canine roots of variable
expression creating thickened lateral nasal margins

Dates: 2.2 to 1.6 million years ago

Distribution: Eastern Africa
Trends:
• Bipedal (shown in the foot material of OH 8/7)
o Shortening of digits
o enlargement of hallux
o Fully adducted
o Alignment of digits 2-5
o Thickened metatarsal shaft with a humanlike cross-sectional shape
o Fully developed double arch to the lower surface
o Mechanically set up for efficient weight transmission at the ankle
• 590-710 cc brain size
• Expanded cranial capacity relative to africanus
• Reduced postcanine tooth size
• Presence of precision grip (provides anatomical basis for tool-making)
• Lack of molar megadontia with molars longer than they are wide
• 1st metacarpal and trapezium are not very interlocked allowing more movement
• Distal phalanges have apical tuffs
• Very large teeth
• Salient anterior nasal spine

Dates: 0.4 to 2.0 million years ago

Distribution: Widespread (South Africa, Indonesia, England, the continents of Africa, Asia, Europe)

Trends:
• Increase in brain size from H. habilis. (approximately 900 cc)
• Reduction in postcanine dentition with correlated decrease in jaw size
• Vertical shortening of the face
• Shortening of armbones
• Development of a semi-barrel-shaped chest
• Formation of an external nose
• Height reached that of modern humans
• Shovel-shaped incisors
• Brachial and humero-femorel index in the modern human range
• Relatively small thoracic spinal canal diameter
• Smaller cervical and lumbar swellings compared to modern humans
• Long vertebral spines
• Elongated femoral neck
• Narrow biiliac breadth
• Low cranial vault
• Round torus across the occipital bone
• Wider cranial base at thebottom than the top of the cranium
• Double-arched supraorbitals
• Long, flat frontal bone
• Rounded edge to the bottom of the eye sockets

Dates: 200-30 thousand years ago

Distribution: Widespread (Africa, Asia, Europe)
Trends:
• Bipedal
• Occipital Bun
• Suprainiac fossa
• Receding frontal bone
• Presence of lambdoidal flattening
• Mastoid crest located behin the external auditory meatus
• Juxtamastoid eminence located behing the mastoid crest, and often larger than the mastoid process
• Horizontal Occipital Torus with uniform vertical dimensions with little
• Brain size between 1200 and 1600 cc
• Absence of canine fossa
• Presence of retromolar space
• Lack of to a slight mental eminence
• Small teeth with a robust mandibular corpus
• Vertical symphysi with a mental trigone
• Slight mental eminence

Dates: 200 tya

Distribution: Europe, West Asia, Africa, East Asia, Australia
Trends:
• low and thick braincases
• Posterior cranial flattening creating an occipital bun similar to that of neanderthals
• Significant spongy bone development
• Thick projecting supraorbitals
• Cranial capacities of approximately 1650 cc. Ine men and a
1350 1550 cc in women
• larger cranial vaults then neanderthals
• More mid facial prognathism (having the jaw protrude past
an imaginary line on the face)
• Cheekbones that stick out further
• No maxillary notch
• More narrow nose then neanderthals
• Have a distinct canine fossa.
• Males:
o have a shallow depression at the base of the
forehead
o lower and less steep foreheads
o the occipital areas are more angled
o the part of the parietal and occipital bones at the
lambdoid suture are more flattened
o the superior nuchal lines are thick and broad and
extend onto the mastoids
o Have more neanderthal-like features then
females.
• Females:
o Smaller nuchal planes
o Lower and less prominent inion
o Have more modern-like features than males
 Bibliography

“Branches on the family tree”. History of Human Evolution. American Museum of Natural History.
November 4th 2010. http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/humanorigins/history/humans6.php

Evans, Laurence. “Australopithecus: Upright Walker”. Nature’s Holism. November 4th 2010.
http://www.ecotao.com/holism/hu_austral.htm

“Human Ancestry: Species” Archaeology Info. March 30 2011.

http://www.archaeologyinfo.com/species.htm

Taylor, Chris. “Ardipithecus Ramidus”. Taylor Empire Airways. November 4th 2010.
http://taylorempireairways.com/2009/10/ardipithecus-ramidus/

“The Human Species”. Tripod. November 4 2010. http://brattahlid.tripod.com/sw3-74webb.htm