Table of content 05 the australopiths

01 Out of Africa
vs
02 Multiregional 03 the human family tree
04 creating family trees

07 sensational find Homo naledi

09 Homo floresiensis

06 the evolution of the upright gait

08 increasing of brain volume

 MULTIREGIONAL HYPOTHESIS vs OUT OF AFRICA THEORY

modern human being modern human being has

has emerged in several emerged in east Africa and
regions at the same time from there colonized the
world

source: text book

 Out of
Africa
created 200 thousand years ago

one population of Homo sapiens left Africa

the early human already colonized Europe 1.8 million years ago

Homo erectus lived in Asia -> unclear how

Homo erectus is the ancestor of the whole world

Multiregional Early humans had contact regularly (Africa, Asia, Europe)

Homo erectus: emerged in Africa

Homo sapiens: emerged independently

Asians, Australians & Europeans have emerged from different subpopulations of the Homo
erectus

- DIFFERENT
TRAITS -
Australian
Australian skull vs Australian skull
skull vs
Ngandong Java vs African skull
near East
3.7 9.3
7.3
 Question
What do you think? Which theory is
the most believable and why?
 The human family tree

source: text book

 Scientists argue on how many species there were
- no clear answer

Who is descended from whom?

- still no answer

Are Sahelanthropus, Orrorin or Ardipithecus actually in the

ancestor line of the human being?
- still no answer
Creating family trees
IMPORTA
NT
assumes from
fossil finds
age & location ->
examinations
DNA-Material
cultural activities

source: text book

old family trees were less confusing than the ones from today

> many new fossils were found

THE
AUSTRALOPITHS Basic information
lived in Africa around 4-2
million years ago

close relatives of humans, but

not direct ancestors

small brains

walked upright

> evidenced by: pelvis, femur

& foot bones

males were larger than females

source: Wikipedia
 LUCY (Australopithecus
afarensis) discovered 1974
lived 3.2 million years ago
varied diet
lived in diverse
environments
used simple tools
Source: Wikipedia
group living
> human evolutionary
history
 The evolution of the upright gait
Why did the upright gait come along? created 4-7 million years ago
temperature was cooling in
Africa
> became drier
- upright gait minimized the
Bjjinsolation
Savannahs are seasonal habitants

- Nudity
- larger all around visibility
Source: Wikipedia
 Sensational find Homo Naledi

BASIC
INFORMATION
1.50m tall

45kg

Largest collection of evidence so far for

an earlier species of hominini
Source: Wikipedia
Discovery near Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2013
Announcement 2015
Species extinct hominin
Characteristics small brain case
Skeletal remains deliberate disposal
Age debated
Controversy
Source: Wikipedia

age, classification & interpretation

Public impact media attention
Further research place in the human evolutionary tree
 Increasing of brain volume
Homo ergaster
1984: discovered an 1.6 million year old
skeleton

“Lake Turkana”

found: teenager, 162cm -> would’ve

been approximately 180cm

ancestor of Homo erectus & all other species of

the genus Homo oldest fossils: 1.9 million years old

thought to have lived about 40.000 years ago youngest fossils: 1 million years old

Homo ergaster ≠ Homo erectus

Body physique:
brain volume
increased
tall, slim
through:
over eye bulges
> the using of
tools
Skull volume:
> social
750-850cm2 coexistence &
cooperation when
Tools: hunting

> cut, scrape, smash, > the usage of

pierce abstract terms

had fireplaces

Source: Wikipedia
Source: Wikipedia
 QUESTION
Through what three aspects did the
brain volume increase?
the using of tools social coexistence & The usage of abstract
cooperation when terms
hunting
 Homo floresiensis
2003, Indonesian island Flores, 1m, head: size of a grapefruit, lived through hunting, 18.000 years ago

found 6m deep, bones were not tools & remains were found
petrified
brain & height were questionable
brain: 380cm3 (smaller than
everyone) -> not dumb though

Source: Wikipedia
Did the Homo floresiensis have contact to
the modern human being?

Homo floresiensis was

wiped out
by volcanic eruption

But how did the 1m tall "human" hunt a 3m long lizard?

using their weakness
knocking them out
 QUESTION
What made the homo floresiensis so
special?
small head shortness (dwarfism)