Evolution of Man and

his behaviour
The Early Homo – Homo erectus – Archaic Homo sapiens – The Neanderthals – Homo sapiens sapiens
WHAT
MAKES US
HUMAN?
Early
homos

6 MYA
Early homos  Pleistocene – 2 MYA to
10,000 YA
 Miocene epoch – first hominid a. Lower Pleistocene
- Ardipithecus -start until ice age
- found in Ethipia - Late Australopithecus
and early Homo
 Pliocene – 5 to 2 MYA
 b. Middle Pleistocene

- Australopithecus - Homo erectus

- sub-Saharan desert - Homo sapiens (later part)
 c. Late Pleistocene
- Homo sapiens
Earliest Hominids
1. Ardipithecus kadabba

- late Miocene bet. 5.5 to 5.8 MYA

- found in Middle Awash Valley,
Addis Ababa

+ Sahelanthropus tchadenensis
– found in Chad

+ Orrorin - found in Kenya by Berhane

Asfaw, Gen Suwa, Tim White
- in wooded are rather than
open grassland
Earliest Hominids
2. Keryanthropus platyops

- possesses a flattened face, small molars

- in Kenya by Maeve Leakey in 1999
- 3.5 MYA
- also called the “flat-faced man”

Ardipithecus - A. anamensis - A. afarensis

3. Homo habilis – first exemplar of the genus

Homo
- approx. 2.4 MYA
– KNM – ER 181
- more marked brow ridge
Earliest Hominids
4. Homo erectus – larger brain, re - proportioned
skull and is found in Africa

5. Australopithecus boisei - mammoth back teeth

- coarse vegetation

Ardipithecus - A. anamensis - A. afarensis

6. Homo rudolfensis – KNM – ER 1470

- approx. 2 MYA
- large brain, (very) large molars
- in East of Lake Rudolf, Koobi Fora
Earliest Hominids
Oldowan tools – in Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania
- by Mary Leakey & L.S.B in 1931
- consist of core and flakes

A. Garhi & Early Tool Stones – earliest tool makers

- unforeseen skeletal & dental
features (new discovery)

1. addition to human family tree

2. femur elongated – current human proportion
3. large mammals were butchered to get meat
- Tim White in Ethiopia
OUT OF AFRICA I:
Homo erectus
 From Africa, the Homo erectus
moved to Asia and Europe. Here
they foraged new tracts of edible
vegetation and carved out new
hunting theories.
 Biological and cultural changes
enabled Homo erectus to exploit a
new adaptive strategy – gathering
and hunting.

 This photo shows the early (1.6 MYA) Homo erectus

WT15,000, or “Nariokotome boy”, found in 1984
near Lake Turkana, Kenya. This is the most
complete Homo erectus ever found.
OUT OF AFRICA I:
Homo erectus
 “Nariokotome boy”
 Early Homo erectus
 Most complete set of Homo erectus
bones
 16 MYA
 Found in 1984 near Lake Turkana,
Kenya
 Previously known as “Turkana boy”
Features: Homo erectus
1. Sturdy Skulls
 Noel Boaz and Russell Ciochon
- proposed that H. erectus skull evolved due
to violence
 Characteristics of their skull includes:
- bony walls in top and sides of skull
- resemblance to a “cyclist’s helmet”
- think brow ridge
- bony bulges in each side of the sinus
- think bony ridge at the back of the school

 Purpose:
- protection
Features: Homo erectus
2. Thick Jaws
 Franz Weidenrich
- anthropologists/ anatomist who detected
evidence of healed fractures in H. erectus found near
Beijing, China

 Characteristics of their jaw includes:

- thick inside jaw walls behind the chin

 Purpose:
- protection
Paleolithic Tools

 The word “Paleolithic” came from the Greek

words:
- “paleo” which means “prehistoric times”
- “lithos” which means “stone”

 Also, referred to as “Old Age”.

 It has three divisions; Lower (early), Middle,

and Upper (late).
Paleolithic Tools
Each of the three main divisions of the Paleolithic had its typical tool-
making traditions – coherent patterns of tool manufacture.

 Acheulian
- main Lower Paleolithic tool-making tradition
of H. erectus which was named after St.
Acheul (a French village were it was
identified)
 The Acheulian tool were an advance over
pebble tools.
 The Acheulian technique involved modyfying
the rock core and chipping the core all over
rather than one end only.
Paleolithic Tools
Examples and Purposes
 HAND AXES – used for digging edible roots and
other foods from the ground
 DIGGING STICKS - used for digging edible
roots and other foods from the ground
 TOOLS WITH SHARPER EDGE – used for
cutting up skins
 CLEAVERS – used for heavy chopping and
hacking
 FLAKES – used to make incisions and finer
work
Adaptive Strategies: Homo erectus
 Improved tools helped Homo erectus increased its range.
- Their dispersal into smaller groups and one of the possible reasons for their
successful migration from Africa to other continents.

 Biological changes also increased hunting efficiency. The evolved body of

Homo erectus made it easier for them to hunt.
- larger bodies
- longer leg for long – distance stalking and endurance for hunting
- increased cranial capacity (average of 1000 cm3)
In order to compensate for the energy needed to sustain what their bigger brains
need, they have invented “persistent hunting”.
Adaptive Strategies: Homo erectus
 The evolved skull of Homo erectus played a big part of their survival.
- thicker skulls with braincase are lower and flatter with spongy bone
development which was theorized to have evolved for protection purposes
- face and jaws were larger and so is their front teeth (evolved due to change
in diet)

Taken together, the H.erectus skeleton and the chewing apparatus provide biological
evidence of a fuller commitment to hunting and gathering.

 The Homo erectus also used sampling to support temporary huts. There were
hearths – sunken pits and piled stone fireplaces- within the shelters.
Adaptive Strategies: Homo erectus

 Their tools used in day-to-day basis.

 The existence of fire which they used for various reasons (e.g. protection,
cooking, etc.)

Zhoukoudian – a cave near Beijing, China which was home to Homo

erectus due to the evidential remains found there

 The possible existence or usage of language among the members of their

community.
Archaic Homo sapiens
“Wise Man”
 Middle Pleistocene
 500ka (kiloannus or million

years)
 Found in Africa, America,
Europe
 Archaic Homo sapiens
include:
1. Homo neanderthalis
2. Homo rhodesiensis
transition between Homo erectus 3. Homo heidelbergensis
and Homo sapiens
Archaic Homo sapiens
Features
 Their brain size is (almost) similar
to that of modern humans. Also,
with bigger brain case.
 They have protruding browridge,
weaker chins, and thick skulls.

 Homo rhodesiensis "Broken Hill

Cranium": dated to either 130,000
years ago 
Adaptive Strategies: Archaic Homo sapiens
 Same tools with Homo erectus.
 Cave inhabitation.
 Adaptation to colder climates.