primates primates are an order of mammals which includes lemurs, monkeys, apes, and humans where do...
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Primates
• Primates are an order of mammals which includes lemurs, monkeys, apes, and humans
• Where do we separate?
COMMON PRIMATE TRAITS
• 5 DIGITS ON BOTH HANDS & FEET• NAILS INSTEAD OF CLAWS• FLEXIBLE HANDS WITH ABILITY TO
GRIP• ERECT UPPER BODY• COLLARBONE• SMALL NOSE, NO ACUTE SENSE OF
SMELL• USE OF VISION AS PRIMARY SENSE• LARGE & COMPLEX BRAIN• EFFICIENT FETAL NOURISHMENT• LONG PERIODS OF INFANT
DEPENDENCY AND LEARNED BEHAVIOR
• ADULT MALES ALWAYS PRESENT WITHIN GROUP (HELP IN CHILD REARING).
Trends in Primate Evolution
1) Larger body size2) Increasing brain size or
cranial capacity3) More upright standing4) Living in or near trees5) A diet that includes
plants and animals6) Binocular vision that
allows for depth perception
Trends in Primate Evolution continued…
7) Specialized color vision8) A decreasing number of
young produced al one time
9) Longer embryonic and childhood development
10) Specialized thumb11) Increasing lifespan12) Growing complexity of
social behavior
Differences Between Man and Apes
• Humans have the development of more specialized areas in the brain
• Humans have a more vertical face plate
• Humans have a smaller jaw and more evenly rounded arch
• Humans have smaller canine teeth
• Humans have smaller molars• Humans have longer lower limbs
(legs) and shorter upper limbs (arms)
The biggy…Bipedalism
• Bipedalism is erect posture and walking with two feet
• Bipedalism was important in developing the ability to hunt and make tools
Hominids
• Hominids are a family of primates which includes all two-legged manlike species, extinct or living
• Examples of hominids are erect walking apes, ourselves and our ancestors
The Australopithecines
• Means “Southern Ape”• Australopithecus was an
erect walking ape that was a member of the hominid family
• There were at least 5 kinds of Australopithecines, but probably one was man’s ancestor
• Australopithecines lived 5 to 1 million years ago
Lucy• Lucy was an
Australopithecus Afarensis• Her skeleton was
discovered by Donald Johanson in Ethiopia in 1974
• She was the most complete pre-human skeleton ever found
• Her bones gave many clues about her anatomy, diet and lifestyle
• Footprints at Laetoli– 3.6 mya– Footprints of two creatures
formed in fresh lava ash.• 1975
– Mary Leakey– Laetoli, Tanzania
• Significance– Determined Height by length of
stride 4’-4’8”– Confirmed Bipedality by this time
• Big toe in line• Heel toe strike when walking
More Discoveries of A. Afarensis Fossils
Timeline of Human Evolution
The Evolution of Humans
Louis Leakey and Olduvai Gorge
• Dr. Louis Leakey and his wife, Mary , did their fieldwork at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania
• Dr. Richard Leakey, their son , currently does fieldwork in the Lake Turkana region
• Louis Leakey is credited with the discovery of Homo Habilis, the first human
Homo Habilis2.3-1.6 mya
“Handy Man” Homo Habilis was the
earliest known species of the genus homo
Probably made tools Probably scavenged for
meat and ate vegetation Skull was 30% larger than
Australopithecines Brain much more human
like in shape.
Homo Erectus1.9-.3 mya
• “Erect or Upright Man”
• Homo Erectus was the first large brained human
• Sometimes called “Java Man” or “Peking Man”
Homo Heidelbergensis700-100,000 years ago
• The between species.– Features of Homo
erectus and Homo sapiens.
– Very robust mandible, no chin
– Very prominent brow ridge
– Increased cranial capacity.
– Smaller teeth but bigger than Homo sapiens.
Neanderthal Man250-30,000 years ago
• Homo Neanderthalensis
• This species was human , but was probably not an ancestor to modern humans
Neanderthal Man
• Neanderthal man had large arms and legs
• His brain was actually larger than modern humans, but the language and speech center of the brain was not well developed
• Neantherthal man was a hunter who made tools, had primitive language skills and used fire
Homo Sapiens-Sapiens130,000 years ago-Present
• “Thinking Man”• Lighter build in skeleton• Enormous brain
capacity – 1300 cc from 400 cc of
early Australopithicine.
• Early discoveries called Cro-Magnon Man.
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