EARLY HOMININS

What is a hominin?

Synapomorphy:

•Adaptations for bipedality

–Foot morphology

–Pelvis

–S-shaped vertebrate column

–Foramen magnum and occipital condyle

Other characters are derived:

• Large brain size

• Small canines

• Face underneath brain

VIDEO

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4-HJURXIxMDuration: 3.47 min

Chimp Bonobos

5-7 Mya

Sahelanthropus

tchadensis

?

?

Ardipithecus

ramidusOrrorin

tugenensis

Homo

sapiens

Bipedalism

Early specimens of uncertain hominin status

4.4 Mya

• In general, early specimens of a

particular taxon tend to be of

uncertain status.

•Remember Archeopteryx (half bird,

half dinosaur) and Purgatorius

(possibly a primate with non-primate

characters).

•The same is true for hominins.

Early speciments of uncertain hominin status

Sahelanthropus tchadensis:

*~6.5 Mya

*From Chad, central Africa (not eastern Africa!)

*Less prognathism (typical of hominids)

*Bipedalism uncertain

Orrorin tugenensis:

*~5.8 Mya

*From Kenya, eastern Africa

*Lower jaw fragment

*Bipedalism uncertain

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EC9aIth1ah4

Duration: 9.59 min

Ardipithecus ramidus: oldest known hominin

VIDEO

Ardipithecus ramidus: oldest known hominin

Ardipithecus ramidus:

*4.4 Mya

*From Ethiopia, eastern Africa

*Bipedal locomotion

*Grasping bit toe

*Small brain

Long arms,

suggest

arboreal life

Opposable

big toe

Height:117-124 cm

Weight: 51 Kg

Relatively

small brain

Long pelvis

Relatively

small

canines

Long flexible

lower back

Chimp Bonobos

5-7 Mya

Bipedalism

Australopithecus

anamensis

Australopithecus

afarensis

Robust

australopithecines

Gracile

australopithecines*4.1 Mya

*Kenya

*3.0-3.6 Mya

*Tanzania, Ethiopia

Lucy

Basal australopithecines

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kqcpkx8tfKI

Duration: 4:54 min

Lucy

VIDEO

Australopithecus

afarensis

Australopithecus

aethiopicus

Australopithecus

robustus

Australopithecus

boisei

*1.8 Mya

*Kenya

*2.5 Mya

*Kenya

*3.0-3.6 Mya

*Tanzania, Ethiopia

Robust australopithecines

*2 Mya

*South Africa

Australopithecus afarensis

Australopithecus africanus

Australopithecus garhi

Homo

Gracile australopithecines

*3-2 Mya

*South Africa

*3.0-3.6 Mya

*Tanzania, Ethiopia

*2.5 Mya

*Ethiopia

HOMO

Hominin evolution: a brief summary

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehV-MmuvVMU

Duration: 3.47 min

VIDEO

Chimp Bonobos

5-7 Mya

Bipedalism

Australopithecus

anamensis

Australopithecus

afarensis

Robust Gracile

*4.1 Mya

*Kenya

*3.0-3.6 Mya

*Tanzania, Ethiopia

Homo

Stone tools

Cranial capacity > 600 ml

*2.3-2.5 Mya

*Tanzania, Ethiopia

Early Homo

Oldowan technology (Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, Africa)

*3.3 Mya

*Lake Turkana, Kenya

*Made by Homo or Australopithecus?

*2.6-1.7 Mya

*Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania

*Made by Homo.

Gracile

australopithecine

Homo habilis

H. rudolfensis

??

*1.6-1.9 Mya

*Tanzania, Kenya

H. ergaster

Early Homo

*1.8-1.9 Mya

*Kenya

Homo ergaster

Turkana boy

1.5-1.6 Mya

Lake Turkana, Kenya

Acheulean technology,

1.4 Mya, Ethiopia

VIDEO

http://youtube.com/watch?v=L87Wdt044b0Duration: 5:41 min

*0.6-0.2 Mya

*Zambia, Europe

H. ergaster

H. erectus

*1.8-0.2 Mya

*Asia: Georgia, Java, China

*Oldowan technologyH. antecessor *0.8 Mya

*Spain

H. heidelbergensis

*1.8-1.9 Mya

*Kenya

Archaic humans

Homo floresiensis

Flores Island (Indonesia)

Modern elephant

Pigmy StegodonModern rat

Flores

giant rat

H. sapiens

H. floresiensis

Dwarfs and giants tend to evolve in

islands. Animals larger than rabbits

shrink, but animals smaller than

rabbits grow. These shifts could be

adaptive responses to limited food

supplies. H. floresiensis could be

dwarfed descendant of H. erectus.

H. floresiensis origin: African or local?

Neanderthals: reconstruction

H. heidelbergensis

Neanderthals H. sapiens

*130-28 Kya

*Europe, Middle East

*Mousterian technology

*<200 Kya

*Ethiopia, South

Africa, worldwide

Recent hominid evolution

*0.6-0.2 Mya

*Zambia, Europe

Neanderthal culture

•Europe, Middle East

•Intentional burials

•Clothing

•Fire

•Care of the injured

•Hunting

•Brain size: 1,200-1,750 cm3

•Mousterian technology

Neanderthal H. sapiens

Neanderthal H. sapiens

Neanderthal tool technology: Mousterian technology, < 100 Kya, Europe

H. heidelbergensis

Neanderthals H. sapiens*130-28 Kya

*Europe, Middle East

*Mousterian technology

*<200 Kya

*Ethiopia, South

Africa, worldwide

Recent hominid evolution

*0.6-0.2 Mya

*Zambia, Europe

Denisovans

*40 Kya

*Siberia

Neanderthals, Denisovans, and Humans

https://www.ted.com/talks/svante_paeaebo_dna_clues_to_our_inner_neanderthal#t-808119

Duration: 17.01 min

VIDEO

Multiregional hypothesis

Africa AsiaEurope

Anatomically

modern H. sapiens

genes arise in many

populations

H. erectus

disperses from

Africa

Time

Homo sapiens: the “out-of-Africa” hypothesis

Cranial capacity

Chimpanzee

EQ ~ 2.2-2.5Gorilla

EQ ~ 1.31Proconsul

EQ ~ 1.19-1.96Aegyptopithecus

EQ ~ 0.65-1.04

Early primates

Early hominins, such as Australopithecus afarensis (Lucy), lived more

than 3 Mya and had smaller brains that larger faces than species

belonging to the genus Homo, which first appeared around 2.5 Mya.

A. afarensis A. africanusEarly Homo

Homo erectus Homo sapiens

Early hominin crania

A. boisei A. afarensis A. africanus

EQ ~ 2.5

A. robustus

GracileRobust

Australopithecines

H. rudolfensis

EQ?

H. heidelbergensis

EQ ~ 3.4-3.8

H. habilis

EQ ~ 4.3

H. erectus

EQ ~ 5.0

Early Homo species

H. sapiens

EQ ~ 7.4-7.8

Cro-magnonNeanderthal

EQ ~ 7.4-7.8

Archaic and contemporary humans

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSSzn4bIwZg

Duration: 3.27 min

The human lineage

VIDEO