ANCIENT HUMANS

 THE HOMO GROUP OF HUMAN ANCESTORS The majority of the individuals of our species Homo resemble modern humans significantly more than the australopithecines did. The extant species Homo sapiens (modern humans) and several extinct species regarded as either ancestral to or closely related to modern humans, such as Homo erectus and Homo neanderthalensis, are included in the genus Homo, which developed from the genus Australopithecus. Homo habilis is the genus's earliest member, with records dating back little over 2 million years. Homo, along with the genus Paranthropus, is most likely related to Australopithecus africanus, which had previously diverged from the Pan, or chimpanzee, branch. See how the evolution of humans began by reading about the Homo species listed below: 1.  Homo habilis Nickname : Handy Man Discovery Date : 1960 Where Lived : Eastern and Southern Africa When Lived : 2.4 million to 1.4 million years ago Height : average 3 ft 4 in - 4 ft 5 in (100 - 135 cm) W...

The Paranthropus Group of human ancestor Human ancestors started to diverge from primates as life on Earth progressed. Although Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution has been debatable since it was originally published, scientists have found an increasing amount of fossil evidence throughout time. Many religious organizations and other people still disagree with the notion that humans originated from a "lower" life type. The human ancestors of the Paranthropus Group help connect the current human to previous human ancestors and provide us with a clear picture of how those ancestors behaved and developed. Even though three animals that belong to this group are already identified, there are still many unanswered questions about the progenitors of modern humans. The skull anatomy of any member of the Paranthropus Group is ideal for vigorous chewing. See how the evolution of humans began by reading about the Paranthropus species listed below: 1. Paranthropus aethiopicus Where...

  The Australopithecus group of Human Ancestor Early hominins (humans and their distant extinct cousins) known as the australopiths existed in Africa between 4.1 and 1.4 million years ago. The Species in this group of early humans generally walked upright but they also climbed trees. They were formerly called as the australopithecines, but they are not a "natural" group—in other words, they are not a "clade"—because they do not all descended from a single common ancestor. Instead, they are collectively categorized informally because almost all of them have the same adaptive grade, or set of adaptations. They are specifically bipedal apes with, to a greater or lesser extent, enlarged canine and precanine teeth (postcanine megadontia), as well as other accompanying changes to their eating mechanisms. It is obvious that dietary modifications had a significant impact on their evolutionary history. They can also be identified by the absence of derived traits commonly fou...

  The Ardipithecus Group of Human Ancestors The earliest humans are our closest link to other primates. They evolved in Africa and took the first steps toward walking upright. The Ardipithecus group refers to the progenitors of modern humans who are most closely linked to monkeys. These early humans have many traits with apes, but they also have distinctive traits that are more in line with human characteristics. See how the evolution of humans began by reading about some of the earliest human ancestors in the species listed below: 1. Sahelanthropus tchadensis Discovery Date :   2001 Where Lived :   West-Central Africa (Chad) When Lived :   Sometime between 7 and 6 million years ago OVERVIEW : One of the earliest species in the human ancestry is known as Sahelanthropus tchadensis. In West-Central Africa (Chad), this species existed between 7 and 6 million years ago . This species may have been able to live in a variety of settings, including as meadows and woodlands...

  INTRODUCTION TO HUMAN EVOLUTION The lengthy course of change that separated humans from their apelike predecessors is known as human evolution. According to scientific research, the physical characteristics and behavioural features that all humans share have their roots in apelike ancestors and have been evolving for almost six million years. Bipedalism, or the capacity to walk on two legs, originated more than 4 million years ago and is one of the early characteristics that distinguishes humans. Other crucial human traits, such a large and complex brain, the capacity for language, and the ability to create and utilize tools, emerged relatively recently. The previous 100,000 years have seen the emergence of many advanced qualities, such as complex symbolic expression, art, and rich cultural diversity. Primates are what we are as humans. The contemporary human species, Homo sapiens, has a very close kinship to another group of primate species, the apes, as evidenced by physical a...