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.