The Hominid Ancestors - Essay Example

Hominid Ancestors It was Earth Day when the production team of the famous TV show “Preserving Nature” thought to do something different for the viewers. For this purpose the host Mark Fischer invited Zozo the friendly looking ape, Darbo the mischievous monkey and Felicia the innocent eyed prosimian. As the guests arrived, curiosity grew among the audience to know more and more about them, the way they live, they way they eat, their likes and dislikes, their psychology and their ADAPTIVE MECHANISMS to the continuously changing surroundings and weather conditions. Each participant was given a basic information form to be filled, which included questions regarding their TERRITORIALITY that is the way they communicate without using any words, their diet, social living structures and their SHARED ANCESTRAL FEATURES, which are shared by a larger group of species. Mark Started: “On the occasion of Earth Day, I have invited some HOMINIDS to learn about them and play our role in preserving these SPECIES. A hominid belongs to the family of HOMINIDAE, which includes bipedal, primate mammals. The BIOCULTURAL anthropologists; who explore the relationship of human biology and culture, believe that we all have somewhat similar ancestors. I welcome all of my honorable guests in my TV show today.” Zozo: “very well, thank you.” Mark: “Since we all have quite similar HOMOLOGIES and we possess many common characteristics; my first question is from you Zozo, tell us something about yourself, your family, your history , some of your biological background and CULTURE to which you belong.” Zozo: “We are considered as old world LARGE BODIED HOMINOIDS, belonging to the family of hominidae. By the term large bodied hominoids, I mean that we are somewhat similar to humans and we give birth to babies not eggs. We dwell in forests and our diets include tree leaves, seeds, fruits, nuts etc. Most of our species are HERBIVOROUS that is they eat grass and leaves while others also hunt animals and are OMNIVOROUS. We are also referred to as HOMININS that is belonging to the class of hominidae” Mark: “Darbo, how can you differentiate yourself from Zozo in this regard?” Darbo: “Various STRATIGRAOHIC researches, meaning the branch of geology to study rocks and layers, show that we had the same ancestors as apes. We are also hominids like apes and we also dwell on trees and have the same kind of food that apes have. The only thing that makes us different from apes is that we are ARBOREAL, that is we primarily dwell on ground but we are also tree climbers and the most important thing is that we have tails unlike apes” The audience laughed at the statement. Mark: “And, finally Felicia, what is it that makes you different from these two?” Felicia: “We are PRIMATES; that is we are MAMMALS that belong to the order Primate. Our ancestors lived in tropical forests. Recently the people working on naming different animal species: the TAXONOMISTS have split up us primates into 2 sub-orders.” Mark to Zozo: “Tell us something about your behaviors and cognition” Zozo: “We nonhuman hominids have a well defined social living structure. We live in groups having one male leader, some species like that of chimpanzees also hunt animals for their food. We are intelligent animals. Many researches on COGNITIVE ANTHROPOLOGY show that we possess really amusing problem solving skills and we are fast learners. The PLIO-PLEISTOCENE archeological period gives a clear view of constant development in hominins with respect to their learning abilities and behaviors” (Ian Tattersall, 2012) Mark to Felicia: “Since you are a female primate, tell us if there is any difference of social behaviors than that of male primates” Felicia: “Yes there are a few behavioral differences, though we live in troops but, the female primates move away from the group in which they were born. Male primates are usually involved in the defense mechanism of the group” Mark:”And what are the characteristics of your cognition and communications?” Felicia: “We have really sophisticated cognitive skills. Some of us even make tools and ARTIFACTS to be used for hunting or social exhibit. We can easily learn the usage of symbols and understand human language and behaviors. We have sharp memories and exceptional numerical and abstract concepts. We have small HOME RANGES where we live and hunt. The hunting SITES are somewhat away from our dwelling sites” Mark to Darbo: “Yes, dear Darbo, would you like to add something to it?” Darbo giggled then said: “We monkeys have a diversified relationship with humans some keep us like pets while others use us in their laboratories for different experiments since we possess somewhat similar body structure like humans. We have been also used in space missions. The places where we dwell that is our HABITAT includes parts of Asia, Africa and Central and North America. An important point I would like to tell you is that we are HETERODONTIC that is we have different kinds of teeth including INCISORS, CANINES, PREMOLARS and MOLARS.” (Thom Holmes, 2009) Mark to Zozo: “It is believed that despite of their large sizes, most apes are excellent BRACHIATORS and can swing on trees. Is that true?” Zozo: “Well, some species of apes like gibbons are really good brachiates whereas other larger apes do not use this kind of LOCOMOTION (movement) because of their heavy weight. Gibbons can also use BIPEDAL LOCOMOTION that is they walk on two feet on the top of the tree branches. The POSTCRANIAL fossils of our ancestors show that they were capable of this kind of locomotion too.” The audience clapped on this ability. Zozo added: “However, there is a difference to note in HABITUAL BIPEDALISM and OBLIGATE BIPEDALISM, the minor anatomical differences in humans and apes is due to the humans’ habitual bipedalism whereas some species of apes possess obligate bipedalism and cannot walk on two feet.” Mark then turned towards the audience and asked if any of them would like to ask questions from the guests. A small girl stood up and asked Darbo “Can monkeys see like we do? Can you recognize colors?” Darbo replied: “Yes, some of the species have TRICHROMATIC color vision that is we can see all colors like humans do whereas others are dichromatic or monochromatic. They can see only two or one color respectively” (Thom Holmes, 2009) Next, a lady asked Felicia: “How does reproduction of prosimians can be distinguished from apes and monkeys?” Felicia: “The FERTILIZATION in prosimians is somewhat different from other anthropoids. Most anthropoids produce one baby at a time whereas it is not the case with prosimians. We have multiple babies at the same time. To feed multiple babies at the same time nature has given us multiple nipples with their MAMMARY GLANDS inside. The female prosimians have a Y shaped uterus which is also called a BICORNUATE Uterus” Another young boy stood up for his question to Zozo: “Are apes ENDOTHERMIC or EXOTHERMIC?” Zozo: “Apes are endothermic. Endothermic animals make their own heat from the food energy in their body. The diet of endothermic animals is much more than that of exothermic because they need extra energy to maintain their body temperature in order to keep it functioning properly” Another man from the audience raised a question as follows: “What are GREAT APES?” Zozo replied: “Our ancestors are sometimes referred to as great apes because of their large sizes. This includes gorillas and chimpanzees.” Next, a question arises from the audience from Felicia: “Define the locomotion mechanisms of a prosimian.” Felicia replied: “We can be considered as PHILOPATRIC because we do not move much and we stay in the same area. This is because of our dwelling areas are quite complex and we need to find out food and be safe from the PREDATORS. Sometimes our home ranges also overlap a bit if not defended.” (Thom Holmes,2009) A young lady stood up and asked: “what is meant by AUSTRALOPITHECUS?” Zozo replied: “Many many years ago emergence of a different kind of primate took place. The early bipedal primates were classified as hominids; these first hominids did not have developed large brain, skeletal features and teeth like homo. Instead they are considered to overlap the first homo species that is the reason why they are called AUSTRALOPITHECINES” Mark finally asked all the guests to categorize the social groups of all of their kinds. Zozo started: “Those who have overlapping home ranges and sexes do not prefer to live together. They have a dissipated mating mechanism. One male home range may cover multiple female ranges. This kind of social group is referred to as NOYAU” Felicia added: “There is another kind of social group called POLYANDRY where each territory is shared by 1 female and many males and in contrast to this one there is a group MONOGAMY where each territory is possessed by human like families having one male and one female and their offsprings” (Ian Tattersall 2012.) Dorby added: “There are ONE MALE GROUPS and MULTI MALE GROUPS as described by their names they have one and multiple males in each territory respectively” In the end Mark concluded like: “On this Earth Day, we invited these three guests to give you an idea of how important these animals are for us and for out mother earth. Every individual should play his role for animal welfare and should take appropriate steps to preserve the flora and FAUNA of nature that is the plants and animals respectively.” Works Cited Ian Tattersall, 2012. Masters of the Planet: The Search for Our Human Origins (Macsci). Palgrave Macmillan, 2012. Thom Holmes, 2009. Primates and Human Ancestors: The Pliocene Epoch (Prehistoric Earth). Chelsea House Publications., 2009. Read More