Fossil Prehistory Chart - Research Paper Example

Fossil Prehistory Chart The crucial objective of scientific study is to answer imposing questions, to look for more and more potent and convincing theories, and to understand the universe, life, and everything. Nevertheless, most concrete and actual work is interested with somewhat insignificant subject matters and provides little knowledge into the universal design of things. What drives life to evolve or to become extinct? This is one of the grand questions that draw people into scientific inquiry and sustain focus outside the specialized fields, but in actual fact any review of the scientific literature will show that what is made known is specific, commonly unclear, and only rarely had to do with one of the major issues. The particular and technical govern without regard for the issues that motivated the core foundations of the discipline; the field of anthropology included. The questions ‘Why do humans evolve?’ or ‘What is the driving force of human evolution?’ should be two of the most crucial questions in scientific discipline, and certainly shape the whole reason for the existence of anthropology, but these are not designations to be located in popular literature (Howells, 1993). In talking about the causes and classifications of human evolution, we have progressed from the constancy of ecosystems over millions of years, to the species’ evolutionary and extinction pattern over millions of years, to the impact of changes in climate on a range of thousands of years, to the reproduction costs on a range of several years, and finally to the capability of women of coordinating their reproductive activities on a range of months and days (Regal, 2004). This astonishing array of scales can unite the varied concepts of fossil hominid evolution illustrated here. The core of evolutionary processes rests in the small-scale, or microevolution; the reality that we should attempt to explore these mechanisms over hundreds of millions of years, and frequently at an expanse of millions of years, must not divert us from this integral reality (Lewin, 2004). While the circumstances, limitations, and outcomes of evolution may be carried out over millions of years, the concrete selective processes are to be situated in the everyday activities of individuals and groups. It is the complexity of maintaining these quite challenging scales together and separately that has made the mission of unearthing the grounds of human evolution very challenging (Wood, 2006). Another issue is that although evolutionary process should in one sense be flawless, in actual fact it is not. It is composed of numerous occurrences, the perspectives of which will be quite unpredictable. We should possibly stop asking the grand question, ‘What caused human existence?’ but raise questions concerning the myriad of occurrences that compose our evolutionary past. This necessitates us to be more precise and definite in relation to taxonomic group, date/time, and locale/geography. And ultimately, I recommend that we should disregard any interest on theory and concentrate instead on analytical, sensible subject matters; instead we have discovered that the most powerful ideas about our evolutionary history have emanated from circumstances where we may compare and contrast hominid evolution with a more wide-ranging area of biological premises. Looking for the underlying forces on human evolution independently from other fields of evolutionary biology is a ruined endeavor. The universal evolutionary theories of biology are possibly the most potent instruments we have at present to find out the reason for human existence, and we should take note that the primates, the fossils, and ourselves, furnish the information/data to verify these theoretical perspectives. Major Hominid Species Dates K- 1,000 MYA Locale Found Morphological Features Tool Types Diet Religion Culture Weapons Sahelanthropus tchadensis 6-7 MYA Chad, Central Africa Brain size approximately 350cc.; primitive apelike features (small canine teeth, brow ridges) Simple tools (such as those used by modern chimpanzees); rudimentary stones or sticks; plant materials Presumed to be plant eaters No evidence of culture Orrorin tugenensis 6 MYA Western Kenya Limb bones are bigger than Lucy (roughly the size of a female chimpanzee); bipedal and tree-climber; Simple tools: plant materials such as twigs and sticks; crude stones; Diet identical to that of modern ape; fruit and vegetables; meat eater No evidence of culture Ardipithecus ramidus 4.4-5.8 MYA Aramis, Ethiopia Possibly bipedal; had a chimpanzee-like tooth; bipedal Simple tools: plant materials such as twigs and sticks; crude stones Large amount of leaves; nuts, leaves and fruits No evidence of culture Australopithecus anamensis 4.2-3.9 MYA Kanapoi,Kenya Allia Bay, Kenya Primitive skull features; advanced body features; teeth and jaws resemble that of older fossil apes; bipedal; upper arm bone resembles that of humans. Simple tools: twigs, sticks; unmodified stones Plant eaters; fruits and hard foods No evidence of culture Australopithecus afarensis 3.9-3.0 MYA Hadar, Ethiopia Low forehead; flat nose; bony ridge over the eyes; chin-less; protruding jaws; cranial capacity about 375 to 550cc.; chimpanzee-like skull; humanlike teeth; shape of the jaw is parabolic and rectangular; pelvis and leg bones are humanlike; bipedal. Simple tools: sticks and other plant materials; Plant eaters; fruits and leaves; high bulk diet; small social groups; Kenyanthropus platyops 3.5 MYA Kenya Skull size is identical to A. afarensis and A. africanus; big, flat face; small teeth. Simple tools: sticks and other plant materials; unmodified stones herbivorous possibly behaved in a way identical to other hominins existing at the same period; small social groups; Australopithecus Africanus 3-2 MYA Makapansgat, South Africa bipedal; size of the body is slightly bigger than that of afarensis; brain size is slightly larger than that of a chimp, roughly 420 and 500 cc; back teeth is bigger than that of afarensis; teeth and jaws are larger than that of humans; shape of the jaw is humanlike, parabolic. Simple tools: sticks and scavenged animal bones; crude stones Fruit and leaves; meat; Australopithecus aethiopicus 2.6-2.3 MYA Unusual combination of primitive and modern features; size of the brain is quite small, 410 cc.; hind portions of the skull resemble that of afarensis; big face; biggest sagittal crest. Sticks and unmodified stone Tough vegetation; hard food (roots, nuts, seeds); meat Social groups Paranthropus robustus 2-1.5 MYA Drimolen Cave, South Africa Kromdraai, South Africa Africanus-like body; very large flat or dished face; large brow ridges; no forehead; enormous grinding teeth; small front teeth; had sagittal crest; brain size is 530 cc Digging tools; Oldowan; Homo; Coarse; hard food Social groups Paranthropus boisei 2.1-1.1 MYA Konso, Ethiopia West Turkana, Kenya Koobi Fora Kenya East Turkana, Kenya Massive face and cheek teeth; brain size identical to robustus; heavily built skull Oldowan; Homo Hard food (roots, nuts, seeds) Homo habilis 2.4-1.5 MYA Ileret, Kenya Koobi Fora, Kenya East Turkana, Kenya Olduvai, Tanzania Primitive facial features; smaller back teeth, but larger than modern humans; brain size is approximately 650 cc.; humanlike shape of the brain; bulge of Broca’s area; Oldowan tools; stone tools (scrapers, core tools, choppers); fist-hatchet Vegetarian; meat eaters No evidence Homo georgia 1.8 MYA Dmanisi, Georgia Brain sizes: 600 to 780 cc; height: 1.5 meters Homo erectus 1.8 MYA- 300K Yunxian, China Anhui Province, China Elandsfontein, South Africa Sangiran, Java, Indonesia Trinil, Java Ternifine, Algeria Zhoukoudian, China Protruding jaws; thick brow ridges; no chin; long low skull; brain size: 750-1225 cc.; Sophisticated stone tools; probably used fire; simple choppers and flakes; advanced bifacial tools; Meat with plant foods Rudimentary funerary rites Use of fire; cooperation of groups of people; use of shelters Stone axes, knives, harpoons, spears,bows, Homo ergaster Dmanisi,Georgia Koobi Fora, Kenya Olduvai, Tanzania Different from erectus in the shape of brow ridges; larger brain size; Advanced stone tools (picks, cleavers; axes); large stone flakes; use of fire; More meat; plant tubers; Not concerned with life after death; social groups; Homo antecessor 780K Atapuerca, Spain Mid-facial area quite modern; primitive browridges, forehead, teeth Oldowan tools (simple cutting flakes); Large amounts of meat; plant foods Funerary rites; evidence of cannibalism Homo heidel bergensis 500K Tautavel, France Middle Awash Valley, Ethiopia Boxgrove, England Kabwe, Zambia Mauer, Germany Petralona, Greece Larger brain size and more round than that of erectus; teeth and skeleton are less tough than that of erectus; receding chins and foreheads; large brow ridges; Fruit; fish; hard foods (seeds, roots, nuts) Homo neanderthalensis 230K-30K Amud, Israel Dederiyeh, Syria Kebara Cave, Israel Qafzeh, Israel Northern Iraq Tabun, Israel Uzbekistan Belgium Krapina, Croatia La Chapelle-aux-Saints, France La Ferrassie, France Le Moustier, France Mount Circeo, Italy Neander Valley, Germany Saccopastore, Italy St. Cesaire, Western France Vindija, Croatia Zafarraya Cave, Spain Brain size is somewhat larger than that of modern humans: 1450cc; distinct mass at the back of the skull; receding forehead; protruding jaw; protruding mid-facial area; thick and heavy bones (adapted to cold climates) More advanced than that of erectus (blade tools); hearths and fire; Formidable hunter; large amounts of meat; vegetation; Simple burial rites Earliest hominid to bury their dead; complex culture; wear animal hides; sparse evidence of body decoration; no symbolic art; More advanced weapons than that of erectus; Homo sapiens 195K Shaanxi Province, China Darra-i-Kur, Afghanistan Yingkou County, China Liujiang, China Guandong, China Madhya Pradesh, India Ngandong, Indonesia Borneo Qafzeh, Israel Average brain size: 1350cc.; very small eyebrow ridges; prominent chin; very gracile skeleton; Sophisticated tool kits; tools made of bone and antler; implements for cloth-making, sculpting, and engraving; decorated tools Hunters and gatherers; domestication of plants and animals; omnivorous Elaborate burial rites Fine art work; beads; human and animal ivory carvings; musical instruments; clay statuettes; remarkable cave paintings; References Alland, A. (1967). Evolution and Human Behavior. Garden City, NY: Natural History Press. Boyd, R. & Richerson, P.J. (2005). The Origin and Evolution of Cultures. New York: Oxford University Press. Campbell, B. (1998). Human Evolution: An Introduction to Man's Adaptations. Aldine Transaction. Howells, W. & Cirulis, J. (1967). Mankind in the Making: The Story of Human Evolution. Garden City, NY: Doubleday. Howells, W. (1993). Getting Here: The Story of Human Evolution. Washington, DC: Compass Press. Lewin, R. (2004). Human Evolution: An Illustrated Introduction. Wiley-Blackwell. Regal, B. (2004). Human Evolution: A Guide to the Debates. ABC-CLIO. Standford, C. B. & Bunn, H.T. (eds.). (2001). Meat-Eating and Human Evolution. New York: Oxford University Press. Washburn, S. L. (Ed.). (1963). Classification and Human Evolution. Chicago: Aldine Pub.Co. Wood, B. (2006). Human Evolution: A Very Short Introduction. USA: Oxford University Press. Read More