Human Evolution - 2755 Words

Human Evolution Human Evolution, the biological and cultural development of the species Homo sapiens, or human beings. A large number of fossil bones and teeth have been found at various places throughout Africa, Europe, and Asia. Tools of stone, bone, and wood, as well as fire hearths, campsites, and burials, also have been discovered and excavated. As a result of these discoveries, a picture of human evolution during the past 4 to 5 million years has emerged. Human Physical Traits Humans are classified in the mammalian order Primates; within this order, humans, along with our extinct close ancestors, and our nearest living relatives, the African apes, are sometimes placed together in the family Hominidae because of genetic†¦show more content†¦Associated with these changes is a gradual reduction in the size of the face and jaws. In early hominines, the face was large and positioned in front of the braincase. As the teeth became smaller and the brain expanded, the face became smaller and its position changed; thus, the relatively small face of modern humans is located below, rather than in front of, the large, expanded braincase. Human Origins The fossil evidence for immediate ancestors of modern humans is divided into the genera Australopithecus and Homo, and begins about 5 million years ago. The nature of the hominine evolutionary tree before that is uncertain. Between 7 and 20 million years ago, primitive apelike animals were widely distributed on the African and, later, on the Eurasian continents. Although many fossil bones and teeth have been found, the way of life of these creatures, and their evolutionary relationships to the living apes and humans, remain matters of active debate among scientists. One of these fossil apes, known as Sivapithecus, appears to share many distinguishing features with the living Asian great ape, the orangutan, whose direct ancestor it may well be. None of these fossils, however, offers convincing evidence of being on the evolutionary line leading to the hominid family generally or to the human subfamily in particular. Comparisons of blood proteins and the DNA of the African great apes with that of humans indicates that the line leading to modern people didShow MoreRelatedEvolution And Its Impact On Human Evolution910 Words   |  4 Pages Humans have gone through many stages of adaptation, allowing for great expansion and our unrivaled dominance of the earth. So it could seem as though humans have reached the peak of evolutionary development. Evolution is often thought of as a natural process, and were it not for humans, this might be true. However, evolution, in the strictest sense, is a change in the genetic structure of a population (Jurmain, et al., 5). While natural selection is a major contributor to the process of evolutionRead MoreThe Evolution Of Human Evolution1103 Words   |  5 PagesHuman evolution according to research started over 6 million years ago. The outcome of the evolution process is the current human beings. Scientific studies have revealed over the years a remarkable affinity between the chimpanzees/Apes and human beings. Even though this reality is not a definitive prove that human beings evolved from apes, it does show that the human beings are in one way or another related to other primat es. Scientists suppose that the humans and the primates shared a commonRead MoreEvolution And Its Effect On Human Evolution1826 Words   |  8 Pages It is the key to our evolution is very much correct. Beneficial mutation can be a next step of human evolution as people get more adapted to their environment, greatly increasing their chance of successfully reproducing. Evolution is the process of the characteristics of an organism changing over a long period of time. There are two types of evolution: micro, where gene frequencies are shifted within the population, and macro, where a whole new species arises. Evolution occur through naturalRead MoreConvergent Evolution Of Human Evolution972 Words   |  4 Pagesinstance of human evolution has been detected among the peoples of East Africa. It is the ability to digest milk in adulthood, conferred by genetic changes that occurred as recently as 3,000 years ago, a team of geneticists has found.The finding is a striking example of a cultural practice — the raising of dairy cattle — feeding back into the human genome. It also seems to be one of the first instances of convergent human evolution to be documented at the genetic level. Convergent evolution refers toRead MoreThe Evolution Of Humans And Humans978 Words   |  4 PagesHumans have existed on Earth for approximately 3.4 million y ears. The oldest known human ancestor is Lucy, an Australopithecus. Over this extensive period of time, humans have evolved significantly. Homo Sapiens have grown from 3 to almost 6 feet (average), lost most of the body hair, became leaner and adapted to walking. Humans have come a long way, from Australopithecus to Homo sapiens, from living in trees to living in cities. Slowly, through hundreds of thousands of years, we mutated over andRead MoreEvolution of Human3142 Words   |  13 PagesHuman evolution is the biological and cultural development of humans. A human is any member of the species Homo sapiens, meaning wise man. Since at least the Upper Paleolithic era, some 40,000 years ago, every human society has devised a creation myth to explain how humans came to be. Creation myths are based on cultural beliefs that have been adopted as a legitimate explanation by a society as to where we came from. The science of paleoanthropology, which also tries to create a narrative aboutRe ad MoreThe Evolution Of The Human Body989 Words   |  4 PagesThe evolution of the human body can be observed from studying the intermediates found in ancestral organisms. Shubin proposes that every attribute that makes us human can be traced back to a time that showcases its importance for survival. Every single trait in the human body has been selected for through multiple mechanisms of evolution, natural selection being one of them. This theory is intriguing because not long ago it was unheard of to relate humans to fish, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, andRead MoreThe Evolution Of Human Origins1179 Words   |  5 PagesInitial ideas of human origins are reflected in the ancient mythologies. Later on, religious versions of human origins appeared. One of the most popular religious theory is creationism. According to it God had created men and everything else in the world. There are two types of creationism, young earth creationism and old earth creationism . Ancient philosophy f irst proposed ideas of the natural origins of men. Most of its ideas were speculative. It was the product of the ancient philosophers` imaginationRead MoreThe Evolution Of The Human Body996 Words   |  4 Pagesinformation website is primarily focused on the evolution of the human body. The web source provides various selections to choose from, including: the human evolution summary, timeline, hall of skulls, and their perspectives. Likewise, the human evolution page describes the fossil hominids and their origins. The author recapitulates the hominid family, which consists of Homo, Australopithecus, and Ardipithecus. Correspondingly, the human evolution timeline page includes six distinct topics that followRead MoreTheories, Humans, And Social Evolution Essay1764 Words   |  8 Pagesâ€Å"I have not given, received, or used any unauthorized assistance† - Victoria Stake ANTH 400 – Exam #1 Theories, Humans, and Social Evolution Theory, for me at this point in the semester, means that a hypothesis has been tested, the results have been replicated, and then the theory withstands time but it is falsifiable in nature. There are three different kinds of theories, with the first being the most basic and containing the widest range. This is the High-level theory that helps us to understand