The Evolution of Man

Hominids = the human family

The Human Lineage
Homo habilis
Homo erectus
Homo sapiens
Neanderthals
Cro-Magnons
The oldest hominids belong to the
genus Australopithecus.
Australopithecus afarensisAustralopithec
Australopithecus robustus
Australopithecus boisei
Out of Africa

3MYA
Two signature evolutionary trends in hominids:
2. increasing brain size
• a proportionate reduction in the size of the face

Pan troglydites

Chimpanzees provide a useful benchmark

for hominid evolutionary comparisons

brain capacity - 300cc to 490cc

posture - not bipedal but can stand
and walk erect for short distances
Pan troglydites – 7MYA Australopithecus afarensis – 3MYA

afarensis and chimpanzee skulls:

- a wide, apelike face with a low forehead
- bony browridges, flat nose, protruding upper jaw
- a massive lower jaw with large back teeth.
- both have a brain volume of around 480cc
A. afarensis – 3MYA A. africanus – 2.5MYA

- the narrower cheekbones

- reduced browridges
- more rounded shape of the cranium
- brain volume of 420cc to 500cc .
A. africanus – 2.5MYA Homo habilis – 1.9MYA

- jaw is pulled under the brain

- smaller molars but larger than in modern humans
- skull is thinner, distinctive rounded shape
- small forehead above the brows
- brain average of about 650cc
OLDOWAN TOOLS of habilis

(left to right): end chopper, heavy-duty scraper,

spheroid hammer stone (Olduvai Gorge);
flake chopper (Gadeb); bone point,
horn core tool or digger (Swartkrans).
Homo habilis – 1.9MYA Homo rudolfensis – 1.9MYA

- browridges smaller, more integrated into the skull

- face is flatter, narrower, more vertically sloping
- no heavy muscle attachments at the top of the skull
- back teeth smaller; front teeth are larger
- skull lighter, more delicate, more rounded in the back
- brain volume of 775cc - larger than habilis.
Homo rudolfensis – 1.9MYA Homo ergaster – 1.7MYA

- brain capacity increased to 850cc

- definite browridge, elongated "football" shape
(the result of expanded frontal and occipital lobes)
 A C H E U L E A N Tools

The Acheulean tool industry

first appeared around 1.5 MYA
in East Central Africa. These
tools are associated with
Homo ergaster and
western Homo erectus.

(left to right): cleaver stone

(Bihorei oest, France); lanceolate
hand ax (Briqueterie, France);
large hand ax (Olduvai Gorge).
Homo ergaster – 1.7MYA Homo erectus – 800TYA

- adaptations for heavy chewing power

- brain volume from 800cc to 1300cc
Homo erectus – 800TYA H. heidelbergensis – 400TYA

- browridge smaller
- angle of the rest of the face more vertical
- rain size gradually up to 1600cc
H. heidelbergensis – 400TYA H. neanderthalensis – 50TYA

- brain, 1450cc on average

- with a developed material culture
- some form of spoken language
 M O U S T E R I A N Tools
The Mousterian industry
appeared around 200,000 YA
and persisted until about
40,000 YA, in much the same
areas of Europe, the Near
East and Africa where
Acheulean tools appear.
In Europe these tools are
most closely associated with
Homo neanderthalensis,
(left to right): cutter or point,
but elsewhere were made
Levallois core and point,
by both Neanderthals and
Aterian point with base tang,
early Homo sapiens.
double-sided scraper
H. neanderthalensis – 50TYA H. sapiens - 30TYA
(Cro Magnons)

- face is markedly shrunken in relation to the brain

- brain adult size of 1040cc to 1595cc
- forehead rises sharply
- browridges are very small or absent
- and the chin is prominent
Chart of Human Evolution
Tour of the Human Fossil Record
The Hominid Brain
UPPER PALEOLITHIC Tools
Hominid Fossil Sites and Patterns of Hominid Dispersal

                     The Upper Paleolithic

industry, dominant
from 40,000 to 12,000 YA
appears to have originated
independently in both
Asia and (as early as
90,000 YA) in Africa.

(left to right): biconical bone point,

Perigordian flint blade,
prismatic blade core,
Soluterean Willow leaf point,
double-row barbed harpoon point
The Hominid Brain
The figure shows the
endocast of a Homo
erectus brain (blue)
superimposed on that
of a Homo sapiens (red),
aligned horizontally on
the brain stem under the
cerebellum (C), and
vertically along the
bottom margin of the
temporal lobe (T).