Human evolution

• Small brains
• Four legs
• Bent stance
• Long forearms
• Tree nest as a resting place
• Eats mainly fruits, leafs and roots
• No tools found
  
  

• small, slightly larger than that of an ape (cranial capacity 400–500 ml)
• Walks on two legs
• Slightly forward-leaning posture
• Long forearms
• Eats mainly plants and fruits
• No tools have been found

In 1979, during an expedition by Mary Leakey in Tanzania  Africa, more than 69 footprints were discovered from two individuals walking close together over 3.5 million years ago. The footprints showed they were not made by apes, because these animals had walked on two legs. They had walked! Humans were already walking back then.

In 1984, Donald Johanson discovered a skeleton in Ethiopia, Africa, over three million years old. “Let’s call her Lucy,” someone said, inspired by the song Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds by The Beatles that they were listening to that evening. And so, after more than three million years underground, Lucy became world famous. She belonged to the same species that had made the footprints in Tanzania, a walking ape, only partly human.

Lucy still shared many features with the common ancestor of humans and apes. Just look at her body structure. She was not fully human yet. Her species is the oldest known human species that walked on two legs. Lucy walked upright, but it wasn’t as easy for her as it is for us. She still climbed trees often. Her species existed for a long time, from about four to three million years ago.

• Brains much larger than Lucy’s (cranial capacity nearly 900 ml)
• Long, slender body
• Two legs
• Upright posture
• Short lower arms
• Diet: plants but mainly meat
• Used fire and made hand axes
• World traveler

Homo erectus was more human than Lucy. He could move more efficiently and think more clearly. His descendants spread far and wide. How do we know this? Fossils of the Homo erectus family have been found across Africa and also in Europe and Asia. The first skull and bones were discovered in distant Asia by Eugène Dubois.

Eugène Dubois (1858–1940) wanted to find the missing link between apes and humans. But where should he search? Not in the Netherlands there are no apes there. He went to the Dutch East Indies, where apes still lived. In 1891, along the banks of the Solo River in Java, he found a tooth and part of a skull and a year later a thigh bone. “The ape-man of Java is the missing link,” he announced. People around the world then searched for other traces of our ancestors. With each new fossil, it became clear that there is not a single missing link between apes and modern humans, but a long chain. Comparing Dubois’ 19th century find in Java with discoveries in Africa showed that he had not found an ape man, but a Homo erectus.

Richard Leakey, son of Mary Leakey, and Alan Walker searched for fossils near Lake Turkana in Kenya. In 1972, their team member Kamoya Kimeu discovered a piece of a skull. Later, they found more fragments. It turned out to be the skeleton of a boy who had lived about 1.5 million years ago. Human? Yes. Bigger brain than Lucy? Yes. As large as ours? Not quite. They called him Turkana Boy. His scientific name is Homo erectus the human who walks upright.

The name of this early human:

• Homo = human
• erectus = upright
  
  

• The Neanderthal had a larger brain than its ancestors (cranial capacity between 1200 and 1750 ml).
• Short and stocky body
• Long forearms.
• Ate mainly meat.
• Found shelter in simple structures and caves.
• Worked with fire and made hand axes.
• Buried its dead
• Speech unknown 
• Traveled primarily in Europe

A distant relative: the Neanderthal. They became extinct around 27,000 years ago. By that time, we modern humans were already here. Did we get along with them?

Like us, the Neanderthal descended from the offspring of Homo erectus.
Neanderthals lived in Europe and Asia Minor from about 220,000 until 27,000 years ago.
It was not an easy time to be human.
The climate was harsh, bitterly cold.
This was the age of the Ice Ages.
The Neanderthal body was remarkably well adapted to these demanding conditions.

From around 40,000 years ago, our species lived alongside Neanderthals.
For a long time, scientists believed we avoided one another. Recent DNA research, however shows that we did have sex.
Between one and four percent of the genetic material of people outside Africa today comes from the Neanderthal.

Neanderthals were physically stronger than we are, but we were are smarter.
That difference mattered.
Neanderthals tended to remain within the same regions,
while modern humans continued to push their boundaries.
We spread across the world.
Neanderthals disappeared around 27,000 years ago.

The scientific name of this human species is Homo neanderthalensis.

• Homo: human
• neanderthalensis: refers to the Neander Valley, where the first remains were discovered
  
  

• A large brain (cranial capacity between 1200 and 1600 ml)
• Tall, slender body
• Upright posture
• Short forearms
• Omnivorous diet
• Builds houses, creates tools and makes art
• Speech
• World traveler

Physically less powerful and more lightly built than its contemporary, Homo neanderthalensis, this human first lived in Africa. From there, it gradually spread to Europe and Asia  and eventually crossed the Bering land bridge into the Americas.
In Europe, modern humans encountered Neanderthals and lived alongside them for a relatively short period, until Neanderthals disappeared in a way we still do not fully understand.

This species survived by using its brain and by traveling.
From around 30,000 years ago, it stood alone.
It is a determined species. Whether its future will unfold as it hopes remains an open question.

The scientific name of this human species is Homo sapiens.

Homo: Human
Sapiens: Wise

Ape on two legs

Apes and us. The chimpanzee is an ape and in biological terms, so are we. Yet we seem very different. What do we share with chimpanzees? At first glance, very little. But if we look far back in time, our ancestors and theirs shared everything. Around six million years ago, we were barely distinguishable, not in appearance, not in number. Both lineages followed a long path of evolution. Chimpanzees continued moving on four limbs. Their hands developed differently. They think, eat and live differently from us. Yet we share the same starting point.

The Skilled Human

Human skill did not appear overnight. It took a very long time. Adaptation was essential. Our distant ancestors did not yet have the flexible thumb that allows us to grasp with precision. Their smaller brains also limited what they could do. True dexterity requires cooperation between body and brain. Over the course of evolution, the entire human body changed.

Thinker

Homo erectus was far more inventive than earlier apes. With a brain of around one litre, this ancestor had already taken an important step forward. It was enough to leave Africa and reach Europe and Asia. Gradually, skulls increased in size and with them, the capacity for thought.

Fire Maker

All animals are naturally afraid of fire. Humans are no exception. We will never know which ancestor first understood that fire could also be useful. Homo erectus used fire. We also know that Neanderthals handled fire skillfully, they needed to because; When they lived in Europe, the climate grew colder during the Ice Age. From about 40,000 years ago, modern humans and Neanderthals lived side by side in Europe. Neanderthals were physically stronger and even had larger brains. Yet around 27,000 years ago, they vanished. We remained. Something must have happened. But what?

Speaker

Although we look different from one another, our species stands alone today. Neanderthals and Homo erectus disappeared long ago. We survived thanks to the growth of our brains and the complex networks within them. Networks also matter between people. Family, friends, communities. We survive because we live together.
That is not always easy. Language helps. By making agreements and sharing knowledge we are stronger together than alone. Through language, we learn from the past and we shape the future.