Human Evolution: an

overview

Dr Jeremy Pritchard
o Hominoid: Great apes and humans
o Hominid: Closer to us than gorillas and chimps
 You Cuz

Dad Mum Aunt Uncle

o Humans did not evolve from Apes

o You are descended from your mother and father
o You are related to your aunt and cousin
Common
ancestor
Contemporary
animals
 Contemporary
animals

Fossils
Organisms with common
features are likely to
have a more recent
common ancestor.
Locomotion
Brachiation:
o Grip
o Stereo vision
Humerus

Femur
1. Chimpanzee 2. Australopithecus africanus 3. Homo erectus 4. Homo sapiens
Brain size
Primate Characteristics/Trends

o Brains larger than other animals

 Brains larger than other animals in relation to body size

Log brain weight (g)

• Brains larger than other animals

Log body weight (g)

Information from the skeleton

• sex
• age
• stature
• race/species
• pathological conditions
• skeletal trauma
Trauma
Trauma
Trauma
Trauma
Proconsul
Sahelanthropus tchadensis
• close to the common ancestor of humans and
chimpanzees @ 7 million years
Australopithecus afarensis

Lucy, discovered in Ethiopia in 1974.

 Australopithecus africanus

Southern Ape of Africa

Don’t run before you can walk
Homo habilis (ca. 2.5-1.6 mya)
Homo erectus (1.6 mya-300 kya)
 2000

Homo neanderthal
Brain capacity (cm 3)

1500
Homo sapiens

Homo erectus
1000
Homo habilis

500
Australopithicus ramapithicus
africanus

0
0 2 4 6 8 10
Fossil age (MYA)
Skull radius (cm) Brian volume (cm3)
6 454
6.25 513
6.5 577
6.75 646
7 720
7.25 800
7.5 886
7.75 978
8 1075
8.25 1179
8.5 1290
8.75 1407
9 1531
9.25 1662
9.5 1800
9.75 1946
10 2100
10.25 2261
10.5 2431
10.75 2609
11 2795
11.25 2990
11.5 3194
Neanderthals (ca. 100-32 kya)
Neanderthals (ca. 100-32 kya)

o Restricted to Europe, eastern Middle East

during Ice Age
o Evolved to be cold-adapted:
– Short and stocky
– Large nose (for warming air)
– Barrel chest (for warming air)
– Long, low, thick skull but with
large Brain
Neanderthals are not our ancestors

Homo habilis

Homo erectus

Archaic Homo sapiens Homo sapiens neandertalensis

Homo sapiens sapiens

 NOT our ancestors….

Krings et al 1997 Neandertal DNA Sequences and the Origin of Modern Humans
Are we still evolving?
Microevolution: change in gene frequency - YES
Macro evolution : formation of species - NO
Are we still evolving?
• Some parts of Africa have seen an increase in the
frequency of a gene called CCR5-32
• Protects against infection with HIV-1.
• May have been selected for during bubonic plague
 Human Evolution - Chimps are our closest relative

25,000 genes 25, 000 genes