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

1000 Homo erectus

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

H om o habilis

H om o erectus

A rchaic H om o sapiens H om o sapiens neandertalensis

H om o 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