Hominids are humans and their bipedal relatives; hominid evolution has taken many years of looking for fossils to discover the modern humans past. There has been many scientific research and development done in order to find more about the modern human’s ancestors. Hominid evolution is a lengthy process of change occurring for millions of years. Modern humans, also known as Homo sapiens, are the only surviving species of the genus Homo. Three important ancestors that share close relationships and characteristics with Homo sapiens are Homo habilis, Homo erectus, and Homo Neanderthalensis. To begin, Homo habilis is the first member of the genus Homo. During the time of Homo erectus, the species began to exhibit more similar features to humans
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This species is more closely related to humans because their arms got thinner, legs got longer, and brains became larger. Researchers were able to figure this out after finding Turkana Boy; a complete skeleton of Homo erectus. Turkana Boy was very important because scientists were able to find out more specific characteristics of Homo erectus. Another major similarity to humans, is this is approximately the point where hominids became hairless. This was indicated because they began keeping cool by sweating. This was an advantage to persistence hunting because it would not give the animals with hair or fur a chance to slow down. Being hairless was definitely an advantage because they could catch more food faster and eat more calories; supporting their bigger brain. By looking at brain endocasts, scientists saw that because of the early hominids large brain, Homo erectus were able to talk. Also, hominids began cooking with fire. This allowed them to share and communicate which helped develop social relationships. During the time of the Homo sapiens, a fossil called the Hobbit indicated that the genus Homo may have not all evolved in Africa. The species may have left Africa without even realizing it because of a climate change that spread grasslands into Asia. Larger brains were an important process of coming closer to the evolution of human evolution. As time went on, the brains began larger and more similar to …show more content…
Each of these are important because they each exhibit a newly discovered trait that is similar to modern day humans. Homo habilis are the first genus Homo and are only the beginning of Hominids. After the expansion in brain size, Homo erectus began exhibiting thinner arms, longer legs, and larger brains. Homo erectus’ share also the first Homo species to become hairless and develop social skills. Also, this is where the Out-of-Africa theory came into place. Neanderthals came after Homo erectus and began developing even more like modern humans because they coexisted with Homo sapiens. Neanderthals supported the Out-of-Africa theory because more Europeans and Asians contained Neanderthal DNA than those of African descent. In conclusion, Hominid evolution was a long journey but it would not exist without the three major Homo species; Homo habilis, Homo erectus, and
This species is more closely related to humans because their arms got thinner, legs got longer, and brains became larger. Researchers were able to figure this out after finding Turkana Boy; a complete skeleton of Homo erectus. Turkana Boy was very important because scientists were able to find out more specific characteristics of Homo erectus. Another major similarity to humans, is this is approximately the point where hominids became hairless. This was indicated because they began keeping cool by sweating. This was an advantage to persistence hunting because it would not give the animals with hair or fur a chance to slow down. Being hairless was definitely an advantage because they could catch more food faster and eat more calories; supporting their bigger brain. By looking at brain endocasts, scientists saw that because of the early hominids large brain, Homo erectus were able to talk. Also, hominids began cooking with fire. This allowed them to share and communicate which helped develop social relationships. During the time of the Homo sapiens, a fossil called the Hobbit indicated that the genus Homo may have not all evolved in Africa. The species may have left Africa without even realizing it because of a climate change that spread grasslands into Asia. Larger brains were an important process of coming closer to the evolution of human evolution. As time went on, the brains began larger and more similar to …show more content…
Each of these are important because they each exhibit a newly discovered trait that is similar to modern day humans. Homo habilis are the first genus Homo and are only the beginning of Hominids. After the expansion in brain size, Homo erectus began exhibiting thinner arms, longer legs, and larger brains. Homo erectus’ share also the first Homo species to become hairless and develop social skills. Also, this is where the Out-of-Africa theory came into place. Neanderthals came after Homo erectus and began developing even more like modern humans because they coexisted with Homo sapiens. Neanderthals supported the Out-of-Africa theory because more Europeans and Asians contained Neanderthal DNA than those of African descent. In conclusion, Hominid evolution was a long journey but it would not exist without the three major Homo species; Homo habilis, Homo erectus, and