In this article we will discuss about Human Evolution :- 1.Apes 2. Ape man 3. Primitive man and 4. Modern man
- Humans are evolved by gradual evolution
- Human originated in east Africa
- Human evolution started 15 mya
CHANGES OCCURRED IN HUMAN EVOLUTION
- Left the arboreal life
- Development of erect posture
- Bipedal locomotion
- Increase in the size of brain
- Development of intelligence
- Use of for limbs for on locomotory function
STAGES IN ORIGIN OF MAN
- Apes
- Ape man
- Primitive man
- Modern man
1. APES
- 15 mya, primates called dryopithecus and ramapithecus were existing
DRYOPITHECUS
- Fossils of dryopithecus discovered by LSB Leaky in 1930
- Dryopithecus is considered as ancestors of modern day apes
- They had semi erect posture, thick hair, larger and sharper teeth and vegetarian
- They were forest dwellers and spent most of time on trees
RAMAPITHECUS
- Fossils discovered from shivalik hills in India
- Rampithecus is considered as ancestors of man
- They had man like dentition & spent most of time on land
2. APE MAN
- This stage is intermediate between apes and men
- Australopithecus was an ape-man because it combined may characters of ape and man
- It is 2-5 million years old
AUSTRALOPITHECUS
- It was discovered by Prof. Raywond Dart
- Australopithecus probably lived in East African grasslands
- They hunted with stone weapons but essentially ate fruit
- They were 4 feet tall and weighed 60-80 pounds
- It is considered as missing link between apes and man
3. PRIMITIVE MAN
- Man originated about 5 mya
- They are connecting link between australopthecus and modern man
- Mostly lived in caves and used fire
- They developed speech and buried dead bodies
- Some important primitive men
i) HOMO HABILIS
- First human like being
- First known tool maker
- They did not eat meat
- Brain capacities were between 650-800cc
- Fossils were discovered by Dr. Leakey from rocks in Africa
ii) HOMO ERECTUS
- Homo erectus was the first true man
- They had large brain with cranial cavity around 900CC
- Many subspecies are discovered of Homo erectus as given below
a) JAVA MAN (HOMO ERECTUS ERECTUS)
- Fossils was discovered in Java in 1891
- They used fire for hunting, Protection and cooking
- They used tools of bones and stones
- Cranial capacity was 800-1000CC
b) PEAKING MAN (HOMO ERECTUS PEKINENSIS)
- W.C. Pei discovered the fossils from china
- Cranial capacity was 850-1300CC
4. MODERN MAN
- Modern man include all the existing men and also some extinct men
- They appeared 3 mya
- Modern man originated in Asia around Caspian sea
- Many subspecies are discovered of homo sapians
i) NEANDERTHAL MAN (HOMO SAPIENS NEANDERTHALENSIS)
- They lived east and central Asia
- Fossil was discovered by Fulhrott in Neanderthal valley of Germany
- They has brain size of 1400CC
- Developed speech
ii) CRO-MAGNON (HOMO SAPIENS FOSSILIS)
- Cro-Magnon man was first extinct modern man
- Fossils discovered by Mac Gregor from Cro-Magnon rocks of France
- He become extinct 20000 Years ago
- They had cranial capacity of 1650CC
- They wore clothes of animal skin
- Domestication was stared by this man
- They also painted beautiful painting on cave walls
iii) MODERN MAN (HOMO SAPIENS SAPIENS)
- Arose 75000-10000 years ago
- This is the man of today having brain capacity of 1300-1600CC
- This man has well developed chin, speech, smaller head and reduced body hair
- Agriculture was started around 10000 Years back and human settlements stared
