Development of homonins and humans
Australopithecus
walked on 2 legs, brain 1/3 size of modern man . is thought to be the last common ancestor to both humans and chimpanzees and lived 3.9-3 million years ago.
Homo sapiens
During a time of dramatic climate change 280,000 years ago, humans evolved in Africa. they gathered and hunted food, and evolved behaviors that helped them respond to the challenges of survival in unstable environments.
Homo erectus
Early fossil discoveries from Java (beginning in the 1890s) and China ('Peking Man', beginning in the 1920s) comprise the classic examples of this species. Generally considered to have been the first species to have expanded beyond Africa, Homo erectus is considered a highly variable species, spread over two continents (it's not certain whether it reached Europe), and possibly the longest lived early human species - about nine times as long as our own species, Homo sapiens, has been around!
Homo habilis
Nickname:"Handy Man"; thought by many to be the first toolmaker; Discovered by : Lewis and Mary Leake Where Lived: Eastern and Southern Africa When Lived: 2.4 million to 1.4 million years ago
Australopithecus
Nickname:"southern ape" aka: Lucy Discovered:November 30, 1974 Where Lived: Middle Awash of the Ethiopian Afar Depression When Lived: 3.9-3 million years ago
Homo sapiens
Nickname:(human) Where Lived: Evolved in Africa, now worldwide When Lived: About 280,000 years ago to present
Homo erectus
Nickname:Homo ergaster Discovered:'Turkana Boy' - a well-preserved skeleton (though minus almost all the hand and foot bones), dated around 1.6 million years old. Where Lived: Northern, Eastern, and Southern Africa; Western Asia (Dmanisi, Republic of Georgia); East Asia (China and Indonesia) When Lived: Between about 1.89 million -143,000 years ago .
Homo sapiens
anatomically, modern humans can generally be characterized by the lighter build of their skeletons compared to earlier humans. Modern humans have very large brains, the average size is approximately 1300 cubic centimeters. Housing this big brain involved the reorganization of the skull "modern" -- a thin-walled, high vaulted skull with a flat and near vertical forehead. Modern human faces also show less heavy brow ridges . Our jaws are also less heavily developed, with smaller teeth. Scientists sometimes use the term "anatomically modern Homo sapiens" to refer to members of our own species who lived during prehistoric times.
Homo habilis
has a slightly larger braincase and smaller face and teeth than in Australopithecus or older hominin species. But it still retains some ape-like features, including long arms and a moderately-prognathic face. Its name, which means 'handy man', was given in 1964 because this species was thought to represent the first stone-tool maker. Currently, the oldest stone tools are dated slightly older than the oldest evidence of the genus Homo.
Homo erectus
oldest known early humans to have possessed modern human-like body proportions with relatively elongated legs and shorter arms compared to the size of the torso. These features are considered adaptations to a life lived on the ground, indicating the loss of earlier tree-climbing adaptations, with the ability to walk and possibly run long distances. There is fossil evidence that this species cared for old and weak individuals. the fossil record is often associated with the earliest handaxes, the first major innovation in stone tool technology.
