Human Evolution Lecture: An Overview (UB)

Human Evolution Lecture University of Bermingham

1. Dr Jeremy Pritchard
Human Evolution: an
overview

6. oHominoid: Great apes and humans
oHominid: Closer to us than gorillas and chimps

7. oHumans did not evolve from Apes
oYou are descended from your mother and father
oYou are related to your aunt and cousin
Dad Mum Aunt Uncle
You Cuz

8. Common
ancestor

9. Contemporary
animals

10. Contemporary
animals
Fossil
s

11. Organisms with
common features are
likely to have a more
recent common
ancestor.

13. Locomotion

14. Brachiation:
oGrip
oStereo vision

18. Humerus
Femur

20. 1. Chimpanzee 2. Australopithecus africanus 3. Homo erectus 4. Homo sapiens

21. Brain size

22. Primate Characteristics/Trends
o Brains larger than other animals

23. Log body weight (g)
Log brain weight (g)
• Brains larger than other animals
Brains larger than other animals in relation to body size

25. •sex
•age
•stature
•race/species
•pathological conditions
•skeletal trauma
Information from the skeleton

27. Trauma

28. Trauma

29. Trauma

30. Trauma

32. Proconsul

33. Sahelanthropus tchadensis
•close to the common ancestor of humans and
chimpanzees @ 7 million years

35. Australopithecus afarensis
Lucy, discovered in Ethiopia in 1974.

36. Australopithecus africanus
Southern Ape of Africa

38. Don’t run before you can walk

40. Homo habilis (ca. 2.5-1.6 mya)

42. Homo erectus (1.6 mya-300 kya)

43. 0
500
1000
1500
2000
0 2 4 6 8 10
Fossil age (MYA)
B
r
a
i
n

c
a
p
a
c
i
t
y

(
c
m
3
)
Homo neanderthal
Homo erectus
Homo sapiens
ramapithicusAustralopithicus
africanus
Homo habilis

45. 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

47. Neanderthals (ca. 100-32 kya)

50. Neanderthals (ca. 100-32 kya)
oRestricted to Europe, eastern Middle
East during Ice Age
oEvolved 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

51. Neanderthals are not our ancestors
Hom o sapiens sapiens
Archaic Hom o sapiens Hom o sapiens neandertalensis
Hom o erectus
H om o habilis

52. Krings et al 1997 Neandertal DNA Sequences and the Origin of Modern Humans
NOT our ancestors….

53. Are we still evolving?
Microevolution: change in gene frequency - YES
Macro evolution : formation of species - NO

54. 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

56. 25,000 genes 25, 000 genes
Human Evolution - Chimps are our closest relative