week 4 - evolution of humans

Question 1

Homo habilis

Answer 1

~650cc

East African (possibly Southern Africa)

2.8 to 1.65 Mya (million years ago)

Published 1964

2.8 to 1.65 Mya
Eastern African (possibly Southern Africa)
Brain: ~650 cc
First published: 1964
- Oldest species that made tools ‘handy man’
number of H. habilis skulls discovered in Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania (OH or Olduvai Hominin) and Koobi Fora in Kenya (KNM-ER or Kenya National Museums - East Rudolph)
it is not easy to confidently link other remains with the cranium.

Question 2

Homo rudolfensis

Answer 2

~775 cc
Koobi Fora, Kenya and possibly elsewhere in Eastern Africa
2.1 to 1.78 Mya
Published 1986

Still a controversial species
Remains ascribed to it have been named as either H. habilis or as belonging to the earlier and overlapping Australopithecus genus.
The skulls have a relatively large (for the time) cranium, with a long and wide flat face and large teeth despite not having large jaw muscles.

Question 3

Homo erectus

Answer 3

970 cc
Africa and Eurasia
2 Mya (South Africa) to 108 Kya (Java, Indonesia)
Discovered 1891

Homo erectus as a species was incredibly successful, both long lived in geological time, and wide ranging.
1984 a 40% complete skeleton of an eight year old boy was found in Kenya, ‘Turkana Boy’.
* This specimen (KNM-WT 15000), despite the age, has helped researchers understand the species, however nobody knows what caused his early death.
* He did have spine disease, but it is not clear if this was a contributing factor. As this species grew into adulthood earlier than modern humans, standing at 1.6 m, he was not far off his adult height.
* You can see his skull below. Some researchers seperate out African Homo erectus, including Turkana Boy, into a different species ‘Homo ergaster’, however as more fossils are found, there is no evidence for this separation.

Question 4

Homo naledi

Answer 4

~660 cc
Rising Star Cave Complex, South Africa
~335 to 235 Kya
Discovered 2013

a recent discovery, currently known from only two caves within the same complex, there are over 1500 human fossils from at least 15 individuals (Berger et al 2015), including both male and female, and young and old
mosaic (mix) of primitive and modern features. It’s possible ancestor is Homo erectus and it is likely this species became extinct with no descendants.

Question 5

Homo floresiensis

Answer 5

~400 cc
Flores, Indonesia
100 to 50 kya
Discovered 2003

This small hominid species, females were approximately 1.06 m in height, has confused researchers. Initial suggestions that height was caused by genetic pathology have largely been discounted, and instead it is thought that these are an example of island dwarfism. Their likely ancestor is Homo erectus, although this is still debated and it likely became extinct with no descendants.

Question 6

Homo luzonensis

Answer 6

Callao Cave, Philippines
67 Kya
Discovered: 2007 and described in 2019

Initially this species was known from a single third metatarsal, but more recently 12 more remains have been found from at least three individuals (Détroit et al, 2019 - see paper for additional information on image). Similarly to H. floresiensis, this species was likely short in stature, and had a mosaic of ancestral and modern features. With current knowledge, it’s ancestor was most likely Homo erectus, and as with the above species, is not likely to have descendants.

Question 7

Homo antecessor (or early H. heidelbergensis)

Answer 7

N/A
Gran Dolina, Atapuerca, Spain
1.2 Mya to 800 Kya
Discovered: 1991

Question 8

Homo heidelbergensis

Answer 8

~1200 cc
Europe, possibly Asia (including China) and Africa (Eastern and Southern)
700 to 200 Kya
First discovered: 1908

Question 9

Homo neanderthalensis

Answer 9

~1600 cc
Europe and Southwestern to Central Asia 400 to 40 Kya
Discovered: 1829

Question 10

Denisovans

Answer 10

Russia, China
~41 Kya
Discovered: 2010

Question 11

Homo sapiens

Answer 11

~1200 cc
Found almost everywhere
300 Kya to ……..