Mrs. P's Science

Hominids and Early Man

Lucy : A very famous hominid found in Ethiopia in 1971. Lucy lived some 3 million years ago. When Lucy was alive, there were no humans on Earth as yet. But there were lots of other Hominids around!

Tools For Studying Hominids

History of Hominids

Hominids and Early Man

Click on pictures to enlarge

Humans developed from hominids (pre-human creatures similar to apes).

Hominids have lived on earth for millions of years.
But modern man, Homo Sapiens Sapiens, has only been around for about 150,000 years.

How do we know?

1) Scientists, called archeologists, learn about hominids by studying fossils. Fossils are bones of once living creatures that were turned into rock and buried deep in the earth.

2) In the case of later hominids and early human beings, scientists, called Anthropologists, also study the tools and implements found in the areas near the fossils, to learn more about these ancestors of modern humans

An interesting way to explore the message in the fossils is by comparing the jaw of a modern gorilla, a pre-human hominid jaw, and a modern jaw.

Notice that gorilla teeth are much larger than human teeth. By studying fossils, we learn that hominids had a jaw similar in modern man, but very different from the jaw of a modern gorilla.

The ancestors of the gorilla continued to eat a forest diet. The hominids began to develope smaller teeth as they began to walk on two feet. As the hominids began to use tools, they began to eat meat.

Studying the fossils tells us that the first difference between apes and humanids was that that humanids could walk upright on two feet. From parents to children, as the humanids became better walkers, their jaws changed and their teeth got smaller.

Fossils of hominids back more than four million years show that homanids walked and ran on two feet.

Standing on two feet also allows a body to lose excess heat from the sun faster.

Ardipithecus

The oldest known humonid species is Ardipithecus.
Ardipithecus Ramidus: A recreation by scientists and artists.
Ardi and his family lived more than 4 million years ago.
Ardi could swing through the trees, but he could also walk upright.
Ardi may have been a loving and faithful husband.

Australopithecus

Next ancestors of early human beings are the Australopithecus. These hominids lived on earth from 3.5 to 1.5 million years ago.

Homo Species Emerges

Homo Ergaster

Homo Habilis

Homo Erectus

Homo Sapiens Archaic

Homo Sapiens Neanderthalis - Neanderthal Man

Homo Sapiens Cro-Magnon

Kennewick Man

Homo Habilis lived on earth from 2.5 to 1.5 million years ago.

Homo Erectus lived on earth from almost 2 million years until 500,000 years ago. There were still Homo Habilis around when Homo Erectus began to appear. Homo Erectus had a much larger brain than Homo Habilis, and smaller teeth.

Homo Sapiens Archaic lived from 500,000 to 200,000 years ago.
He had a larger brain than Homo Erectus.

Homo Sapiens Neanderthalonsis seemsa to have developed from the Homo Erectus in Europe and the Middle East.
Neanderthal Man was much larger and stronger than Homo Sapiens Archaic.
Neanderthal Man had a larger brain, a large nose, and a receding forehead.

Homo Sapiens Cro-Magnon emerged about 120,000 years ago.
Cro-Magnon Man spread out around the world. He was tribal, clever, and made interesting uses of his environment. He developed increasingly complex civilizations.

Kennewick Man Found on the bank of the Columbia River near Kennewick, Washington.
He lived between 5,000 and 9,500 years ago.

Hominid Links

Mastery Maze Podcast: Early Man - Podcast audio-reviews

Archeology Tools for Kids http://www.ehow.com/list_6715862_archaeology-tool s-kids.html

Dr Toy: Toy History Timeline http://www.drtoy.com/toy_history/toy_history_timeline.html

Prehistoric Toys Time Line http://www.toystimeline.com/prehistoric/prehistoric-toys/

Indus Valley Civilization Toys http://web.me.com/kbolman/The_Indus_Valley/Toys_from_the_Indus_Valley.html

Human Science http://www.educationalsynthesis.org/science/index-Human.html

African Creation Stories http://www.crystalinks.com/africacreation.html

Recent Developments in Anthropaleology: http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/homs/recent.html#mille

Institute For The Science of Origins;Case Western Reserve Universiy http://www.case.edu/origins/index.html

Potassium-Argon Dating of Mineral Deposits around Fossils
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%E2%80%93Ar_dating

Timeline for Evolution on Earth
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_evolution

Human Evolution:
http://www.onelife.com/evolve/manev.html

Fossil Hominids: The Evidence for Human Evolution
http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/homs/%20

Answers in Genesis
God and Evolution

Hominid Evolution http://fhs-bio-wiki.pbworks.com/w/page/24003004/Hominid-evolution

Hominid Species http://www.corante.com/loom/archives/026745.html

Fossil Species: http://www.snowcrest.net/goehring/a2/primates/fossils.htm#specie

Hominid Species: http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/homs/species.html

A Catalog of Hominid Species: http://www.cartage.org.lb/en/themes/Sciences/Paleontology/Paleozoology/FossilHominids/Humankind/Humankind.htm

Hominid Timeline: http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/homs/species.html#timeline

Prominant Hominid Fossils: http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/homs/specimen.html#er1470

What did early hominids eat? http://cas.bellarmine.edu/tietjen/images/did_early_african_hominids_eat_m.htm

Diet of early hominids: http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Paleoanthropology_Hominids_Early_Behavior

The scientific controversy of Indonesian Hobbits: http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/homs/flores.html

Island of the Lost Hominids: http://www.corante.com/loom/archives/026745.html

History of Homo Sapiens: http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ab12

Smithsonian: Homo Sapiens: http://anthropology.si.edu/humanorigins/ha/sap.htm

Links for Neanderthal Man

Smithsonian: Homo Neanderthal http://anthropology.si.edu/humanorigins/ha/neand.htm

What did hominids look like: Neanderthal: http://www.crystalinks.com/earlyhumanoids.html

Changing Picture of Neanderthal Man http://www.answersingenesis.org/docs2003/0217neandertal.asp

Links for Cro-Magnon Man

Cro-Magnon Man and Elephants http://www.elephant.se/cro-magnon.php?open=Man%20and%20elephants

InfoPlease: Cro-Magnon Man http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/society/A0814089.html

CSI Stone Age: Did Humans kill Neaderthals? http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1912195,00.html

Cro-Magnon and Neaderthal Man interbred http://www.hiddenmysteries.org/themagazine/vol7/news/neodna.shtml

Books about Hominids, Fossils, and Early Man

Page created November 19, 2007. Anne Pemberton. Updated Sun, Jan 29, 2012. AP.