Chapter II: Human Revolution
survival, as in the case of finches inhabiting the
Introduction
Knowledge of human evolution is needed to
understand the behavior of humans, their culture and
society.
Theories of Evolution
Curvier Theory of Catastrophes - This theory
assumes that the different parts of the world are
often visited by catastrophes, and these
catastrophes cause mass extinction of various types
of organisms living in these parts of the world. After
each catastrophe, the area is repopulated by
another group of organisms living in the nearby
territory that were not affected by the catastrophe.
These events explain why different earth strata show
different kinds of new organisms that are more
modern in form compared to the other organisms
found in the previous layer.
The Lamarck Theory of Evolution - Hypothesized
that the environment causes change in the
organisms characteristics as from of adjustment to
insure survival. The adjustment can require the use
or disuse of certain body parts of the organism. Parts
that are not used may atrophy and soon disappear,
while parts that are always used become more
developed; these acquired characteristics are passed
on to the offspring over time.
Darwins Theory of Natural Selection and
Adaptation (1859) - posits that the population of
species tends to increase geometrically but the
environmental resources are limited to the demands
of the growing population. Various organisms adapt
different strategies to survive, but only a certain
group of species can survive and reproduce each
generation. Those organisms that make better
adaptations are considered the fittest and can have
more offspring that can reach adulthood to pass
their characteristics to the next generation. The
organisms that are unable to adjust to their specific
environment are doomed to extinction.
Evidence to Support the Theory of Evolution
Fossil Evidence - Studies show that the more recent
the fossils are, the most likely will they resemble the
living organism, and the older the fossils are, the less
likely they will resemble the living form. Fossils of
the australopithecine show the transition between
ape and human, while the fossils of the
pithecanthropus bear remarkable similarity to the
living modern humans, pointing to common ancestry
and presenting explanations for extinctions and
replacement of one group of species with another.
Biogeographical Evidence - Biogeographical studies
show that the distribution of plants and animals
throughout the world supports the hypotheses that
related forms of organisms evolved in the same
locality and that the diversification of species was
caused by differences in environmental demands for
Galapagos island.
Anatomical Evidence - Anatomical studies of
different animals support the hypothesis that
organisms that have similar anatomical structures
evolved from the same ancestry like the humans and
the apes; while organisms like fish and dolphin that
have analogous structure evolved from different
ancestral lines but have similar environments.
Embryological Evidence - Comparative studies of
different embryos support the support the
hypothesis that similarity in the embryos can mean
that they evolved from the same ancestry.
Biochemical Evidence - Biochemical molecular
studies support the hypothesis that animals with
common ancestry have the same biochemical
molecules in DNA and ATP. Miller and Harley surmise
that these molecules can provide direct evidence of
changes in genes, the causes of genetic variation and
molecular processes that influences evolution.
Types of Evolution
Microevolution - It is a short-term evolution within
species and it occurs when there is mutation, gene
flow, non-random mating, genetic drift and natural
selection.
Mutation - is the sudden and abrupt change of the
genotypes of the organism because of radiation and
exposure to certain chemicals.
Gene flow - is the migration of genes from one
breeding population to the other and can give rise to
variations within a population by introducing new
genes that are produced by mutation in another
population.
Non-random mating - is the selective mating based
on certain criteria of similarities in physical or
genetic or cultural characteristics. mating with
persons of the same bloodlines or similar genetic
trains increases the probability that the recessive
lethal genes will be expressed.
Genetic drift - is the loss or change of alleles (paired
genes) frequency of a gene pool (total of all the
genes in a population) due to chance fluctuation.
Natural Selection - is the process of transforming the
characteristics of the organisms for better fitness
and adaptability. Adaptable organisms have control
over the scarce resources and are therefore capable
of reproducing their own kind.
Macroevolution - is a large-scale evolution that
develops new species over a long period. It can occur
through extrapolation of the micro evolutionary
process and by the critical genes that regulate the
growth of animals in their embryonic stage.
The Human Evolution
Primates - are arboreal living mammals that are
omnivorous, capable of eating all kinds of food like
insects, small animals, fruits, seeds and plants.
Prosimians -are small mammals that have the
characteristics of ground and arboreal dwelling
animals.
Anthropoids - are small mammals that live in trees
or on the ground, and they are diurnal (active
during the day) primates. They have rounded skulls
that contain a large brain, relative to their body size,
and a large cortex that indicates higher intelligence.
New world monkeys - are platyrrhine monkeys that
live in trees and eat fruits and insects.
Old world monkeys - are catarrhine primates that
live in trees or on land. They have protruding narrow
downward pointed noses, cheeks with pouches and
relatively fixed and sturdy shoulders, elbows and
wrist joints.
Hominoids - are the biggest among the primates.
They have complex brains, enhanced cognitive
abilities, a long gestation period, long dependency
period and long-life span. They have big body size,
short trunk, and broad chest; they have dorsally
placed shoulder blades, mobile shoulders, elbows
and wrists and are tailless. They have flat and
rounded molars.
Apes - apes how structural characteristics that are
similar to humans, like the configuration and the size
of the brain, skill, skeleton, dentition, and absence of
tail and the orthograde posture of the trunk. Apes
exhibit many physiological processes similar to that
of humans, like the chemical reaction of their blood,
pattern of growth and the structural details of their
tissues.
Gibbon - are the smallest living apes with an average
weight of 11 kg. Gibbons have long arms with
permanently curved fingers, short thumb and
powerful shoulder muscles that allow them to swing
between trees. They live in forested areas of
Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand
Orangutans - are like bulky solitary apes with an
average of 75 kg. living in the forests of Borneo and
Sumatra.
Gorillas- are the largest and strongest apes. The DNA
of gorillas is highly similar to that of humans, from
9599% depending on what is counted, and they are
the next closest living relatives to humans after the
chimpanzees and bonobos. Experiments show that
the gorillas have intelligence that can make them
comprehend a large vocabulary and exhibit a sense
of humor.
Chimpanzee - They are the closest relatives of
humans and they are 99.6% genetically similar
which, according to some scientists, can place them
within the range of sibling species or taxonomically
the same genus. Experiments with captive
chimpanzees show that they can be trained to do
complex tasks like construction short sentences or
solving simple problems. They can express emotions
by hugging, kissing, crying, and sobbing aloud when
sad, and by jumping up and down when happy.
The Hominids (Humans)
The Hominids are composed of modern
humans and their ancestors. They are different from
the apes quantitatively rather than qualitatively.
They possesses power and precision grips that allow
them to manipulate and manufacture tools. Unlike
their nearest relative, the chimpanzees, humans are
the only animals who depend on learned and
culturally patterned behavior. They are habitual tool
users, communicate in symbolic language and
depend on division of labor in food-getting and food-
sharing in adulthood.
The Ape Men
Australopithecines were the first hominids that
evolved in Africa 2.8 million years ago during the
Pliocene and early Pleistocene periods. They have
brain cases of 430 to 550 cm3. The smallest among
the hominids. They had joint crest in the back
apelike skull broad faces and massive apelike teeth
and jaws. They had large body sizes and walked
upright.
2 types of Australopithecines
Robustus - exhibited sexual dimorphism with the
males. They had brain size of 500 cm3 and by
inference, limited cognitive ability and tool making
capacities. They had huge molars, massive jaws, and
powerful muscles to move their jaws. They were
vegetarian, specialized in eating a hard food diet
composed of seeds, nuts and barks.
Africanus - this species were the gracile, small
bodied and carnivorous australopithecines. They
used boon tools for hunting small mammals in the
open savannah
The Early Homo
Homo Habilis - evolved 1.7 to 2 million years ago.
Their average cranial capacity was 700cc. The limbs
and trunks indicated that they had an upright
posture. They used crude tools like flakes of stones
and rocks for butchering animals. They lived in
several habitats but were better adapted to tropical
grasslands.
Homo Erectus - species lived 1.6 million years ago in
Northern and East Africa in the Olduvai Gorge in
Tanzania and Lake Turkana in Kenya. They lived in
open grassland with trees, mostly along the rivers ti
hunt animals. They used Oldowan stone tools for
slicing and cutting hides and meat of animals, and
for sharpening sticks.
 Peeking man species - inhabited the world 1.4
million years ago. They had skills that were keeled by
a sagittal ridge-way. They had projecting faces and
had shoveled incisors and molars that contained
pulped cavities. They were big game hunters, using
stone, bone, horn tools and fire for hunting. They
also used fire for cooking and for driving away
predators. They practiced religious and cannibalistic
rituals.

The Homo Sapiens

Homo Neanderthals - dwelled in caves and rock
shelters in Western Europe 40,000 years ago. Their
brain cases were long and flattened. They used
Mousterian tool assemblages composed of side
scrapers with notches, points and saw toothed
denticulate for hunting large animals. They buried
the dead and performed funeral rituals.
Cro-Magnon - lived in Western Europe 35,000 years
ago, their brain cases and cranial capacity 1,300 cc
were similar to those of modern humans. They
manufactured Augrignacian tools that included
spears, stone flakes fitted to wooden handles. They
were artists who pated caves, curved human figures
and animals, and fashioned flutes from bones.
Homo Sapien Sapiens (Modern humans) - The
modern humans are of many types of population
that differ in terms of phenotypic and genotypic
characteristics. They are classified according to skin
color, shape of the face, nose, height and other
attributes. They are grouped into racial stocks, such
as Negroid (Black race), Caucasoid (White Race) and
Mongoloids (Yellow Race)
Negroid - is the relating to the division of
humankind represented by the indigenous peoples
of central and southern Africa.
Caucasoid - denoting, relating to, or belonging to the
lighter-complexioned supposed racial group of
mankind, which includes the peoples indigenous to
Europe, N Africa, SW Asia, and the Indian
subcontinent and their descendants in other parts of
the world.
Mongoloids - a person belonging to the division of
humankind including the indigenous peoples of
eastern Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Arctic region of
North America