Human Evolution

Ice Ages Effects on Human Evolution

Constant climatic changes played an important role for the evolution of Human beings.
World’s climate was warmer and homogeneous for most of geological time but for the first
time glacial cooling occurred about 35 million years ago and then 3.2 million years ago when
it appeared in northern latitudes. And then 2.5 million years ago when man appeared on this
earth, glaciations intensified and constantly climatic changes had been occurred. During each
ice age, the average temperature around the world has dropped dramatically. While the middle
latitude near the equator stay warm, the higher latitudes both in the north and in the south get
very cold, making life in these regions more difficult.

During these periods, massive glaciers form which can cover thousands of square miles. As
ice sheets spread across the landscape they freeze out plants and animals. As more and more
water freezes, the sea level decreases by as much as 300 feet (91m). As sea levels drop, land
bridges appear between continents and islands.

Cooler temperatures forced change on early hominids. They either had to adapt to their new
environments, migrate, or die. Land bridges allowed hominids to migrate to new lands such as
in America, Japan, Malaysia, and Australia.

Early Human Evolution

The early human beings who appeared on this earth called Hominids. Modern humans and
chimpanzees evolved from a common hominoid ancestor that diverged about 6 million years
ago.

Hominids

1
Human-like animals that walked upright were known as hominids. It is believed that the
earliest hominids lived around 4.4 million years ago in the humid forests of eastern and
southern Africa. Hominids were also called Australopithecus. They lived Primarily in East
Africa 3.9 to 3.0 Million years ago.

Physical Appearance
 Brain is 1/3 the size of modern human’s, but larger than an ape’s brain.
 jutting chin, prominent (sticking out) brow, flared cheekbones
 Ape-shaped heads
 Long arms slightly longer than the arms of modern man, human-like legs
 Under 4 Feet Tall
Capabilities and Skills
 Bipedal-Walked on two feet
 Maybe lived in small groups
 Possibly used simple tools like digging sticks
 Ate easily chewed foods-insects, eggs, fruit
 Lacked a spoken language
 Scavengers of meat from predators kills
 Chasing away the animals and seizing their limbs or other body parts
 Hunting down small animals.
Homo Hibilis
Homo Hibilis lived only in Africa 1.9 to 1.5 Million Years ago. Homo Hibilis was the earliest
tool-making Hominid that’s why they were called Homo Hibilis.
Physical Appearance
 Graceful and fairly human looking Face similar to Australopithecus, but larger brain
size, smaller back teeth and taller forehead.
 Upper and lower arms bones were of almost equal in length.
 More powerful and curved hands than that of modern man.
 4 feet 3 inches tall and weighed around 80 pounds

2
Capabilities and Skills
 Earliest one to make tools from bones and stones used to chop and cut meat, bones,
wood, and grass.
 Scavengers for meat
 Hunters and plant food searchers.
 No evidence of a spoken language
 Lived together with a few people
 Lived a highly movable life and traveled over a large territory in search of meat and
plant food such as fruit, seeds and tubers.
Homo Erectus
Homo Erectus lived in Africa, Asia, and Europe around 1.8 Million to 200,000 years ago.
They migrated and settled in south Asia, Near East and Europe.

Physical Appearance
 Large Brain with the brain capacity of 775 to1300 cc, their vision was excellent and
probably were capable of extensive thought.
 Skulls were more rounded than those of earlier hominids and they had Smooth and
round forehead, single brow ridge, large back teeth
 Tall, thin, barrel-chested. (Large rounded chest).
 Upright position
 Having Dark skin
Capabilities and Skills
 Made flint axes
 They used many types of hand axes and cleavers with sharp edges and points. They
used these axes for slaughtering, digging up roots, woodworking and fashioning fire-
hardened spears.
 Bands relied on wooden tools and bamboo artifacts.

3
  They cooperated with each other in Band and the secret of individual success was
group success.
 Tamed fire and used it to cook food, to move or camp in open country or in caves to
protect themselves from dangerous animals and to protect themselves from cold
weather.
 Lived in huts made up of tree branches.
 They not only hunted animals by scavenging but also by wounding them by spears
 Hunters and plant food searchers in a more effective way than those of their
predecessors.
 They stored food.
 Enhanced language skills and more advanced technology.
The Neanderthals
230,000 to 30,000 years ago lived in Europe, Western Asia, and the Near East.
Physical Appearance
 Brain larger than their ancestors.
 prominence at back of skull, bony forehead, jutting face, heavy jaw
 Stocky and short-limbed bodies
 Thick, heavy bones and powerful muscles
 Standing about 5 feet high
Capabilities and Skills
 Tools in the form of flint knives, points, blades
 They were expert searchers and Hunters who were not afraid to hunt large animals in
bands and having excellent proficiency to through spear in the heart of prey.
 Cared for sick, old and wounded
 They were the first who buried their dead and probably believed in the life after death.
 Group tombs are also known but Single burials were common usually accompanied
by few stone tools and meat in grave.
 Built teepee-like (tent) shelters and stored food.
 Possessed a simple language

4
Homo sapiens Sapiens
Homo Sapiens Sapiens means Wise Person lived over time all over the world around 150,000
to 100,000 years ago.
Physical Appearance
 Large Brain
 High, rounded skull, small teeth, steep forehead, receded brow ridge, prominent chin
and Slender Bones
Capabilities and Skills
 They made more than 100 tools for engraving, sculpting, sewing, and hunting.
 Lived in social groups
 Semi-permanent huts of stone, wood, animal hides
 Created art in caves
 Ability to speak fluently, to pass on knowledge, self-awareness, foresight and ability
to express ones emotions.
Paleolithic Age (2.5 million years ago)

Hominids

Human-like animals that walked upright were known as hominids. It is believed that the
earliest hominids lived around 4.4 million years ago in the humid forests of eastern and
southern Africa. Hominids were also called Australopithecus. They lived Primarily in East
Africa 3.9 to 3.0 Million years ago.

 His first need was food.

o Gatherer
o Nomadic
 His second need was shelter

5
  To protect themselves
o from wild animals
o From cold weather
Solution
o He started living in caves.
o He used sticks and stones against the animals.
o Gradually he learnt the use of stone in effective way.
o He used pebbles and flint stone__ rubbing the stones and bones as well.
 Sharp stones incidentally killed a small animal.
 Man used his meat and his skin.
 Hunter (He became a hunter)
 These people used symbolic language.
Homo Hibilis
Homo Hibilis lived only in Africa 1.9 to 1.5 Million Years ago. Homo Hibilis were the
earliest tool-making Hominid that’s why they were called Homo Hibilis.
Physical Appearance
 Graceful and fairly human looking Face similar to Australopithecus, but larger brain
size, smaller back teeth and taller forehead.
 Upper and lower arms bones were of almost equal in length.
 More powerful and curved hands than that of modern man.
 4 feet 3 inches tall and weighed around 80 pounds
Capabilities and Skills
 Earliest one to make tools from bones and stones used to chop and cut meat, bones,
wood, and grass.
 Scavengers for meat
 Hunters and plant food searchers.
 No evidence of a spoken language
 Lived together with a few people

6
  Lived a highly movable life and traveled over a large territory in search of meat and
plant food such as fruit, seeds and tubers.(Nomadic)

Homo Erectus
Homo Erectus lived in Africa, Asia, and Europe around 1.8 Million to 200,000 years ago.
They migrated and settled in south Asia, Near East and Europe.

Physical Appearance
 Large Brain with the brain capacity of 775 to1300 cc, their vision was excellent and
probably were capable of extensive thought.
 Skulls were more rounded than those of earlier hominids and they had Smooth and
round forehead, single brow ridge, large back teeth
 Tall, thin, barrel-chested. (Large rounded chest).
 Upright position
 Having Dark skin
Capabilities and Skills
 Made flint axes
 They used many types of hand axes and cleavers with sharp edges and points. They
used these axes for slaughtering, digging up roots, woodworking and fashioning fire-
hardened spears.
 Bands relied on wooden tools and bamboo artifacts.
 They cooperated with each other in Band and the secret of individual success was
group success.
 Tamed fire and used it to cook food, to move or camp in open country or in caves to
protect themselves from dangerous animals and to protect themselves from cold
weather.
 Lived in huts made up of tree branches.
 They not only hunted animals by scavenging but also by wounding them by spears

7
  Hunters and plant food searchers in a more effective way than those of their
predecessors.
 They stored food.
 Enhanced language skills and more advanced technology.
Story

 Man continuously used stones as weapons and kept on making new and smarter stone
tools.
 He was able to kill longer animals.
 By rubbing stones, he was able to make fire.
 Fire changed his life style.
o Provided him protection
o Cooked food
o Provided him warmth.
 Because of cooked food, Human jaws and mouth became smaller.
 Man became hunter.
 Women became gatherer. They stayed back and took care of children. This led to the
beginning of family structure.
 They used skin of animals for clothing.
 Man developed a skill of speech and communication enhanced.
 He was still a nomad_ hunter with strong legs.

8
Mesolithic period
The term Mesolithic is the combination of two words, meso and lithic. In Greek meso means
the middle and lithic means stone. Hence, the Mesolithic stage of prehistory is also known as
the Middle Stone Age. It was the transitional phase between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic
Ages. The Mesolithic period, roughly dated 10,000 BC to between 6,000 and 4,000 BC. It is a
period of transition from Old Stone Age to new Stone Age. It was a period of climatic
instability.
This period witnessed the rise in temperature, as a result of which the climate became
warm. These changes further resulted in melting of ice of the earlier period and brought about
changes in flora and fauna. Though man was still in hunting-gathering stage, he now started
fishing and some domestication of animals.

 Forming communities began to establish during this period.

 Humans hunted and fished and began to learn how to domesticate animals and plants.
 Mesolithic hunters are known to have developed pottery (ceramic objects) and
sedentary lifestyle.
 Hunter gatherer began to store food in containers (Surplus food).
 Less reliance on large mammals for food__ more on fish.
 Domestication of animals started with the domestication of dogs.
 The main tools they used are called the microliths or small stone tools.
 The Mesolithic Era is the second era in the triangle. They had new tools but still used
stone. They introduced bone tools, bow and arrows, canoes and pets.
 Used stone tools and weapons made up of bones and woods in more practical form.
 They developed personal ornaments and daily use items.
 War fear was frequent; they used to quarrel over animals, pastures (in the desert
areas), land and water.
 In this age people started to form a leadership to combat war fear and to resolve their
problems. (Governance started).

9
  People started to elect their leader politically, who was authorized to take decisions
and was powerful enough to punish anyone on behalf of his people.
 Education was informal and children used to learn from their elders as well as from
their own experiences.
 During this age males started dominant as food production was mainly the job of
males.
 The Mesolithic Era is the second era in the triangle. They had new tools but still used
stone. They introduced bone tools, bow and arrows, canoes and pets.
 The Rock paintings found at Bhimbetka (near Bhopal) belonging to the period indicate
the artistic taste of the people.

Neolithic age
 Instead of humans, much developed tools and animals began to be used for cultivation.
 Used stick and hoe for cultivation.
 Councils of elders began making decisions
 Individuals accumulated more personal property.
 Some type of calendar invented.
 Animals used in field work.
 These innovations led to the emergence of civilizations.
 Approx. 10,000 years ago Hunter and Gatherers began to farm.
 Life became more sedentary and permanent villages developed.
 Seed planting and animal domestication.
 Neolithic people became food producers.
 Growth in population was increased during Neolithic age.



10