How Humans Evolved!

What order of mammals includes humans?

Primates.

What are key features of primates?

Grasping fingers and toes, and binocular vision.

Which primates are considered prosimians?

Lemurs, lorises, and tarsiers.

What primates are classified as anthropoids?

Higher primates including monkeys, apes, and humans.

Who are the hominids?

Humans and their direct ancestors.

What animals are included in the hominoids?

Gibbons, orangutans, chimpanzees, and gorillas.

What are New World monkeys?

South American descendants of African ancestors.

What are the characteristics of New World monkeys?

All are arboreal, have flat spreading noses, and prehensile tails.

What defines Old World monkeys?

Descendants of the ancestral anthropoids that remained in Africa, none have prehensile tails.

What are African apes known for?

They evolved more recently and are the closest living relatives to humans.

Which species are most closely related to humans?

Chimpanzees.

What is bipedalism?

Hominids began walking upright.

Which genus is considered the first humans?

Genus Australopithecus.

What is Homo habilis known for?

Came second, had a larger brain volume, associated with tools, but was shorter in stature.

What distinguishes Homo rudolfensis?

It has a larger brain capacity than H. habilis.

What makes Homo ergaster significant?

It has a larger brain than H. rudolfensis and a skeleton more like modern humans.

What are the key characteristics of Homo erectus?

Walked tall/erect, had a large brain, lived over a million years longer than any human species.

What species of humans are classified as modern humans?

H. heidelbergensis, H. neanderthalensis, and H. sapiens.

What are the two hypotheses regarding Homo sapiens evolution?

Recently Out Of Africa model vs Multiregional Hypothesis.

What are some traits of Neanderthals?

Short, stocky, powerful build.

When were Neanderthals common and where?

In Europe and Asia around 70,000 years ago.

What lifestyle did Neanderthals have?

They made diverse tools and lived in huts or caves.

Did Neanderthals interbreed with Homo sapiens?

No, they did not interbreed.

Who are the Cro-Magnons?

Homo sapiens that replaced Neanderthals.

What is significant about Cro-Magnon fossils?

They date back as late as 100,000 years ago in Europe and replaced Neanderthals around 34,000 years ago.

What abilities did Cro-Magnons likely possess?

They used sophisticated tools and likely had full language capabilities.