Human evolution

Human evolution

Human evolution refers to the origin of human beings. Human development is a long changing process through which humans are believed to be developed from the apelike ascendants. Some indications prove the evolution of the developmental and physical characteristics of the humans, which originated from the apelike decent over the past 6 million years. The human’s potential to walk using two legs is one of the evolutions over the past 4 million years. The significant human features include the skill to utilize tools, the giant brains, the ability to talk, make use of symbolic expressions, and expand the cultural diversity over 100,000 years ago.

Scientists found out that chimpanzee whorl trees vertically. Besides, they can do this easily compared to the body parts of the hominines, the ancestors of human beings. They also stated that the Hominids subsisted between 1.5 and 4.1 million years in the past. This is comparatively a short period after the chimpanzees and the humans fragmented from their mutual ascendant. There has been an argument between the individuals about this ancestor that is believed to have similarities to the chimpanzee. Eventually, it was then considered that early humans are also apelike. The likeness of the genetic and physical demonstrates that modern human organisms have teethed, jawline, lips, ears, toes, women breast, legs, hands, fingers, head structure, and arms. Human beings have a relation to the ape of Africa. Over the past 6- 8 million years, it is believed that these two organisms shared out the same ancestor. It is thought that the evolution of human beings occurred much in Africa. As proof, the fossils of the early human species have been discovered in that continent over 6 and 2 million years in the past. The nearest ancestor of human beings is the primate, which man is believed to split from it. This shows that the ape becomes the result of the life of humans over the past million years until today. How we visualize our lives is because of human evolution.

The creatures which live in the trees are termed as arboreal creatures. To stay in this environment, they need particular adaptations for them to survive. The order of primate involves apes, monkeys, humans, and Promisians. Every order observes adjustment, depending on their habitats. Most of the apes, the monkeys, and the Promisians are known to be ordered, which survive on the trees and observe arboreal adaptations. The human organisms also have similar features with them because humans are considered as primate cousins. The adjustments of the arboreal primate involve their opposable thumbs, unusually flexible joints, a sight that faces forward, and toe and fingernails. Staying on the trees is for the primate’s protection from the enemies.

As inhabitants of the trees, they need to move in a free manner for them to get their foods and protect themselves from predators. This can be done through their flexible joints like wrists and shoulders. This particular adaptation could only mean that the primates are capable of reaching that is above on their heads and also on their backsides. Through this, they can swing on the trees in a fast manner. Along with this capability, they require an ability to hold on the trees’ branches and vines through their opposable thumbs and hands, which can grasp tightly. With this, they can slide on the trees just like the birds. Their opposable thumbs are used to pick seeds and fruits. The use of their forefinger and thumb enables them to acquire their foods.

The three primary groups of the primates are monkeys of the New World and Old World and the Prosimians. The group of Prosimians is located in Asia, Madagascar, and Africa, particularly in tropical forests. The subfamilies of the Prosimians are Lemurs, Lariformes, and Tarsiers. Belonging to the Tarsiers is the Anthropoid or the Prosimians. The lorises and galagos belong to the Loriformes. It is believed that the Prosimians are the most former primates who lived 65 million years ago. “Prosimians” is a term that refers to “before the monkeys.” Even if modern organisms do not have changes, they still get the physical characteristics of the earliest primates (Conservation, 2012). To describe the Prosimians, they have large eye sockets, a small case of the brain, and they have a long snout. They can smell and hear because of the adaptations. To groom their fur, mostly, they possess comb-like projections located on the lower front teeth (Conservation, 2012). Moreover, on the second toe of the hind feet, they have a claw. Their retina is structured for them to have a sight in the dark.

On the other hand, the New World monkeys inhabited in South and Central America and Mexico. Most of them are herbivores. Their sub-groups are Callitricidae and Cebidae. These two comprise the 53 varied species. Tamarins and Marmosets belong to the Callitricidea, which consume tree sap. Their tails are long, and their fur is thick. Among all monkeys, Marmoset is the smallest one. Tamarin and Marmoset are known as the most primitive. Both have claws on the fingers except on their big toe. They cannot make changes to facial expressions. Usually, they produce twin births while the other primates, typically deliver just one child (O’Neil, 2012). By the time the baby is provided, it is the male that carries. Pygmy is referred to as Marmoset, while cotton-top is Tamarin.

The last group of primates, which is the Old-World monkeys, is located in the Middle East, East and South Asia, and Africa. They live on the tropical forests, and the others stay on the mountainous places and arid grasslands (O’ Neil, 2012). In this group, there are 78 species which are divided into two sub-families, the Colobinae and Cercopithecinae. These kinds of monkeys are significant. Most of them belong to cercopithecines. Belonging to this sub-group are the mangabeys, guenons, mandrills, and baboons. Mostly, they live on the trees. They look for their food in the grasslands. The male species are commonly twice more significant compared to females. They have two features: cheek pouches and ischial callosities. Both of them consume meat and fruits. The other sub-family, which is Colobinae, involves the langurs of South Asia, African Columbus, and the Proboscis monkeys (O’Neil, 2012). All the organisms are herbivores, and they don’t have cheek pouches, but they have sacculated stomachs. Compared to the other monkeys, they possess more acids on their abdomen due to the compartments. This leads to the breaking down of the uncommon combinations of the enzymes and bacteria into plant cellulose. Thus, they produce more useful calories (O’Neil, 2012). These species have long intestines that are viewed as abnormal, but with this, they can attain nutrients.

Hominids are believed to be the origin of human beings. They have the same physical appearance as the apes and comprised the family of humans, bonobos, and chimpanzees. Even if the family species of humans are the same as the chimpanzees, they are not considered as human ancestors. The humans and the chimpanzees shared out a common ancestor, which is the apes from Africa. It is believed that their usual ancestors existed over the past 7 million years. Because human beings originated from the hominid species, it is not also advisable to take for granted that there was a biological ladder established so that the evolution of humans will exist. Every species originated from humans. The Homo sapiens, Home Erectus, and Neanderthal belong to the similar genius category, but they compete with one another. Natural selection can be the reason why the Homo erectus and Neanderthal died, and the Homo sapiens exist.

To view that human characteristics evolved together is wrong since they have the potential to show the dominant features and at the same time, can pass the recessive features to the offspring. If a particular trait is for the advantage of the organism based on his environment, there could be an evolution of characters and can be passed to the coming generations. The Homo sapiens or the humans were not precisely what we are today. The human organisms take the way to what we are today undergone key stops that were very important for social development in general. The absent of the stops can lead to the absent also of the traits that humans have today, like intelligence. Included in this paper is the specification of the four different stops during the evolutionary path.

Australopithecus Afarensis is considered as one of the most former stops. It subsisted over the past 4 to 2 million years and lived primarily in the Northeastern Ethiopia region. The evidence for these species was found in the area of Hadar. In this region, the skeletal remains of Lucy were discovered. It proves that the potential of human beings to walk vertically existed before the cranial capacity. Their height is about one and 10 meters, and their weight is about 66 pounds. They are considered today as the evidence of bipedalism in the bloodline of the human beings. The use of fire is not proven to them.

Homo Habilis is also a first stop along with the evolutionary path of the Homo sapiens. They lived in the east of Africa over the past two and a half to one and a half million years. This is the most former organism, which was classified as Homo Genus. Thus, it has a homo on its title of specie. This specie is considered as the least the same to the human organisms. Still, it can be classified because of its large cranial capacity, small teeth, facial characteristics, and precision grip it has. It was not also tall, and its height was just about one and a third meter. Supposedly, this specie has to follow the Homo erectus, but because of the latest discovery, saying that they existed in the same period made it be the second stop.

Homo erectus is the succeeding significant thing to be talked about. This was discovered in 1891 through the person of Eugene Dubois, who lived on Java Island. Accordingly, this is the soonest species that were found beyond Africa in which their remains were discovered from 400,000 to 2,000,000 years. Possibly, the Homo erectus was the first to make use of fire and develop advanced tools. It’s a very significant trait is the generous cranial capacity; it has to be between 850-1100 cc’s. The above species were all necessary steps in human development, or let’s say the Homo sapiens development.

To conclude, there is no enough proof of human and primate evolution. There have been different discoveries made, and the discoverers at some point can be right on their beliefs. Due to several similarities between the primates and humans, there is a possibility that human beings had evolved from being primates.