Unit 1 Early Hominids

Unit 1 Early Hominids

Introduction

Ancient humans left clues about their lives in cave paintings. Scientists call these prehistoric humans hominins. In this lesson, you will learn about important groups of hominins.

Three kinds of “history detectives” that study the past are archaeologists, historians, and geographers. The study of hominins involves a fourth type, paleoanthropologists. Paleoanthropologists specialize in studying the development and culture of the earliest hominins. (Paleo means “ancient.”)

Multiple Choice

What scientist specializes in the study of early hominids?

• geographer

• historian

• paleoanthropologist

Introduction

In 1959, the husband-and-wife team of Louis and Mary Leakey was searching for evidence of early remains in Africa. They discovered pieces of hominin skeletons. The bones were scattered among artifacts that looked like tools. While Louis focused on analyzing the bones, Mary took the time to sketch the stone tools they had found.

They knew these artifacts were the keys to better understanding old and modern humans. It led to a great advance in the field of paleoanthropology. The Leakeys named their discovery homo habilis, or “Handy Man,” in honor of this hominin group's ability to make tools.

Fill in the Blank

What is the last name of the team who studied early hominids?

Introduction

They knew these artifacts were the keys to better understanding old and modern humans. It led to a great advance in the field of paleoanthropology. The Leakeys named their discovery homo habilis, or “Handy Man,” in honor of this hominin group's ability to make tools.

What have scientists found out about Handy Man and other hominins? How were these hominins like us? How were they different? What abilities did different hominin groups have? How did these hominins travel among Earth's continents? To answer these and other questions, you will learn about the four hominin groups from different time periods.

Homo Habilis - Handy Man

How are hominins like Handy Man related to later hominins and to us? Anthropologists often disagree about the answer to this question because they have so few clues to analyze. Bones as old as those the Leakeys found in 1960 are very hard to find.

However, most anthropologists agree that Handy Man, or Homo habilis (HA-buh-lis) in Latin, was a very early form of humans. Scientists usually give Latin names to groups of living things. (Latin was the language of the ancient Romans who ruled a great empire for hundreds of years.)

Open Ended

What do you notice about this skull?

Homo Habilis - Handy Man

Handy Man lived about 2.4 to 1.5 million years ago, around 2 million years Before the Common Era (B.C.E.). We call the era we are in now the Common Era (C.E.).

Find the Homo habilis on the timeline. Notice that its date of existence is 2.4 million B.C.E. Now find Homo sapiens, which are related to present-day modern humans. They appeared about 200,000 years ago. As this example shows, larger B.C.E. dates are farther in the past, and smaller numbers are closer to today. This system helps us understand how long ago a historical event occurred.

Multiple Choice

Which is not the name of an early hominid?

• Homo Sapien

• Homo Habilis

• Homo Pandlis

• Homo Erectus

Homo Habilis - Handy Man

Scientists have discovered Handy Man remains only in Africa. Sometimes, the bones of more than one Handy Man were found together. It is likely that these hominins lived in groups. This would have helped them survive. They could have worked together to protect themselves against animal attacks. They also could have collected food over larger areas of land.

The tools that the Leakeys found were an important clue about this hominin group. Many scholars believe that this group may have made tools. This ability to make and use tools suggests some similarities between Handy Man and modern humans.

Homo Habilis - Handy Man

Making a tool, even a simple one, takes thought and effort. First, the hominins had to think about what kind of tool was needed. Then, they had to plan how to make it. Finally, they had to craft the tool themselves and try using it. Handy Man's tools were very simple. These hominins used animal bones as digging sticks and rocks as cutting tools. Handy Man may even have passed these early skills on to others.

The ability to make tools helped Handy Man thrive. The use of cutting tools allowed them to tear the meat from dead animals. Crushing tools may have helped them crack animal bones to eat the marrow inside.

Homo Habilis - Handy Man

Handy Man combined ape and human features. Also, this group had the capability to walk on two feet, a trait that allowed them to gather and carry food more easily. They could also use their hands to shape or chip stones into tools.

Fill in the Blank

Homo habilis could...

Open Ended

What capabilities helped Homo Habilis survive?

Homo Erectus - Upright Man

Another type of hominin was discovered in 1891 by a Dutchman named Eugene Dubois (doo-BWAH). While he and his team were searching for artifacts on the island of Java, off the southern coast of Asia, they found a new type of hominin skull.

In time, Dubois's team, and scientists who followed him, discovered the bones of many more hominins. As scientists assembled the bones, they observed that these hominins stood up straight. Paleoanthropologists named this hominin group Homo erectus (UH-rek-tuhs), or “Upright Man.” (At this time, Handy Man had not yet been discovered.)

Multiple Choice

Homo erectus means

• upright man

• uptown man

• handy man

Homo Erectus - Upright Man

Upright Man lived on Earth longer than any other hominin group from 1.9 million to about 140,000 B.C.E. Scientists believe that they were the first hominins to migrate out of Africa. Their remains have been found in both Asia and Europe.

It is no wonder that scientists have found the bones of Upright Man in many places. This group of hominins was well-suited for traveling. They were taller and thinner than earlier hominins—some even reaching the height of modern humans. Their bones were very strong. And they were good walkers and runners.

Homo Erectus - Upright Man

The facial features of Upright Man looked more like those of modern humans than the faces of earlier hominins. Upright Man hominins had foreheads that sloped backwards. But they still had a large ridge above the eyes, a thicker skull, and a jaw that stuck out.

Like Handy Man, hominins in the Upright Man group were toolmakers. But their larger brains enabled them to invent more complex tools, including strong hand axes made of stone.

One of Upright Man's greatest advantages was the ability to use fire. Anthropologists have found burned animal bones in the same places as Upright Man remains. This is a clue that Upright Man may have used fire to cook animal meat.

Fill in the Blank

Homo Erectus were mostly known for making...

Homo Erectus - Upright Man

Scientists aren't sure whether these hominins were hunters or merely gatherers, finding dead animals to eat. But studies of their tools and teeth show that they ate more meat than earlier hominins did.

The remains of an ancient campsite found in Japan have offered additional clues about how Upright Man lived. Some scientists guess that this group built oval huts by covering posts with tree branches. The group kept a fire burning in the center of the hut, and members likely sat and slept on animal skins. They may have decorated their bodies with red-colored mud called ocher.

Homo Erectus - Upright Man

Scientists believe that Upright Man groups moved from place to place, building shelters with tools and using fire to keep warm. These capabilities helped them travel farther and survive for longer periods than earlier hominins could. The ability to construct shelters allowed Upright Man to adapt to colder climates and live in areas without caves or other natural shelters. The ability to control fire helped them survive the cold, cook animal meat, and protect themselves from predators.

Open Ended

What capabilities helped Homo Erectus survive?

Homo Neanderthalensis - Neanderthal Man

In 1856, some mine workers in Germany's Neander Valley found a skeleton. It had thick bones and a ridge above the eyes, but was also very humanlike. Today, most scientists consider this group of hominins to be a distinct kind of people closely related to early modern humans. They call this kind of people Homo neanderthalensis, or Neanderthal (nee-AN-der-tahl) Man.

Open Ended

What do you notice about this skull?

Homo Neanderthalensis - Neanderthal Man

Neanderthals lived after Upright Man, from 400,000 to 40,000 years ago. The appearance of a Neanderthal skeleton found in France led scientists to believe that Neanderthals walked hunched over, with their hands dragging on the ground. As it turned out, the skeleton was of an older man who had a bone disease. In reality, Neanderthals walked upright. They were shorter and stockier than modern humans, but they were also more heavily built.

Multiple Choice

Where have remains of Neanderthal been found?

• Africa

• France

• China

Homo Neanderthalensis - Neanderthal Man

Most important, Neanderthals had large brains. They used their intelligence to become skilled toolmakers. Many types of Neanderthal tools have been found. These tools needed much more planning, skill, and knowledge than the tools made by earlier hominins. Neanderthals created knives, scrapers, and spear points. They learned how to make sharp, thin blades by breaking off the top of a rock and then chipping two or three sharp flakes from the original piece.

Homo Neanderthalensis - Neanderthal Man

The ability to make better tools improved Neanderthals' chances for survival. But their ability to work together helped even more. Neanderthals lived and traveled in groups. And they were the first early hominins that we know hunted in an organized group.

Scientists believe that Neanderthals may have had a sense of community. When members of a group died, their bodies were laid in burial mounds, along with hunting tools and flowers. This is a clue that Neanderthals cared about one another and had a sense of ritual.

When on a hunt, Neanderthals worked together to surround and trap an animal. Then they would close in and kill it with spears. 

Homo Neanderthalensis - Neanderthal Man

Evidence suggests that if some hunters were injured, other group members would help them.

Paleoanthropologists have found some Neanderthal bones showing signs of serious breaks that had healed. These clues lead them to think that Neanderthals helped members of their group who were hurt or sick.

Scientists interpret these indications that Neanderthals cared for each other to mean that they lived as a community. This capability would have given them benefits in surviving. For example, they would have

Homo Neanderthalensis - Neanderthal Man

been able to learn from the experience and the wisdom of older members of the group.

How exactly are Neanderthals related to the early modern humans? Scientists aren't sure. Judging from the remains that have been found of both groups, Neanderthals existed side by side with early modern humans for thousands of years. No one knows the reason why Neanderthal populations disappeared. All we know for certain is that only Homo sapiens survived to become early modern humans.

Open Ended

What capabilities helped Neanderthal survive?

Homo Sapien - Wise Man

In 1879, an eight-year-old Spanish girl named Maria was exploring a cave with her father when she made an amazing discovery. She found a cave room filled with ancient paintings of deer, bison, wild horses, and boars. They were the first prehistoric cave paintings ever discovered.

Multiple Choice

What is the subject of the art has NOT been found on cave walls?

• Bison

• Deer

• Unicorn

• Bison

Homo Sapien - Wise Man

The people who created these ancient cave paintings were the earliest members of our own group, Homo sapiens (SAY-pee-enz), or “Wise Man.” Homo sapiens first appeared about 200,000 years ago. Most scientists believe that they originated in Africa. From there, they spread to Europe, Asia, and Australia. Eventually, they migrated to North and South America.

The first modern humans looked more like us than the Neanderthals did. They had high, rounded skulls, large brains, small teeth, and slender bones. But their bodies were not as well adapted to the cold as those of Neanderthals. Early modern humans may have survived because of their ability to create better tools, shelter, and clothing.

Multiple Choice

Sapien means

• Upright

• Tools

• Handy

• Wise

Homo Sapien - Wise Man

As toolmakers, early modern humans were even more skilled than Neanderthals. They attached thin blades to bone, antler, and stone to create a wide variety of tools. They made tools used for engraving and sculpting. They fashioned needles for sewing animal skins together. They also built shelters of earth and stone.

These prehistoric humans were also better hunters than earlier hominins. They made hooks and spears to catch fish. Most important, they invented the spear thrower and the bow and arrow. Armed with these weapons, they could hunt from a distance, making hunting much safer.

Homo Sapien - Wise Man

Through their artwork, early modern humans left behind a fascinating record of their lives. They left paintings on the walls of their caves. Artists also carved and shaped images out of clay, bone, and ivory. They even created musical instruments.

Multiple Select

What did ancient artists use to make art?

• clay

• legos

• ivory

• bone

• sticks

Homo Sapien - Wise Man

Prehistoric artists created a variety of images. Some images came from the world around them, like the animals they hunted. Some images came from their imaginations, such as mythical creatures. These early artists also made patterns using shapes. Paleoanthropologists think the artists may have signed their work with handprints.

Why did early modern humans create art? Many scientists believe that they painted to express themselves. Some think that pictures had religious purposes.

Homo Sapien - Wise Man

One thing is certain. These early humans did not merely exist in their world. They had many feelings about it and created images to communicate those feelings. They had the ability to express thoughts to others through pictures and symbols. Some scientists believe that these abilities were able to contribute to the development of complex language, one of the capabilities that makes us fully human.

Open Ended

What capabilities helped Homo Sapiens survive?