Chapter 11 - The Evolution of Humanity

8th Grade Earth Science

March 22^nd, 2023

The Rise of Hominids

6-4 million years ago (mya)

• Walked upright

• Were omnivores

• Lucy (discovered in 1974 in Africa)

  • 3.2 mya

  • Humanlike jaw and teeth

  • Called Australopithecus

• Homo habilis - the "handy man"

  • 2-1.5 mya

  • Fossils found with tools nearby

• Homo erectus - the "upright man"

  • 1.6 mya

  • Larger brain than Homo habilis

  • Southeast Asia, China, possibly Europe

Homo Habilis and

Homo Erectus

Open Ended

Homo habilis may have been the first hominid species to use tools. What advantages would using tools give Homo habilis over other hominids?

400,000 years ago

Homo sapiens

The Two Groups of Humanity

• Also 125,000 years ago

• Also Africa and Europe

• Likely our direct descendants

• Lived in caves

• Made art and carvings

• Buried their dead

Cro-Magnon Humans

• 125,000 years ago

• Africa and Europe

• Disappeared from the fossil record 30,000 years ago

Neanderthals

Open Ended

Why do you think it was important that Cro-Magnon humans began living in caves?

• 100,000 years ago - boundary of the Pleistocene and Holocene epochs

• Holocene - warmer and drier

• Forests replaced grasses

• Mega-mammals couldn't adapt, went extinct

The Pleistocene Extinctions

The Pleistocene Extinctions

Multiple Choice

Which of these were the earliest species of hominid?

• Cro-Magnon Humans

• Homo erectus

• Homo habilis

• Australopithecus

Multiple Choice

According to the fossil record, Homo habilis was the first hominid to:

• Live in caves.

• Make art and carvings.

• Use tools.

• Bury their dead.