the earliest hominines

A detailed Summary of the earliest hominines


The first undoubted hominine discovered thus far is Ardipithecus ramidus,

which was found in 1994 and is known from 17 fragments of teeth and bone. It

dates to approximately 4.4 million years ago.

Thought to be the descendent genus of Ardipithecus is the genus

Australopithecus; individuals of this genus were bipeds while on the ground and

had ape-like brains and dexterous hands. There are at least six species of

Australopithecus: A. anamensis, A. afarensis, A. aethiopicus, A. africanus, A.

In 1924 an unusual fossil was brought to Raymond Dart, an anatomist at the

University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. This fossil had a curious mix of

ape-like and human-like traits. Dart named the fossil Australopithecus africanus

and claimed that, based on the forward position of the foramen magnum, the

At least four species are recognized: A. afarensis and A. africanus being

smaller and lacking the massive jaws of the two larger species, A. boisei and A.

robustus. A. afarensis and A. boisei are from East Africa, while A. africanus and A.

robustus are from South Africa. An earlier species, A. anamensis comes from


specimen thought to be an earlier A. boisei is dated to 2.5 mya. The most recent A.

changes, as evidenced by long periods of little change between the diversification

matured as apes do. Upright walking set the stage for larger brain sizes but was

Australopithecus afarensis and A. africanus are considered to be "gracile" or

from a distance with the increased height and visual perspective of standing on the

individuals tend to show more sivapithecine features, such as a less-rounded dental



Some common words found in the essay are:
East African, Mediterranean Sea, Black Skull, South Africa, Earliest Hominines, Witwatersrand Johannesburg, Laetoli Tanzania, Ardipithecus Miocene, Louis Leakey, Makapansgat Sterkfontein, australopithecus afarensis, black skull, cranial capacity, boisei robustus, afarensis africanus, robust australopithecine, australopithecus anamensis, example convergent evolution, south africa, similar afarensis, tooth wear, africanus boisei robustus, modern chimps orangs,

Approximate Word count = 1547
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Miscellaneous

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