Abstract The Australopithecines constitutes a group of extinct hominids that are closely related to humans. The Australopithecines were believed to be bi-pedal organisms, making them an integral link in the chain of evolution leading to modern man. This essay explores the evolution from ancient primates, to bi-pedal australopithicenes, to modern man. It includes several cited sources.
From the Paper "The word "hominid" refers to "any of a family (Hominidae) of erect bipedal primate mammals comprising recent humans together with extinct ancestral and related forms" (Merriam Webster). Hominids are included in the super-family of apes, the Hominoidea, in which the members are referred to as hominoids. Though the fossil record of hominids is currently fragmented and incomplete, there is enough material present to provide a healthy sketch of the evolutionary history of homo sapiens. Inasmuch as the Australopithecines were "bipedal primate mammals," they can be classified as ancient hominids (Merriam Webster). Many changes in the physical environment contributed to the evolution of these early humans."
Abstract This paper looks at the predominantly vegetarian diets of both the early australopithecines and the present-day peoples of the Australian "out-back" and the African Kalahari. The paper also points out some of the unsettling racial dynamics, which have complicated scholarly investigations into what the comparative diets of these groups say about them and about their position relative to other branches of the human family. The paper then explores the group/social organization, the division of labor within Australopithecine camps and how and to what extent the ancient Australopithecines were food foragers and meat scavengers. The author of the paper relates that, in all of these instances, brief comparisons are drawn between the behavior and characteristics of the ancient Australopethecus and those of modern-day hunter-gatherers. The paper concludes that the similarities between the early hominids and today's aboriginal tribes suggest that we can learn much about the behavior and evolution of the former by studying the latter.
From the Paper "For their part, it does seem as though the contemporary aboriginal peoples of Australia and the Kalahari of Namibia and Botswana - the two groups that offer the most by way of comparison to the ancient Australopithecus - are not especially enamored with scavenging, either, mostly because meat is not a vital staple of their everyday diet. To wit, The San speakers of the Kalahari have always had a preference for nuts, vegetables and for plant roots - although meat was (and ostensibly still remains) desirable as something of a luxury item."
Abstract This paper explains that, as human evolution progressed from the australopithecines to Homo sapiens, early man began to walk upright, use fire, tools and language and create culture. The author describes the main species known in the evolutionary tract but omits other intermediates for which very few fossils have been found. Of these know species, the paper discusses distinguishing characteristics, what type of tool culture they had, and if they had any type of socialization. The author presents briefly famous archaeological finds. Includes many figures.
Table of Contents:
Abstract
Introduction
Australopithecines Homo
Homo Habilis
Homo Erectus/ Homo Ergaster
Homo Neanderthalensis
Homo Sapiens
Cro-Magnon
Homo Sapien Sapien
Conclusion
From the Paper "The most famous Australopithecine fossil is Lucy. The A. afarensis fossils were found in Hader, Ethiopia and were about 40% complete, including bipedal kneecaps and molars and front teeth similar to humans rather than great apes. Another famous fossil find was the Taung infant, found by Raymond Dart in Taung, South Africa. The A. africanus fossil consisted of the face, mandible, and a natural endocast of the brain case. Another famous find was the set of three footprints in Laetoli, Tanzania, by Mary Leakey."
Tags: footprints, phylogenetic tree, africa skull origin
Abstract This concise paper looks at the evolution of man from the earliest Australopithecus through to the three branches of the "family tree" to the dead end species of neanderthalensis, and finally to modern homo sapiens.The paper includes graphs.
From the Paper "My phylogeny begins with the base species of Ardipithecus ramidus (sometimes known as Australopithecus ramidus) is the earliest known fossil of a hominid found, dating back to around 4.5 million years ago (mya) small hominid that stood upright, had teeth and skull closer and similar to that of apes, this gives them a closer lineage to those of chimpanzees than to humans."
Abstract This paper is composed of annotated bibliographies and a literature review of ten different research articles dealing with the acquisition of nonverbal, gestural, or sign languages. It addresses non-verbal language as a first language and a second language, as well as non-verbal language and symbolic communication systems in non-human primates and prehuman ancestors.
From the Paper "Sharon Begley's main point in this article is that "the human brain is wired for gestural communication" just as it is for spoken language, from a nativist perspective. She draws on examples from apes who have learned signed languages, deaf-mute children who have invented their own languages in the absence of an established sign language, and the fact that blind people gesture at the same rate as sighted people. She cites studies of wild bonobos who use symbolic gesture to communicate with each other, and deaf children who created a signed language with more complex grammatical structures than the spoken language in their environment."
