Million Years Ago Homo Erectus Essay - 1,040 words

For years, the evolution of human beings has been researched and studied. In today's society, there are many different interpretations on creation and how humans came to be what they are today. Through much scientific evidence and studies, there is now physical proof that human beings may have evolved from ape-like creatures. Even with this, there are still disputes in the paleo anthropological field of whether or not this is true.


Still, many choose to believe their religious creation stories where a God created humans. Whether it is Johanson's idea on human evolution or Leakey's or even the Roman Catholic's creation story, all are an individual own interpretation and neither wrong nor right. A pale anthropologist by the name of Donald Johanson is one of the many who have a very different view on the origin of humans. In 1974, he discovered forty percent of an individual dating back to 3. 5 million years ago.


The individual, Australopithecus afarensis or "Lucy" is believed to be the common ancestor of the true Homo and Australopithecus lines. A year later, in 1975, Johanson found the remains of thirteen individuals who may have possibly died in a flood. They were named the "First Family" and were dated to be between 3 and 4 million years old. They were also Australopithecus afarensis. Announcing his conclusions in 1979, Johanson believed that Australopithecus afarensis was the root to both the australopithecine's and Homo lines. He concluded that afarensis evolved into three different directions.


One was Australopithecus africanus and the other Australopithecus robust and boise. Both became extinct. The last direction it took was Homo habits (million years ago) who became Homo erectus (1. 7 million years ago) and then Homo sapiens (300, 000). Ultimately, his theory makes reasonable sense and may in fact be true. However, Richard Leakey did not seem to think so. In 1961, Jonathan Leakey, Richard Leakey's brother had uncovered a fragmented skull that was from the line of Homo habits and dated at 1. 75 million years ago.


In 1972, Leakey retrieved the skull of another Homo habits, this time with a brain larger than any other australopithecine and about 1. 9 million years old. Later, the Leakey's had found fossil jaws and footprints dating back to the same time as Lucy and the First Family. Unlike Johanson who believes the discoveries are Australopithecus afarensis, he thinks they are more of the Homo type. Leakey reckons that the First Family is not Australopithecus afarensis but that they are two different species altogether. He came upon this conclusion because of the very large difference in size between the males and females. The males who are the large fossils and the footprints are of the Homo line.


The smaller fossils are of Australopithecus afarensis. He presumes that about 3 and 2 million years ago, global cooling formed the arctic icecap. This brought a drier climate and caused the Homo to adjust to changes in climate and habitat. T ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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Essay Tags: million years ago, homo sapiens, homo erectus, homo habits, roman catholic

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