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The Evolution of Hominids

The fossil record of the hominids (Homo Sapiens and its relatives) is sparse, with many long gaps (since fossils only tend to be found where the process of fossilisation occurs most readily). The evolution of the hominids is therefore not well understood in detail and new fossil finds are still causing significant changes to the proposed lines of descent. 

  Height (m)

Physique

Brain size (ml) Skull form Jaws/teeth Distribution Known date (years ago)  

Homo habilis (small)
1 Relatively long arms 500-650 Relatively small face; nose developed Thinner jaw; smaller, narrow molars Eastern (+ Southern?) Africa 2-1.6 million
Homo habilis (small)

Homo habilis (large)
c. 1.5 Robust but 'human' skeleton 600-800 Larger, flatter face Robust jaw, large narrow molars Eastern Africa 2-1.6 million
Homo habilis (large)

Homo erectus
1.3-1.5 Robust but 'human skeleton' 750-1250 Flat, thick skull with large occipital and brow ridge Robust jaw in larger individuals; smaller teeth than H. habilis Africa, Asia and Indonesia (+ Europe?) 1.8-0.3 million
Homo erectus

'Archaic Homo Sapiens'
? Robust but 'human skeleton' 1100-1400 Higher skull; face less protruding Similar to H. erectus but teeth may be smaller Africa, Asia and Europe 400,000-100,000
'Archaic Homo Sapiens'

Neanderthals
1.5-1.7 As 'archaic H. sapiens' but adapted for cold 1200-1750 Reduced brow ridge; thinner skull; large nose; midface projection Similar to 'archaic H. sapiens'; teeth smaller except for incisors; chin development in some Europe and western Asia 150,000-30,000
Neanderthals

Early modern Homo sapiens
1.6-1.85 Modern skeleton; adapted for warmth 1200-1700 small or no brow ridge; shorter, higher skull Shorter jaws than Neanderthals; chin developed; teeth may be smaller Africa and western Asia 130,000-60,000
Early modern Homo sapiens

From The Cambridge Encylopedia of Human Evolution, p251. Reproduced with permission of Cambridge University Press.

See the Neanderthals for a particularly interesting test-case in the understanding of the process by which humans became human.

Email link | Feedback | Contributed by: Dr. Christopher Southgate and Dr. Michael Robert Negus
Source: God, Humanity and the Cosmos  (T&T Clark, 1999)

Evolutionary Biology and Theology

Index - God, Humanity and the Cosmos, 1999 T&T Clark

The Evolution of Hominids

Related Book Topics:

Important Evolutionists Before Darwin
Influences on Darwin
Darwin’s Evolutionary Scheme
Darwin and the Term ‘Evolution’
Darwin’s Challenge to Theological Positions
Some Recent Debates About Evolution
From Darwinism to Neo-Darwinism
Punctuated Equilibrium and Radical Contingency
Self-Organisation and the Development of Complexity
The Rhetoric of Darwinism
Evolution as a Science of the Unrepeatable Past
The Neanderthals
The Paradox of the Development of Modern Humans
Religious Responses to the Science of Human Evolution
Humans as Made in the Image of God
The Doctrine of the Fall
The Science of Sociobiology Critiques the Truth-Claims of Religion
Evolution and Theology

Source:

Dr. Michael Robert Negus and Dr. Christopher Southgate in God, Humanity and the Cosmos. Published by T&T Clark.

See also:

Charles Darwin
Chromosome
DNA Double-Helix
Evolution
Purpose and Design
Does God Act?
Where did we Come From?
Opinions
Books on Biology, Genetics and Theology