Chloë van Beukering Hominid Studies Notes Life Sciences 2020
Hominid Studies
What are Hominids?
- Hominids are bipedal animals in the fossil record that have a mixture of ape-like and human-like
features
- The classification of hominids remains a matter of scientific debate
Hominid studies depend on:
1. Fossil remains
2. Genetic evidence (including mitochondrial DNA)
3. Study of human development
- Palaeontology is the study of fossils
- Archaeology is the study of human origins and development of human history e.g. tools and
artefacts
- Anthropology is the study of human cultures e.g. language
How does man differ from our closest relatives?
- Gorillas and chimpanzees are the closest living relatives of the human species
- During the course of 6-10 million years, the ape-like ancestor of the human and the chimpanzee
evolved certain traits that made it distinguishably human
These are:
1. The development of bipedalism
- The human ancestor, Australopithecus, walked upright using two limbs
- They were bipedal
- They probably didn’t walk like modern man, and probably alternated between trees and the
ground
- Many different reasons have been given for the evolution of bipedalism and an upright posture
including:
- Freeing the hands for carrying foods, tools or weapons
- Improved vision especially to see over tall grass on the plains
- Reducing the exposure of the body to the hot sun (decreased surface area)
- Easier hunting and fighting
- Easier feeding from bushes and low branches
2. Opposable thumbs and shorter palms
- Allows humans to hold tools
3. Extremely large brains
- The size of the human brain equals approximately 1350cm cubed on average
- The brain of the Australopithecus africanus was only 450cm cubed on average
4. Long gestation period
- Humans have gestation period of approximately 40 weeks
5. Long dependency of young on parents
- Parental care for 18 years on average
6. Long lifespan
7. Highly evolved communication system
Page 1 of 10
Hominid Studies
What are Hominids?
- Hominids are bipedal animals in the fossil record that have a mixture of ape-like and human-like
features
- The classification of hominids remains a matter of scientific debate
Hominid studies depend on:
1. Fossil remains
2. Genetic evidence (including mitochondrial DNA)
3. Study of human development
- Palaeontology is the study of fossils
- Archaeology is the study of human origins and development of human history e.g. tools and
artefacts
- Anthropology is the study of human cultures e.g. language
How does man differ from our closest relatives?
- Gorillas and chimpanzees are the closest living relatives of the human species
- During the course of 6-10 million years, the ape-like ancestor of the human and the chimpanzee
evolved certain traits that made it distinguishably human
These are:
1. The development of bipedalism
- The human ancestor, Australopithecus, walked upright using two limbs
- They were bipedal
- They probably didn’t walk like modern man, and probably alternated between trees and the
ground
- Many different reasons have been given for the evolution of bipedalism and an upright posture
including:
- Freeing the hands for carrying foods, tools or weapons
- Improved vision especially to see over tall grass on the plains
- Reducing the exposure of the body to the hot sun (decreased surface area)
- Easier hunting and fighting
- Easier feeding from bushes and low branches
2. Opposable thumbs and shorter palms
- Allows humans to hold tools
3. Extremely large brains
- The size of the human brain equals approximately 1350cm cubed on average
- The brain of the Australopithecus africanus was only 450cm cubed on average
4. Long gestation period
- Humans have gestation period of approximately 40 weeks
5. Long dependency of young on parents
- Parental care for 18 years on average
6. Long lifespan
7. Highly evolved communication system
Page 1 of 10
