Stages of human development from ape table. Ancient human ancestors

Similarities and differences between humans and animals. Charles Darwin was the first to put the problem of human origin on a scientific basis. In his work “The Descent of Man” (1871), he argued that man has animal origin and a common ancestor with living apes.

This is confirmed by the common structure of the skeleton, limbs, all major systems, intrauterine development of the embryo, the presence of mammary glands, a diaphragm, common diseases and about 90 rudiments and atavisms (a fold in the corner of the eyes, sparse delicate hair throughout the body, multiple nipples, coccygeal bone, external tail and etc.).

As a biological species, humans belong to the phylum Chordata, the subphylum of vertebrates, the class of mammals, the order of primates, the genus - Homo, the species - Sapiens - Homo sapiens.

Along with similarities, man has a number of characteristics that distinguish him from animals. Upright posture, the structure of the skull, a large volume of the brain, articulate speech, abstract thinking, the ability to make and use tools - all this is a consequence of different directions of evolution and especially labor activity. A person lives in society, obeys social laws; The basis of his life is work in a team. He develops science and art, He has a second signaling system. These qualities developed under the influence of social factors. Their significance in the formation of humanity (anthropogenesis) was revealed by F. Engels in his work “The Role of Labor in the Process of Transformation of Ape into Man” (1896). He proved that the main guiding factor in human evolution was labor. “With the advent of labor, the biological laws of human development are replaced by social ones. Man, influencing nature in the process of labor, transformed it. At the same time, he himself changed, his position in nature changed.”

Stages of human evolution. The initial stage on the path to the transformation of ape-like creatures into humans was upright walking. It arose in connection with climate change, thinning forests and the transition of these creatures to a terrestrial lifestyle. The hands, freed from the function of support and movement, turned into an organ that uses tools. These advantages in individual creatures were consolidated by natural selection. Subsequently, these creatures began to consciously make tools and, having undergone significant changes, the hand became both an organ and a product of labor.

The development of labor activity contributed to the rapprochement of members of society. In the process of working together, they exchanged gestures and sounds. The structure and functions of the larynx changed. At a certain stage of development, articulate speech appeared.

Increasingly complex tools and labor processes, the use of fire, meat food, and the emergence of articulate speech contributed to the further development of the cerebral cortex and thinking.

All these qualities allowed ancient people to improve tools, settle in new, harsher places, build houses, make clothes, utensils, use fire, breed animals, and grow plants. Labor became more diverse, a division of labor occurred, and people entered into new social relationships. Trade, science, art, politics, religion arose; tribes formed nations and states. The human brain became capable of perceiving the experience of the material and spiritual culture of previous generations, and a “social program” arose. As humanity developed, it expanded and became more complex, and especially increased in the age of scientific and technological revolution.

From generation to generation, in the process of training and education, the historical experience of mankind (its “social program”) was passed on. Human life was no longer regulated by natural selection. A person has formed a social, supra-biological sphere.

Parapithecus is considered the common ancestor of humans and modern apes. One of their branches gave rise to gibbons and orangutans, and the other - dryopithecines - extinct arboreal apes. One branch of Dryopithecus led to chimpanzees and gorillas, and the other to modern humans. Therefore, humans and modern apes share common ancestors, but they are different branches of the family tree.

The evolution of human ancestors is presented in the table.

Races of man.

In the early stages of evolution, the path of human development was uniform. Later, the ancient ancestors of modern people settled in small groups in different parts of the globe, where environmental conditions were heterogeneous. This is how the main races arose: Caucasoid, Negroid and Mongoloid. Each of them has its own morphological characteristics, skin color, eye shape, shape of the nose, lips, hair, etc. But all these are external, secondary signs. The features that make up the human essence, such as consciousness, labor activity, speech, the ability to cognize and subjugate nature, are the same for all races.

The main feature separating apes from humans is brain mass. The brain mass of great apes does not exceed 450 g. With a brain mass of 750 g, the child masters speech. Excess brain mass is directly related to an increase in the volume of the cranium (Fig. 53).

Rice. 53. Changes in the volume of the human brain in the process of historical development: 1 - giant australopithecus; 2 - Australopithecus africanus; 3 - the oldest person; 4 - ancient man (Neanderthal)

In the process of human development, three main stages are distinguished: 1) ancient people (archanthropes), 2) ancient people (paleoanthropes) and 3) modern people (neoanthropes) (Fig. 54).

Rice. 54. Ancestors of modern humans: 1 - Australopithecus; 2 - homo erectus (ancient man); 3 - Neanderthal (ancient man); 4 - Cro-Magnon - the direct ancestor of modern humans

Dutch anthropologist. The main scientific works are devoted to human evolution. He irrefutably proved the correctness of Charles Darwin's theory about the origin of man from closely related higher apes.

The most ancient people (archanthropes). All groups of ancient people belong to a single species of upright people (Homo erectns). In 1891, the Dutch scientist E. Dubois (1858-1940) found the fossil remains of an ancient human on the island of Java. The age of this find is 1.9 million-600 thousand years. E. Dubois called him Pithecanthropus (Greek pithekos - “monkey” and anthropos - “man”, i.e. ape-man). The forehead of Pithecanthropus is strongly sloping, a solid bony ridge above the eyes protrudes forward, and the occipital bone is pushed back.

These were signs characteristic only of great apes. The mass of their brain reached 900 g, that is, it was significantly greater than that of apes. Noteworthy are the similarities in the structure of the femur of Pithecanthropus and humans, and walking on two legs. In some ways they resembled monkeys, and in others they resembled humans, which is why they received the name “ape-man” (pithecanthropus). Later, their remains were found in China, Germany, Hungary, North and South Africa. When the fossil remains of Pithecanthropus were found, nothing was known about Australopithecus and Homo habilis, so Pithecanthropus has long been considered a connecting creature between apes and humans (Fig. 55).

Rice. 55. Pithecanthropus

Now Pithecanthropus is classified as archanthropus (ancient people), or upright walking people (Homo erectns). Despite significant external differences, all ancient people are classified as one species. Archanthropes lived on Earth from approximately 1 million to 500 thousand years ago. According to the place where the fossil remains were found, they received the names “Pithecanthropus” (“Javanese man”), “Sinanthropus” (“Chinese man”), “Heidelberg” man. The most ancient people looked similar to modern humans; compared to Australopithecus and Homo habilis, they were distinguished by a large brain mass. The brain mass reached 750-900, sometimes 1000-1100 g. Archanthropes were quite tall, 165-170 cm, which further proved their similarity to modern humans. However, they were distinguished by powerful brow ridges, a low and sloping forehead, and the absence of a chin protrusion. Their jaws are large, the facial part of the skull is well developed, but the brain part of the skull was still small. The next group of archanthropes - Sinanthropus ("Chinese man") - lived in East Asia. The remains of Sinanthropus were found in 1937 in a cave near Beijing. They dressed in animal skins, lived in caves, and used fire and stone tools. In many ways, Sinanthropus, compared to Pithecanthropus, was more similar to modern humans.

In 1907, near the city of Heidelberg in Germany, the remains of an ancient man were found. Scientists called him “Heidelberg Man” and classified him as an archanthrope. There have been noticeable changes in the way of life of the archanthropes. They mostly hunted large animals together and knew how to use fire. Stone tools were improved. They knew how to make cutting, chopping, and sharp tools from stone. One of the main features in the history of the development of archanthropes is the appearance of speech. The word became the most important means of communication between them, since the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain associated with speech were quite well developed.

Fossil remains of archanthropes have been found in large quantities in Central and North Africa, Southern Europe, and Western Asia. There is an opinion that from these places the archanthropes gradually spread to other areas of Europe and Asia.

On the territory of Kazakhstan, many remains of the dwellings of ancient people, the stone tools they used, and the remains of wild animals that they hunted were found. However, the remains of ancient people were not found. This is proven by archaeological research conducted recently in Kazakhstan. Stone Age tools were first found in 1928 in Kazakhstan in the Altyn Kolat pasture area. Later, similar stone tools were found on the territory of the village of Kyzyltu, Zhambyl region.

As a result of research, scientists have clarified several areas of distribution of ancient people on the territory of Kazakhstan. Such areas include Mangistau, Ustyurt, Karatau in Southern Kazakhstan, the small hills of Kokshetau in the north and the areas of Naryn-Bukhtarma and Irtysh. Based on these data, Kazakh scientists Zh. Taimagambetov and others came to the conclusion that 1 million years ago the most ancient people lived on the territory of Kazakhstan.

Archanthropes lived mainly in caves and could use fire. Many scientists support the view that modern humans descended from groups of archanthropes who lived in Central and North Africa. The period of appearance of people, from archanthropes to modern man, covers about 500 thousand years.

The main directions in the evolution of archanthropes are an increase in brain mass, a social lifestyle, improvement of tools and the use of fire. However, biological factors played a major role in the evolution of archanthropes, among them natural selection.

Archanthropes (ancient people). Pithecanthropus. Sinanthropus. Heidelberg Man.

1.What stages of human evolution do you know?

2. Describe synanthropes.

3.What groups of archanthropes existed?

1.Name the main directions of evolution of archanthropes.

2.Describe the main features of the body structure of archanthropes.

3.Which signs of Pithecanthropus were similar to those of a monkey, and which were similar to those of humans?

1. Describe how, with an increase in the brain volume of individual groups, a change in the lifestyle of individual groups of archanthropes occurs.

2.Where in Kazakhstan were archanthrope sites and tools found?

3.Where in the world were the remains of individual groups of archanthropes found?

Give characteristics of the main groups of ancient people in the form of a table.

HUMAN EVOLUTION

HUMAN EVOLUTION, the process of human development, from his ancient ancestors. Reconstructing the course of human evolution from the fossilized remains of his ancestors has gaps and is not completely clear. Some scientists believe that our ancestry can be traced back to one or more species of Australopithecenes ( cm.Australopithecus), lived in northern and eastern Africa approximately 4-1 million years ago. Other scientists believe that we descended from some other, as yet undiscovered ancestor. The earliest fossils that can be identified as human are Homo habilis, dating back to 2 million years ago. The next evolutionary step was Homo erectus (upright man), who appeared approximately 1.5 million years ago. The earliest fossils of our species, Homo sapiens, date back to approximately 250,000 years ago. Another species, apparently representing a secondary branch of development, NEANDERTHALS (Homo sapiens eanderthalensis), existed in Europe and western Asia approximately 130,000 - 30,000 years ago. Fully modern humans, Homo sapiens sapiens, or Cro-Magnons, first appeared approximately 100,000 years ago. All human species except Homo sapiens sapiens are now extinct.

Human Evolution Although fossils do not provide a complete picture of human evolution, we do know that humans evolved from ape-like creatures. The earliest ancestor, the australopithecus Australopithecus afarensis (A), lived in northeast Africa approximately 5 mil. pet back. Over the next 3-4 mil. years evolved into A. Africanus (B) Homo habilis (C), which used primitive stone tools, appeared about 500,000 years later. Homo erectus (D) is believed to have spread from Africa throughout the world 750,000 years ago. Research shows that two varieties have evolved from H Erectus. Neanderthal (E), which became extinct 40,000 years ago, or which may have been replaced by another species, the earliest modern Homo sapiens sapiens (f).

Scientific and technical encyclopedic dictionary.

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Books

• Human Evolution, Series `Erudite` - a universal reference publication in which the main achievements of all fields of knowledge are conveniently and clearly presented. Thematic material presented in a fascinating and accessible way... Category: Encyclopedias Series: Erudite Publisher: Book World, Manufacturer: Book World,
• Human evolution vol 1 2 vols Monkeys bones and genes, Markov A., Naimark E., Alexander Markov’s new book is a fascinating story about the origins and structure of man, based on the latest research in anthropology, genetics and evolutionary psychology.… Category:

The phylogenetic tree of Homo sapiens has only been constructed in general terms. The main stages of human evolution are described in the table:

According to modern paleontological data, the predecessors of humans are ancient primitive insectivorous mammals, which gave rise to parapithecus.

Parapithecus appeared about 35 million years ago. These were arboreal apes from which modern gibbons, orangutans and dryopithecus descended.

Dryopithecus arose about 18 million years ago. These were semi-arboreal, semi-terrestrial apes that gave rise to modern gorillas, chimpanzees and australopithecines.

Australopithecus appeared about 5 million years ago in the treeless steppes of Africa. These were highly developed monkeys that walked on two hind limbs in a semi-extended position. Their height was 120-150 cm, body weight - 20-50 kg, brain volume - about 600 cm 3. With their forelimbs freed, they could pick up sticks, stones, and other objects and use them for hunting and protection from enemies. The manufacture of tools by Australopithecines has not been established. They lived in groups and ate both plant and animal foods. Australopithecus may have given rise to Homo habilis. This issue remains controversial.

A skilled man formed 2-3 million years ago. Morphologically, he differed little from australopithecines, but it was at this stage that the transformation of ape into man took place, since Homo habilis made the first primitive tools. From that moment on, the conditions of existence of human ancestors changed, as a result of which individuals with characteristics promoting upright walking, ability to work, improvement of the upper limbs and cognitive activity of the brain received advantages in survival. A skilled man is considered the ancestor of the archanthropes.

The most ancient people (archanthropes)

These include, in particular, Pithecanthropus and Sinanthropus, which belong to the same species - Homo erectus. Remains Pithecanthropa were discovered in 1891 on the island of Java; remains Sinanthropa- in 1927 in a cave near Beijing. Pithecanthropus and Sinanthropus were more similar to Australopithecus than to modern humans. They had a height of up to 160 cm, brain volume - 700-1200 cm 3. They lived 2 million - 200 thousand years ago, mainly in caves and led a gregarious lifestyle. The tools they made were more varied and sophisticated than those of Habilitation Man. It is believed that they had the rudiments of speech. They used fire, which made food easier to digest, protected them from predators and cold, and contributed to the expansion of their range.

Ancient people (paleoanthropes)

These include Neanderthals. For the first time their remains were found in the river valley. Neanderthal in Germany in 1856 Neanderthals were widespread in Europe, Africa and Asia during the Ice Age 250-35 thousand years ago. Their brain volume reached 1400 cm3. They still have brow ridges, a relatively low forehead, a massive lower jaw with the rudiment of a chin protrusion. They lived in caves in groups of 50-100 people, knew how to make and maintain fire, ate plant and animal foods, and made a variety of stone, bone and wooden tools (knives, scrapers, choppers, sticks, etc.). They had a division of labor: men hunted, made tools, women processed animal carcasses, and collected edible plants.

Modern people (neoanthropes)

Neanderthals were replaced by people of modern physical type - Cro-Magnons- the first representatives of the species Homo sapiens. They appeared about 50-40 thousand years ago. For some time, paleoanthropes and neoanthropes existed together, but then the Neanderthals were supplanted by the Cro-Magnons. Cro-Magnons had all the physical characteristics of living people: tall height (up to 180 cm), large brain volume (about 1400 cm 3), high forehead, smoothed brow ridges, developed chin protuberance. The latter indicates developed articulate speech. Cro-Magnons built dwellings, made clothes from skins sewn with bone needles, made products from horn, bone, flint and decorated them with carvings. The Cro-Magnons learned to grind, drill, and knew pottery. They lived in tribal communities, domesticated animals, and practiced agriculture. They had the beginnings of religion and culture.

To date, there is no exact hypothesis about how and where they appeared. ancient human ancestors. Most scientists are of the opinion that humans and monkeys have a common ancestor. It is believed that somewhere 5-8 million years ago, the evolution of anthropoid apes went in two independent directions. Some of them remained to live in the animal world, and the rest, after millions of years, turned into people.

Rice. 1 - Human evolution

Dryopithecus

One of the ancient ancestors of man is Dryopithecus "tree monkey"(Fig. 2), who lived in Africa and Europe 25 million years ago. He led a herd lifestyle and was strikingly similar to a modern chimpanzee. Due to the fact that he constantly lived in trees, his forelimbs could turn in any direction, which played an important role in the further formation of man.

Features of Dryopithecus:

• developed upper limbs contributed to the emergence of the ability to manipulate objects;
• Coordination improved and color vision developed. There was a transition from a herd to a social way of life, as a result of which speech sounds began to develop;
• brain size increased;
• a thin layer of enamel on the teeth of Dryopithecus indicates the predominance of food of plant origin in its diet.

Rice. 2 - Dryopithecus - an early human ancestor

The remains of Australopithecus (Fig. 3) were discovered in Africa. Lived approximately 3-5.5 million years ago. He walked on his feet, but his arms were much longer than those of modern humans. The climate of Africa gradually changed and became drier, which resulted in a decrease in forests. More than half of the apes have adapted to new living conditions in open space. Due to the hot climate, ancient human ancestors, they mainly began to move on their feet, which saved them from overheating of the sun (the area of ​​their back is much larger than the top of their head). As a result, this led to a decrease in sweating, thereby reducing water consumption.

Features of Australopithecus:

• knew how to use primitive objects of labor: sticks, stones, and so on;
• the brain was 3 times smaller than the brain of modern humans, but much larger than the brain of large monkeys of our time;
• was distinguished by his short stature: 110-150 cm, and body weight could be from 20 to 50 kg;
• ate plant and meat foods;
• earned his own food using tools he made himself;
• lifespan - 18-20 years.

Rice. 3 - Australopithecus

(Fig. 4) lived approximately 2-2.5 million years ago. The posture of his figure was very close to that of a human. He walked in an upright position, which is where he got his second name - “homo erectus.” Habitat Africa, as well as some places in Asia and Europe. In the Olduvai Gorge (East Africa), things made from partially processed pebbles were discovered next to the remains of Homo habilis. This suggests that the ancient ancestors of man of that time already knew how to create simple objects of labor and hunting, and select raw materials for their manufacture. Presumably a direct descendant of Australopithecus.

Features of a “skillful” person:

• brain size - 600 cm²;
• the facial part of the skull became smaller, giving way to the brain part;
• the teeth are not very large, like those of Australopithecus;
• was an omnivore;
• the foot acquired an arch, which contributed to better walking on two limbs;
• the hand has become more developed, thereby expanding its grasping abilities, and the grip strength has increased;
• although the larynx was not yet able to reproduce speech, the part of the brain responsible for this was finally formed.

Rice. 4 - A “skillful” person

Homo erectus

Other name - Erectus(Fig. 5). Without a doubt he is considered a representative of the human race. Existed 1 million - 300 years ago. It got its name from the final transition to straight walking.

Features of Homo erectus:

• possessed the ability to speak and think abstractly;
• knew how to create quite complex objects of labor and handle fire. There is an assumption that an upright man could make fire on his own;
• appearance resembles the features of modern people. However, there are significant differences: the walls of the skull are quite thick, the frontal bone is located lower and has massive supraorbital protrusions. The heavy lower jaw is larger, and the chin protuberance is almost invisible;
• males were much larger than females;
• height is about 150-180 cm, brain size has increased to 1100 cm³.

The lifestyle of the erect walking ancestor of man consisted of hunting and gathering edible plants, berries, and mushrooms. He lived in social groups, which contributed to the formation of speech. Perhaps it was supplanted by Neanderthals 300 thousand years ago, but this version does not have solid arguments.

Rice. 5 - Erectus

Pithecanthropus

Pithecanthropus - is rightfully considered one of ancient human ancestors. This is one of the varieties of upright man. Habitat: Southeast Asia, lived about 500-700 thousand years ago. The remains of the “ape-man” were first found on the island of Java. It is assumed that he is not a direct ancestor of modern humanity, most likely he can be considered our “cousin”.

Sinanthropus

Another species of Homo erectus. Existed 600-400 thousand years ago in the current territory of China. Sinanthropus are relatively developed ancient ancestors of humans.

A representative of the human race, he was previously considered a subspecies of Homo sapiens. Its habitat was Europe and North Africa more than 100 thousand years ago. The period of life of the Neanderthals fell just during the Ice Age; accordingly, in harsh climatic conditions, they had to take care of making clothes and building housing. The main food is meat. It does not relate to the direct relationship of Homo sapiens, but it could well have lived next to the Cro-Magnons, which contributed to their mutual crossing. Some scientists believe that there was a constant struggle between Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons, which led to the extinction of Neanderthals. It is assumed that both species hunted each other. Neanderthals (Fig. 6) had a massive, large physique, compared to Cro-Magnons.

Features of Neanderthals:

• brain size - 1200-1600 cm³;
• height - approximately 150 cm;
• due to the large brain, the skull had an elongated backward shape. True, the frontal bone was low, the cheekbones were wide, and the jaw itself was large. The chin had a weakly defined character, and the brow ridge had an impressive protrusion.

Rice. 6 - Neanderthal

Neanderthals led a cultural life: musical instruments were discovered during excavations. Religion was also present, as indicated by special rituals at the funerals of their fellow tribesmen. There is evidence that these ancient human ancestors had medical knowledge. For example, they knew how to heal fractures.

Direct descendant of Homo sapiens. Existed approximately 40 thousand years ago.

Features of Cro-Magnons (Fig. 7):

• had a more developed human appearance. Distinctive features: a fairly high straight forehead, absence of a brow ridge, a more distinctly shaped chin protuberance;
• height - 180 cm, but body weight is much less than that of Neanderthals;
• brain size was 1400-1900 cm³;
• spoke clearly;
• considered the founder of the first true human cell;
• lived in groups of 100 people, so to speak, tribal communities, building the first villages;
• engaged in the construction of huts and dugouts, using the skins of killed animals. He created clothing, household items and hunting tools;
• knew agriculture;
• he went hunting with a group of fellow tribesmen, chasing and driving the animal into a prepared trap. Over time, he learned to domesticate animals;
• had its own highly developed culture, which has survived to this day in the form of rock paintings and clay sculptures;
• performed rituals during the burial of relatives. It follows from this that the Cro-Magnons, like the Neanderthals, believed in another life after death;

Science officially believes that the Cro-Magnon man is a direct descendant of modern people.

The ancient ancestors of humans will be discussed in more detail in the following lectures.

Rice. 7 - Cro-Magnon