Argumentative Essay On Early Human Evolution

Early human evolution is characterised by speciation. The term speciation refers to “the formation of new and distinct species in the course of evolution”. Recently, experts in the field of evolution have given special emphasis to the new and most controversial issue of Homo floresiensis. Homo floresiensis (known as the Hobbit Man and LB1) is the little bodied and an extinct species that was discovered from a fossil and simple stone tools in 2003 on the island of Flores in Indonesia. Scientists indicate that the fossil belongs to an adult female who have died around the age of 30 and extinct about 17,000 years ago. LB1 is remarkable for its small brain and body, and particularly for its survival until generally recent times. There is an ongoing debate regarding to the position of these fossils on the human evolutionary tree. While some experts and scientists believe that the fossil should be classified as a new human species (Homo floresiensis) others express controversies. From my point
It was estimated that LB1 was about 3.5 feet tall (approximately 1 meter) with a brain as small as chimpanzees, approximately was 380 cubic centimetres (Human Origins, 2015). This recommends there was active selection for a small brain size, perhaps linked to the reduced energy requirements of small brains (Dorey, 2015). Her height is also less than the average (about 1.4-1.5 m tall) for short populations of humans such as pygmies (Dorey, 2015). Also, a myriad number of brain features are not found in H. sapiens, particularly in the temporal and frontal lobes (Dorey, 2015). LB1 also lacks the bony point on the chin found modern humans. This features and physical characteristics, suggest that LB1 is more similar to early hominin species than H. sapiens. Therefore, it can be demonstrated that LB1 should be classified as a new hominin