Human Evolution

Human Evolution is just a theory. Hominids began to come to life about four to five million years ago and only one will adapt to become us. Many species had to adapt to their environment or die off. The result of changes in the environment made us today. Australopithecus aferensis are one of the first hominids, also known as the Australopith. The Australopith had a reason why they had to stand up on two legs. Eight million years ago, Africa was covered with tropical rain forests. Suddenly, tectonic plates shifted and India crashed into Asia. This collision changed weather patterns. Wind currents changed and moistures moved out of Africa. Africa also changed from mainly rain forests to grasslands and woodlands. Some gorillas and apes could no longer live in the new environment. They had to adapt walk upright or die off. The Australopith had a leathery, wrinkled face and a flat nose. They also had long arms for life in the trees. The Australopith were three and one-half to four and one-half feet tall. They were hairy and had dark eyes. The Alpha male was the leader and mates with all females. The Alpha male protects troops and is the smartest, strongest, and most dominant. The Australopith live in a troop of a few dozen. They groom each other to relieve stress. The Australopith are violent with each other. They eat berries, fruit, and plants. They had no tools. Some advantages of walking upright were that they can see over tall grasses to locate predators and had a more efficient way to walk-saves energy. Saving energy was applied to having and raising more offspring. Homo habilis, meaning handy man, is the same as the Australopith but they have little different physical characteristics. Homo habilis have bigger brains, less hair, and have a flat nose not as flat. They also don’t have a leathery face. Homo habilis began to observe the environment for clues to food. They developed more teamwork and scared away predators. Homo habilis had stone tools called