Louis S. B. Leakey

The Leakey family was one that bettered the understanding of our origin as a species. Louis S. B. Leakey and Mary Leakey were anthropologists in search of remnants of ancient humans. An expedition was begun by Mary Leakey in the region of Laetoli in Tanzania in East Africa. Her and her team found footprints preserved in volcanic ash that appeared to be very similar to those of a modern human. The Australopithecines, ancient humanlike beings, were the ones who made these marks. Australopithecines are a type of hominid, which includes humans and other beings that walk upright. This discovery was a tremendous leap in the quest to find out more of man’s origins.

Australopithecines (remember- humanlike beings) are the oldest of this list, living
from 4 million B.C. to 1 million B.C. Evidence for their existence has been found in Southern and Eastern Africa. They are not “Paleolithic” by definition because they hadn’t gotten to the point where they invented any basic technology, like using stone as a tool. They do show many similarities to man though. They have similar structures to humans, opposable thumbs, and even (arguably) similar tendencies.

From the time of 2.5 million B.C.
to 1.5 million B.C., there were the Homo habilis. Although still residing in Africa (the East to be specific), this new species had gone through new enhancements. Homo habilis does mean “man of skill”. And skill they did have (for their time of course). They had finally started utilizing what was all around them- stone. Using this stone as tools made cracking bones open, cutting meat, or whatever else made surviving and prospering a lot more
manageable.

The next species down the line is Homo erectus, meaning “upright man”. Why? Because of their stance; they walked a lot more similarly to you and I than any of their predecessors. They were the first species of our evolutionary line to travel to Asia and Europe from Africa. They had to go through some adjusting because of the change in conditions. They were more intelligent than ever and used their wits to develop new technology like more efficient and complex tools. Being skillful hunters was also an enormous asset for them in surviving the harsher climates.

Now to the familiar Homo sapiens. Homo sapien translates to “wise men”. And compared to the previous relatives, they definitely beat them in intelligence. Modern humans (like you, for example) are Homo sapiens. Of course we have come a long way, but we still are of the same kind as our ancestors. The Homo sapiens turned up at about 250,000 B.C. Occupying similar areas as Homo erectus once did, like Africa, Europe, and Asia, those early Homo sapiens had advantageous skillsets for their survival. We of course reached beyond those areas, but all in good time. The Homo sapiens had further evolved brains and now were more capable than ever. Huge leaps in innovation had occurred that got the ball rolling for all of the humanity in the future- including that of today. Even now, we are advancing at an astonishing level. It’s all thanks to the gradual growth of predecessors. This was the ingenuity that helped us as a species grow into the prosperous kind we are today.

Neanderthals, surprisingly, have been found to not have been directly related to us like we once thought.
It was assumed because many of their characteristics and those of our ancestors coincide notably well. The fossilized bone fragments of the Neanderthals were found in “Neander Valley”, hence their name. They lived from 200,000 B.C. to 30,000 B.C. and in Europe and Southeast Asia. Because they had to survive brutal ice age winters, they had to have the proper adaptations for it. The Neanderthals were built powerfully and to best suit their environment. They had heavy slanted brows, robust muscles, and thick bones. They were excellent hunters and used their surroundings to their advantage, like making shelters out of leftover animal skin and wood. The Neanderthals were also thought to bear spirituality and/or religious beliefs because of the evidence found for a funeral they had held for one of their
kind.

The Cro-Magnons were still Homo sapiens, but just a more specific category. They had relocated from North Africa to Europe and Asia from 40,000 B.C. to 8,000 B.C. Notice that the Cro-Magnons and Neanderthals overlap at the same time in that area. This meant there must have been a rivalry between the two species. It would be that only the better adapted would continue on and the other species would be forced into extinction. The Cro-Magnons were 5’ 1.5” on average and also with a strong build, but what really set them apart from was their superior intelligence. They had more advanced hunting strategies, innovative and tools, and improved communication skills. All of ingenuity gave them an edge in the fight of survival against the Neanderthals.