Helen Pilcher Primate Evolution

Given that you’ve only just been introduced to the field of physical anthropology, why do you think subjects such as skeletal anatomy, genetics, nonhuman primate behavior, and human evolution are integrated into a discussion of what it means to be human?

Climate change influenced nonhuman primate evolution by forcing the evolution of species and creating new environments that allowed for primates to live. "A rapid temperature increase around 55 mya ... led to an expansion of evergreen tropical forests, the environment that made possible many mammalian groups, including primates." (pg. 260). As rapid temperature increase created new environments a rapid cooling in the beginning of the Oligocene limited the range of habitats greatly. Due to this reduction a majority of the primates during this time lived around the fayum region in northeast Africa. As seen by looking at the geologic time scale it is clear that different environments allow for different evolution to occur.

The article “Ardipithecus ramidus: A New Kind of Ancestor: Ardipithecus Unveiled” written by Anna Gibbons, talks about how scientist learn many things about human evolution through artifacts of ancestors, DNA and bones. All of this helps reveals different things about our past and how we came to be. This article briefly mentions Lucy and it mainly focuses on the discovery of ardipithecus ramidus.

Climate change influence nonhuman primates because every time there was a climate change some primates weren't able to adapt because they are so specialized. What I mean by specialized is there fossils such as teeth and other feature of their body are not able to apdat to the new changes. An example is a rapid temperature increase around 55 mya created tropical conditions virtually everywhere around the world. Because of this there were creation of new habitats that tiggered an adaptive radiation of modern-appearing primates the Euprimates.

Climate change had a heavy influence on nonhuman primate evolution. Modern primates live in areas with a warmer climate where forests tend grow thickly, mainly in the southern hemisphere. However primates used to have a much more diverse habitat, living in more areas of the world than they do today. This is directly a result of climate change which has forced primates to change habitats. Climate change also occurred multiple times between the origins of early primates and modern day primates however. For example "The Oligocene was an epoch of major geological change with resulting regional climate shifts that likely affected the direction of evolution" (O'Neil 16). Climate change not only relocated much of the existing primates but also cause

The evolution of man has always been a controversial topic. However, no matter what your beliefs are the fact is that man evolved from primates. There is very credible fossil evidence to back this up. Fossils allow us to dig deeper into our past and give us an understanding of what life was like for our ancestors. Particularly, I believe that fossils of our ancestors show that we had to develop bipedalism because of natural selection and environmental factors.

With attention to Lucy, bipedalism is a unique quality that links us to the evolution of humans and who we are today. One of the earliest human trains discovered was bipedalism, which meant they possessed the ability to walk on two legs and it became a regular basis. This evolved over 4 million years. The oldest evidence of humans walking on two legs come from the remains of Sahelanthropus. Since it was bipedal, it helped this species survive in diverse habitats (“Walking Upright”). This was over 6 million years ago. As mentioned earlier, humans were mostly bipedal around 4 million years ago. Lucy, for example, showed characteristics of an individual that was bipedal. The shaft is angled relative to the knee joints. There is a prominent patellar

The order of primates include a wide and varied array of species, from lemurs to macaques to humans. Grouped by distinctive characterestics, they are also distinguished by clear dissimilarities. Both these aspects may be seen with comparison to chimpanzees and bonobos and to an even more marked degree in regards to nonhuman primates and humans. Each species possess its own specific traits ranging from physical to behavioral to mental that set it apart from its biological kindred while still being firmly linked together.

Primatology has showed humans that although we are still the most advanced species, there is not as big of a gap as what has previously been thought. There are a lot of similarities, not only biologically but also culturally, between humans and other primates. Research and studies have shown that primates live in community with each other very similar to humans. Their community may not be as complex as ours, but it is similar all the same. Their communities even contain hierarchies and social groups. Although primates have not learned how to use spoken language, researchers have been able to teach some of them sign language. They have also found that primates make their own tools. Another aspect of primate culture that is similar to

Near the junction between a single ancestral species branching off into two distinctive species, there will undoubtedly be large similarities between the two species. These similarities are expected to diminish over many generations as the two species become reproductively incompatible. However, If we consider the "grey area" that is the time between two strains of a species becoming reproductively distinct, we can why it is so advantageous for distinguishable facial features to arise; distinct facial features serve as a form of genetic authentication that allows identification of individuals with certain genes. These are the exact genotypic traits that must be propagated in a subset of the ancestral species for a budding new species to adapt to a new environment and/or escape the competition for resources from the original ancestral species by developing a niche. Hence, two characterizing features of primates with distinguishable facial features are genetic diversity and capacity for adaptive radiation.

According to science, Human evolution is the extensive progression of many different changes man went through from its original ape-like ancestor. Evidence that scientists have collected over the decades show that there are some physical and behavioral characteristics that primates and humans share. And that the fossils that scientists have found in Africa regarding early man, show that there was a evolutionary split between early man and ape about eight to six million years ago.

“This is… a holy war. All of human history has led to this moment. If we lose… we’ll be the last of our kind. It will be a planet of apes. And we will become your cattle” (War for the Planet of the Apes). Planet of the Apes, by Pierre Boulle, is a science fiction book that was published in 1963. This book tells an innovative story of apes and human in another planet, where the roles of humans and apes have interchanged. In this world, the apes have the ability to speak and have higher cognitive, while the humans do not have the same level of reasoning nor thinking. The apes and the humans cannot coexist in this planet and only the fiercest will prevail. Since the existence of humanity, societies have been separated in the midst of race and religion.

The theory of evolution has been discussed, evaluated, and researched many times since the theory was first brought to light. Darwin’s theory of evolution is said to be divided into two parts, common decent and natural selection (Bouzat, 2014). Many research papers agreeing with Darwin’s theory comment on the diversity of a species and how they have descended from one common ancestor. Natural selection is a process in which species that are better adapted to the environment tend to survive and reproduce (Dictonary.com). Natural selection is seen in the finches that Darwin studied on the Galapagos Islands. Environment and food supply changes caused the finches beaks to adapt in a unique way. Studies on Darwin’s finches show us that natural selection in a natural environment is interpretable, observable, and repeatable (Grant, 2003). Natural selection is representable in different types of birds such as the Island Scrub-jay. A study published in 2015 on these Island Scrub-Jays (Aphelocoma insularis) demonstrates examples of natural selection. The Cambrian explosion argues against Darwin’s theory of natural selection. It

We are humans. Civilized humans to be more specific. But we were not always so civilized. From the beginning of times, men kind have developed incredibly a lot. We evolved from cavemen, and went through so many phases to be who we are right now. One of the phases we went through was called hunter gatherers. How did we evolve from that?

There is great speculation around evolution. As we are continually in the process of discovering the history of human beings, there are many questions surrounding this topic. One very interesting question is why ancient ancestors of homo-sapiens evolved to walk upright like we do today. An apes’ DNA is astonishingly similar to that of a humans, (97% the same) and yet, our bones’ shapes and structure are very different. (Own knowledge, Source D) Bipedalism is unique to humans and it is known to be one of the earliest developments in hominids. (Source G, C) This phenomenon has intrigued researchers and historians for a number of years. There are many answers to this involved question; this essay will look at a few of them.