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Australopithecus afarensis
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The first known link in the evolutionary chain between primates and early humans can be traced back to
Australopithecus afarensis, a hominid that lived approximately 3.9 to 3 million years ago. On November 24th, 1974 the Anthropologist Donald Johansen discovered
a female hominid (whom he later named "Lucy") near the Awash River in Hadar, Ethiopia.
Anthropologists classified Lucy as Australopithecus afarensis and believe this hominid to be the
earliest common ancestor shared between primates and early humans.
Anthropological and archeological evidence suggests Australopithecus afarensis
was bipedal (walked on two legs) which attributed significant advantages over the ape (her ancestor) and ultimately
led this species to evolve into the early human form. Australopithecus afarensis had a relatively
small skull, bipedal knee structure, and molars and front teeth more similar to modern humans than to
the great ape. The archeological evidence suggests Australopithecus afarensis had the same relative size of a modern human,
but possessed a smaller skull and smaller body.
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Bipedalism afforded distinct advantages to Australopithecus afarensis, as it permitted the
hominid to have its hands free to grasp objects. In addition, the bipedal stance allowed
early hominids to have a higher field of vision. This important advantage could be applied
in the search for potential food sources and predators.
Physically, Australopithecus afarensis had a smaller stature when compared to modern humans. On
average, they are thought to have been between 3'9" and 4'6" tall. These early hominids had brains equal to 35% the
size of modern homo sapiens. The Australopithecus afarensis had small canines and their teeth aligned similarly to modern humans.
The small stature of this early hominid presented a particular challenge while living on the savanna,
as many fell prey to carnivorous creatures.
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Anthropologists believe the Australopithecus genus split from the homo genus (under which modern humans are classified)
approximately five million years ago. Homo habilis (Latin for "Handy Man" or "Skillful Person"), is arguably the first
species of the homo genus to appear.
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