The Beginning of Time

1
The Beginning of Time Early Man
Im President Bush and I got up early to learn
about early man. Everybody wake up and dont mess
with Texas!

• An Exploration into the Origins of the Universe
  and Man
• Mr. Oberholtzer

2
Two Theories on the Origins of Man

• Creationism
• based on faith and belief
• universe created at a fixed point in recent past
  by a deity.
• Man was created as is no evolution required
• Archbishop Ussher--creation in 4004 BC

• Evolution
• based on observation and scientific method
• all creatures develop from a lower to higher
  state
• natural selection determines the survival of the
  fittest
• Charles Darwin--1859

3
Charles Darwin and The Origin of Species

• Botanist, Geologist and Archaeologist
• circumnavigated the Earth on HMS Beagle 1831-39
• Question Why so much variety in life forms?
• Answer Natural Selection move from low order to
  high!!

4
Evolution and Natural Selection

• All forms of life evolved over long periods of
  time from a lower to a higher form
• Natural Selection ensured the survival of the
  fittest--those best adapted to the specific
  environment will survive
• Darwin believed man evolved together with the
  great apes (specifically chimpanzees)
• Result Nature, not a deity made man big debate!!

5
The Evolution of Man

• Amino Acids basic building block of life
• Mankind began around 4 million years ago with a
  group of small apes.
• Special Gift of Nature
• Superior BrainPrehensile AbilityUpright
  Posture Tools
• Tools enable man to adapt and shape his
  environment, ensuring his survival.

6
The Australopithecines (Southern Ape)

• Australopithecus Afarensis- Lucy skeleton 3.2
  million years ago 3.5 ft tall, 90 lbs, omnivore
  brain size of chimpanzee.
• Australopithecus Africanus-- 4 million yrs ago
  upright posture, crude tools under 5 ft and 100
  lbs 442 cc cranial capacity.
• Australopithecus Boisei-- 3.5 million yrs ago
  540 cc cranial capacity.
• Advanced Australopithecus (or Homo Habilis)
  hunter/gatherer--640 cc cranial capacity caused
  extinction of Africanus Boisei
• Specimens have only been found in Africa!

7
The Story of Lucy

• Oldest complete skeleton of human ancestor
  australopithecus found in Hadar Ethiopia in the
  Afar Triangle region along the Awash River by Dr.
  Don Johanson.
• Skeleton has locking knee, prehensile ability,
  omnivorous denture and the ability to walk
  upright.

8
How was the skeleton found?

• Sheer luck Johanson found it sticking out of the
  ground in 1974.
• Great Rift Valleytear in the Earths crust
  exposes millions of years of earth historyAfar
  Triangle is in this region.
• Oldest human remains have been found here!Easiest
  place on Earth to hunt for fossils.

9
Fossilization Process

• A living creature dies and falls to the sea
  bottom
• Soft tissue (flesh) rots away, leaving bone.
• The bone is then covered by sand and is buried.
• Over millions of years the minerals from the
  surrounding soil leach into the bone, replacing
  the original organic material, molecule by
  molecule, turning it to stone.
• Result A fossil, perfectly preserved in stone.
  Very rare and extremely valuable!

10
The Lucy Skeleton

• Mostly complete (40) notably, the skull was
  missing.
• Possessed human knee (locking), prehensile
  ability, almost human teeth.

11



12
Locomotion Key to Identification of Lucy as
Human!

• Knee of Lucy locks in place, enabling upright
  posture a true biped (walks on 2 feet)
• Pelvis is narrow in order to help support weight
  while standing and walking upright
• Apes cannot lock their knees they shuffle when
  they try to walk upright Apes are true quadipeds
  (walks on 4 legs) proves that Lucy was human!

13









14
Portrait of Lucy
15
Early Modern Man

• Homo Erectus-- (1950) 1st True man--1.4 million
  yrs ago lived communally, used tools, fire and
  language the toolmaker 988cc cranial capacity
• Neanderthal Man- 1450 cc brain had art, religion
  expressions of culture made complex tools, had
  a language and traveled all over the earth.
  Lasted for 50,000 yrs.

16
Homo Erectus He who walks upright

• 988cc braincase
• Had language, lived and worked in small groups
  cooperatively
• Made tools, mostly to scavenge omnivorous diet
  high in protein.
• Could use fire but did not know how to make it
  he carried it with him in clay urns.
• Locomotion the same as a modern human.

17
Neanderthal Man

• Neanderthal Man was first consistent cave
  dweller.
• Neanderthal Man was historys greatest slob left
  artifacts and trash wherever he went rich source
  of information today!!
• Neanderthal Man never rose out of his primitive
  lifestyle died out 40,000 yrs ago.

18
Cro-Magnon Man

• Cro-Magnon Man is the direct ancestor of Modern
  Man. He is Homo Sapiens. We are Homo Sapiens
  Sapiens.
• Cro-Magnon Man looked like Modern Man and had a
  slightly larger brain. Only real difference was
  lifestyle (he was a hunter-gatherer while we have
  civilization)
• Created complex art (painting, sculpture) and
  religion complex rituals culture
• Cro-Magnon Man improved his tools, social
  organization and personal sophistication

19
Cro-Magnon Man and the Creative Revolution

• Cro-Magnon cave art has been discovered
  throughout Western Europe.
• Lascaux cave in SW France is the most famous.
• Cave art shows sophistication in design,
  implementation, symbolism
• Cave art is expressive of religious/cultural
  values of Cro-Magnon Man.
• Cave art is the net result of the creative
  revolution that quickly allows Cro-Magnon Man to
  evolve into modern man.

20
Cro-Magnon Cave Art
21
Sculpture and Cave Artists
22
(No Transcript)
23
Brain Size and Evolution

• The Key to human evolution is brain size.
• The fossil evidence shows that human brains and
  thus intelligence increased as man evolved.
• Intelligence is what separates man from the rest
  of the animal kingdom

24
Cheat Sheet Who's Who of Early Man
25
The March of Human Evolution
8. Modern Man (Homo Sapiens Sapiens) 7.
Cro-Magnon Man (Homo Sapiens) 6. Neanderthal Man
(Homo Sapiens Neanderthalis) 5. Homo Erectus (he
who walks upright) 4. Australopithecus Boisei 3.
Australopithecus Robustus 2. Australopithecus
Afarensis 1.Australopithecus Anamensis
26
Where do we go from here?

• Modern technology allows for the survival of
  those with unfit genes
• Modern moral values and attitudes prohibit the
  elimination of those with inferior genetic traits
• Has human evolution stopped? Are human beings
  devolving or are they continuing to evolve? Where
  to we go from here? Studying the past provides
  clues for us.