Human Evolution
Question 1
Fossils records enable us to see events that happened in the past. As such, humans can know the modern evolution using events that happened in the past through fossils. Documented fossils history shows characteristics such as path the creatures took through evolutionary history. In addition, fossils show the time taken for a complete revolution to occur (Grabowski et.al, 2015). As such, humans can date them as well as looking into their features that occurred during their development period and helps in comparing them. Therefore, fossils enable us to know human evolution (Cartmill & Smith, 2009).
Question 2
Different scholars have come up with several explanations to illustrate bipedalism including the idea of our ancestors’ desire to stand up and see beyond the tall grasses, reduce the body area exposed to sunlight among others. However, bipedalism enables human to understand the origin of their most distinctive traits (Langdon, 1985). In addition, scientists postulate that understanding our ancestors’ brain enables us to fully understand how modern humans evolved. Notably, the modern human’s brains are globular and large. The modern human behavior can be attributed to induced neurological shifts from our ancestors. According to scientists, the human brain possesses abstract thought that enables humans to create art and tools and is traceable from the emergence of human revolution (Grabowski et.al, 2015).
Question 3
The out of Africa theory explains that modern humans came from an isolated species that expanded to replace the out-of-date and indigenous humans. The out of Africa modern humans are believed to have risen in the Pleistocene and are considered as new species that have negligible mating between archaic groups and migrating Africans (Leakey, 2013). While the Out of Africa hypothesis suggests that Africans are the ancestors of all living things, the multiregional hypothesis postulates that Homo erectus is ancestor of all living things after he migrated into various part of the world and evolved (Grabowski et.al, 2015).
Question 4
The most recent discovery was the Neanderthal; the creature was discovered in Germany, August 1856. Consequently, various scholars have argued the relationship between modern human and the Neanderthal (Dalton, 2010). For instances, some signs show that the Neanderthal is similar to modern human but different from Homo sapiens. Consequently, the scholars argue that the Neanderthal breed with Homo sapiens, while others argue that they could not bleed because they had different characteristics (Hopkinson, 2000).
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References
Grabowski, M., Hatala, K. G., Jungers, W. L., & Richmond, B. G. (2015). Body mass estimates of hominin fossils and the evolution of human body size. Journal of Human Evolution, 85, 75-93.
Top of Form
Leakey, R. E. (2013). The origin of humankind.
Bottom of Form
Top of Form
Cartmill, M., & Smith, F. H. (2009). The human lineage. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley-Blackwell.
Bottom of Form
Langdon, J. (1985). Fossils and the origin of bipedalism. Journal Of Human Evolution, 14(7), 615-635. doi: 10.1016/s0047-2484(85)80071-3
Dalton, R. (2010). Neanderthals may have interbred with humans. Nature. doi: 10.1038/news.2010.194
Hopkinson, T. (2000). Neanderthals and Modern Humans. Antiquity, 74(285), 723-725. doi: 10.1017/s0003598x00060129
