\[ **BT: [[human beings#stages in the development of human life on Earth]]** ] --- # human evolution > ‘Eventually, over many millions of years, there evolved an amazing array of different life forms. Among these, emerging some 2,00,000 years ago, was *Homo sapiens*.’[^1] [[‘Through the processes of biological evolution, the human species had acquired a distinctive and extraordinarily significant biological attribute — the capacity for culture.’]][^2] [[Humankind's ‘linguistic aptitude depends on both characteristics of the human brain and on special anatomical arrangements in the region of the larynx, pharynx and tongue which permit us to utter an amazing range of different sounds.’]][^3] [[The human species has only existed for some 8,000 generations; we are basically still the same animal as our ancestors who lived long before the advent of farming—that is, one genetically adapted to the life of the hunter-gatherers.]][^4] **Evolutionary anthropology** is ‘the interdisciplinary study of the evolution of human physiology and human behaviour and of the relation between hominids and non-hominid primates, builds on natural science and on social science.’[^5] ## the evolutionary process ## human evolutionary relationships with living and fossil primates ### the primates #### distinguishing characteristics of the primates ##### the natural history of primate life - see: [[primates]] ##### classification of the primates: the two main groups or suborders, the prosimians (principally lemurs, lorises, and tarsiers) and the anthropoids (monkeys, apes, and humans) ###### the Hominoids (Hominoidea) Apes (collectively Hominoidea) are a superfamily of Old World simians native to sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia (though they were more widespread in Africa, most of Asia, and Europe in prehistory, and counting humans are found globally). There are two extant branches of the superfamily Hominoidea: the gibbons, or lesser apes; and the hominids, or great apes. - The family Hylobatidae, the lesser apes, include four genera and a total of 20 species of gibbon, including the lar gibbon and the siamang, all native to Asia. They are highly arboreal and bipedal on the ground. They have lighter bodies and smaller social groups than great apes. + The family [[#classification of the Hominidae|Hominidae]] (hominids), the great apes, includes four genera comprising three extant species of orangutans, two extant species of gorillas, two extant species of chimpanzees, and humans. Except for gorillas and humans, hominoids are agile climbers of trees.[^6] #### classification of the Hominidae > ‘**Hominid** – the group consisting of all modern and extinct Great Apes (that is, modern humans, chimpanzees, gorillas and orang-utans plus all their immediate ancestors).’[^7] > ‘Numerous revisions in classifying the great apes have caused the use of the term *hominid* to change over time. The original meaning of “hominid” referred only to humans (*Homo*) and their closest extinct relatives. However, by the 1990s humans and other apes were considered to be “hominids”.’[^8] ### the fossil records of the hominin #### the discovery and recognition of the hominin fossil record #### classification of the hominin > ‘**Hominin** – the group consisting of modern humans, extinct human species and all our immediate ancestors (including members of the genera *Homo*, *Australopithecus*, *Paranthropus* and *Ardipithecus*).’[^9] ##### *Australopithecus* The beginning of the [[Pleistocene#Gelasian|Gelasian]] coincides with the oldest known lithic industry, possibly first used by the *[[#Australopithecus]]* forebears of the genus *Homo*.[^10] Thus, the Gelasian is also the start of the [[#Palaeolithic]]. ##### *Paranthropus* Paranthropus is a genus of extinct hominin which contains two widely accepted species: *P. robustus* and *P. boisei*. Also known as the **robust australopithecines**. They lived between c. 2.9 and at least 1 million years ago—from the end of the [[Pliocene]] to the [[Pleistocene#Middle Pleistocene|Middle Pleistocene]].[^11] The validity of *Paranthropus* is contested; they are sometimes considered to be synonymous with *[[#Australopithecus]]*.[^12] ##### *Homo habilis* [[The evolution of anatomically modern humans occurred during the Pleistocene.]][^13] Present during the [[Pleistocene#Middle Pleistocene|Middle Pleistocene]]’.[^14] ##### *Homo erectus* [[Homo erectus is the only hominin species found in fossil records for much of the Pleistocene.]][^15] [[Tools found in Renzidong, Anhui Province, indicate Homo erectus may have had an established presence in China around 2.25 million years ago.]][^16] ###### ‘Asian hypothesis’ [[Some scientists propose an evolution of Homo erectus in China ‘parallel to that already observed in Africa.’]][^17] [[Most Western archaeologists favour an early dispersal of Homo out of Africa and into Asia, rather than supporting the ‘Asian hypothesis’ (i.e. a local Asian origin for Asian H. erectus).]][^18] ##### *Homo heidelbergensis* Present during the [[Pleistocene#Middle Pleistocene|Middle Pleistocene]].[^19] ##### *Homo neanderthalensis* - see: [[Neanderthals]] ##### *Homo sapiens* [[The oldest known human DNA dates to the Middle Pleistocene, i.e. around 430,000 years ago (as of 2016).]][^20] - see also: [[Pleistocene#Middle Pleistocene]] [[Humans as we know them (Homo sapiens), emerged some 200,000 years ago.]][^21] [[The human species has only existed for some 8,000 generations; we are basically still the same animal as our ancestors who lived long before the advent of farming—that is, one genetically adapted to the life of the hunter-gatherers.]][^4] [^1]: Stephen Boyden, ‘[[Boyden, ‘Human Biohistory’, 2013|Human Biohistory]]’, in *Long Term Socio-Ecological Research*, Human–Environment Interactions, vol. 2, ed. Simron Jit Singh (Springer, 2013), p. 141. <https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1177-8_7>. [^2]: Stephen Boyden, ‘[[Boyden, ‘Human Biohistory’, 2013|Human Biohistory]]’, in *Long Term Socio-Ecological Research. Studies in Society: Nature Interactions Across Spatial and Temporal Scales*, ed. Simron Jit Singh et al. (Springer, 2013), p. 141, <https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1177-8_7>. [^3]: Stephen Boyden, ‘[[Boyden, ‘Human Biohistory’, 2013|Human Biohistory]]’, in *Long Term Socio-Ecological Research. Studies in Society: Nature Interactions Across Spatial and Temporal Scales*, ed. Simron Jit Singh et al. (Springer, 2013), p. 141, <https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1177-8_7>. [^4]: Stephen Boyden, ‘[[Boyden, ‘Human Biohistory’, 2013|Human Biohistory]]’, in *Long Term Socio-Ecological Research. Studies in Society: Nature Interactions Across Spatial and Temporal Scales*, ed. Simron Jit Singh et al. (Springer, 2013), p. 141, <https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1177-8_7>. [^5]: ‘Evolutionary Anthropology’, Wikipedia, last edited 14 February 2023, 18:04 (UTC), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolutionary_anthropology. [^6]: ‘Ape’, Wikipedia, last edited 1 September 2025, 21:40 (UTC), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ape. [^7]: Beth Blaxland, ‘Hominid and hominin – what’s the difference?’, *Australian Museum*, updated 2 October 2020, https://australian.museum/learn/science/human-evolution/hominid-and-hominin-whats-the-difference/. [^8]: ‘Hominidae’, *Wikipedia*, 19 March 2025, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hominidae. [^9]: Beth Blaxland, ‘Hominid and hominin – what’s the difference?’, *Australian Museum*, updated 2 October 2020, https://australian.museum/learn/science/human-evolution/hominid-and-hominin-whats-the-difference/. [^10]: ‘Lower Palaeolithic’, Wikipedia, last edited 1 April 2026, 10:00 (UTC), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lower_Paleolithic. [^11]: ‘Paranthropus’, Wikipedia, last edited 30 March 2026, 02:27 (UTC), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paranthropus. [^12]: ‘Paranthropus’, Wikipedia, last edited 30 March 2026, 02:27 (UTC), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paranthropus. [^13]: ‘Pleistocene’, Wikipedia, last edited 11 December 2025, 12:36 (UTC), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleistocene. [^14]: ‘Middle Pleistocene’, Wikipedia, 13 February 2026, 18:30 (UTC), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Pleistocene. [^15]: ‘Pleistocene’, Wikipedia, last edited 11 December 2025, 12:36 (UTC), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleistocene. [^16]: Russell Ciochon and Roy Larick, ‘[[Ciochon and Larick, ‘Early Homo erectus Tools in China’, 2000|Early Homo erectus Tools in China]]’, *Newsbriefs* (Archaeology Magazine), vol. 53, no. 1 (January/February 2000), https://archive.archaeology.org/0001/newsbriefs/china.html. [^17]: R\Russell Ciochon and Roy Larick, ‘[[Ciochon and Larick, ‘Early Homo erectus Tools in China’, 2000|Early Homo erectus Tools in China]]’, *Newsbriefs* (Archaeology Magazine), vol. 53, no. 1 (January/February 2000), https://archive.archaeology.org/0001/newsbriefs/china.html. [^18]: Russell Ciochon and Roy Larick, ‘[[Ciochon and Larick, ‘Early Homo erectus Tools in China’, 2000|Early Homo erectus Tools in China]]’, *Newsbriefs* (Archaeology Magazine), vol. 53, no. 1 (January/February 2000), https://archive.archaeology.org/0001/newsbriefs/china.html. [^19]: ‘Middle Pleistocene’, Wikipedia, 13 February 2026, 18:30 (UTC), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Pleistocene. [^20]: ‘Middle Pleistocene’, Wikipedia, 13 February 2026, 18:30 (UTC), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Pleistocene. [^21]: Stephen Boyden, ‘[[Boyden, ‘Human Biohistory’, 2013|Human Biohistory]]’, in *Long Term Socio-Ecological Research. Studies in Society: Nature Interactions Across Spatial and Temporal Scales*, Human–Environment Interactions, vol. 2, ed. Simron Jit Singh (Springer 2013), p. 141, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1177-8_7.