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Human Evolution: From Apes to Today

Human evolution occurred over approximately 6 million years as humans originated from apelike ancestors. Early defining human traits like bipedalism evolved over 4 million years ago, while traits like large brains, tool usage, and language developed more recently. Many advanced human traits emerged in just the past 100,000 years. Humans are primates that evolved in Africa and share a common ancestor with chimpanzees and gorillas from 6-8 million years ago. There are debates around how the approximately 15-20 identified early human species were related and which went extinct. Early humans first migrated out of Africa around 2-1.8 million years ago.

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180 views2 pages

Human Evolution: From Apes to Today

Human evolution occurred over approximately 6 million years as humans originated from apelike ancestors. Early defining human traits like bipedalism evolved over 4 million years ago, while traits like large brains, tool usage, and language developed more recently. Many advanced human traits emerged in just the past 100,000 years. Humans are primates that evolved in Africa and share a common ancestor with chimpanzees and gorillas from 6-8 million years ago. There are debates around how the approximately 15-20 identified early human species were related and which went extinct. Early humans first migrated out of Africa around 2-1.8 million years ago.

Uploaded by

nikita bajpai
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Lesson Plans
 For College Students
 Fun Facts
 Human Origins Glossary
 Teaching Evolution through Human Examples
 Frequently Asked Questions

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Human evolution
Human evolution is the lengthy process of change by which people originated from
apelike ancestors. Scientific evidence shows that the physical and behavioral traits
shared by all people originated from apelike ancestors and evolved over a period of
approximately six million years.

One of the earliest defining human traits, bipedalism -- the ability to walk on two legs
-- evolved over 4 million years ago. Other important human characteristics -- such as
a large and complex brain, the ability to make and use tools, and the capacity for
language -- developed more recently. Many advanced traits -- including complex
symbolic expression, art, and elaborate cultural diversity -- emerged mainly during
the past 100,000 years.
Humans are primates. Physical and genetic similarities show that the modern human
species, Homo sapiens, has a very close relationship to another group of primate
species, the apes. Humans and the great apes (large apes) of Africa -- chimpanzees
(including bonobos, or so-called “pygmy chimpanzees”) and gorillas -- share a
common ancestor that lived between 8 and 6 million years ago. Humans first evolved
in Africa, and much of human evolution occurred on that continent. The fossils of
early humans who lived between 6 and 2 million years ago come entirely from Africa.

Most scientists currently recognize some 15 to 20 different species of early humans.


Scientists do not all agree, however, about how these species are related or which
ones simply died out. Many early human species -- certainly the majority of them –
left no living descendants. Scientists also debate over how to identify and classify
particular species of early humans, and about what factors influenced the evolution
and extinction of each species.

Early humans first migrated out of Africa into Asia probably between 2 million and
1.8 million years ago. They entered Europe somewhat later, between 1.5 million and
1 million years. Species of modern humans populated many parts of the world much
later. For instance, people first came to Australia probably within the past 60,000
years and to the Americas within the past 30,000 years or so. The beginnings of
agriculture and the rise of the first civilizations occurred within the past 12,000 years.

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