One of the most hotly debated issues in Anthropology focuses on the origins of modern humans. There are two theories about the origin of modern human, one being that modern humans originated in Africa and the second being that pre-modern humans migrated from Africa to become modern humans in other parts of the world. While both theories originate in Africa, most evidence points to the first theory, the Out of Africa Model. The amount of fossils of modern-like humans that are found in Africa, DNA studies suggesting a founding population in Africa, and stone tools and other artifacts are just some of the evidence that supports the Out of Africa Model.
First, one must understand what this theory really is. The Out of Africa model, also known as the replacement theory, states that modern humans originated in Africa exclusively and then slowly migrated to the rest of the world. This has been suggested to have happened, probably in two separate waves, somewhere between 56,000 and 200,000 years ago. This theory holds that while there were other hominids on other continents, they never evo...
The evolution of man is constantly in question. While we are reasonably sure that modern humans and primates are both related to the same common ancestor, there is constant debate over what initially caused the two species to split into early hominids and apes. According to some, our longest and most popular theory on the division of man and ape is profoundly wrong. However, those same individuals usually offer an equally controversial theory as a substitute, one that is almost impossible to scientifically test or prove. Both the Savanna Theory and the Aquatic Ape Theory offer solutions to how and why humans evolved into bipedal toolmakers. But with enough questioning, each loses its accountability to rhetorical science.
How humans spread around the world is still one of the mysteries in the history of mankind. Mitochondrial DNA has been a crucial line of experimental evidence in developing the current understanding of our genetic history. It has shed significant light in determining the population patterns and human migrations around the world. Studies of mitochondrial DNA have provided new insights in the way humans spread around the globe throughout time. Studies have suggested two major routes from East Africa through which humans exited Africa and colonized the globe. An early route through the tropical coast of the Indian Ocean to southeast Asia and Australasia 60-75 thousand years ago (kya) (Macaulay et al, 2005: 1034), and followed by a dispersal via the Levant into Europe and North Africa 40-45 kya (Atkinson et al, 2008: 472), these routes are often referred as “Out of Africa” migration.
In 1972, a group of researchers led by Donald Johanson, founding director of the “Institute of Human Origins” of Arizona State University, sets out to discover a hypothesized human ancestor, Lucy, in the Hadar Formation in Ethiopia. Donald Johanson’s group hypothesized the existence of a biped human ancestor, with the great ability to walk upright like humans, which of Lucy having a relatively small cranial capacity like that of an ape. This creature, Donald Johanson hypothesized, would be a “missing link” between the apes and humans, and prove that the populated humans developed the ability to walk upright before developing higher intelligence, which was opposed to the common b...
Australopithecus afarensis who existed 3.5 million years ago and a 4.4 million year old skeleton of an Ardipithecus ramidus are the closest science has come to discovering the human lineage. Shattered Ancestry an article written by Katherine Harmon discusses the remains of two hominids found within Ethiopia. These skeletal remains have created a huge controversy within the topic of evolution questioning many assumptions that have been made referencing the human lineage. The skeleton of the Australopithecus afarensis was named Lucy and was discovered in 1974. The evidence of her walking upright on her two feet essentially guaranteed her a spot in the human lineage line. Lucy was a chimplike ape that was said to walk upright making scientists believe the human ancestry was simple. The complete skeleton found in Ethiopia of an Ardipithecus ramidus named Ardi completely changed all assumptions made from scientists about the complexity of the human lineage. These remains have encouraged researches that the human line is not the only lineage to have evolved but the chimpanzee line has undergone drastic changes as well. There are many traits that researchers have always directly linked to the human lineage however since these discoveries occurred researchers are reconsidering. The recent discoveries that have shattered what has always suggested what linked a species to the human lineage have changed the certainty of whether it is possible to confidently identify the human’s last common ancestor. Majority of scientist had forgotten that there would have been many hominid species living together at one time. New theories have been suggested since scientists revealed that the foot of a hominid found called the Burtele site was found ju...
Myers, provider of source material for Edie Heydt's notes from "Human Origins," fall 1997, Alfred. Much of the material in the notes is paraphrased, and the original information sources are unknown.
One of the most commonly asked questions in Anthropology is: "Where did humans come from?" There are many answers to this question such as: "Aliens"; "The Primordial Soup"; "An Intelligent Designer"; or a mixture of the ones listed. However, the two predominate theories are Literal Creationism and Theistic Evolution. Literal Creationism is the literal twenty four-hour, six-day view of Creation. Theistic Evolution is the theory that states God created the fundamental framework for humans and creatures to live, and then the evolutionary process took over to form life. **Tell about how paper defends Literal Creationism**
In class we watch a clip called “Journey of Man” and basically the all over view of this movie was about a man named Spencer Wells and his team of scientist researching for approximately 15 years of investigating to find out our family history. They believe that they have discover some life changing information. They had this discovery for a while now but that needed time to gather up all of the facts from their research. This information that they have could transform our view on the world. They have revealed some type of time machine that has allow them to see back in ancient history. For that past ten years this man and his team have been using this time machine to gather all types of different information about the past history. This information came for just once source, blood. Many people views it as and gift from the past, but to scientist it carries the past and has a unique story behind it. A time machine hidden within us.
Prior to the arrival of European traders, the continent of Africa had developed sophisticated society as it demonstrated its ability to maintain advanced civilizations, withhold three major empires, and gain wealth through trade. Although European traders did advance organized society in Africa, it would be false to say that prior to their arrival Africa was underdeveloped.
One way of examining the values and traditions of a people is to look at their explanations for how the world came to be. These stories make such wonderful tools for analysis because all cultures have some sort of ‘creation’ story. Thus to compare groups of people we may start by looking at their creation mythology. It is important to note that the downfall of comparing mythologies is that in a way it is like comparing apples to oranges. This is because not every myth portrays and explains the same elements.
The human archaeological record is a long and undefined story that may be the most complex question researched today. One of the big questions in human history is the disappearance of the Neanderthal people from the archaeological record around 30,000 BP. While for thousands of years Neanderthals and Anatomically modern humans crossed paths and perhaps lived in close relations, we have yet to really understand the degree to which they lived together. My hypothesis is that these two hominids, Neanderthals and Anatomically Modern Humans, interbred exchanging genes after Modern Humans dispersed from Africa and creating like cultures and material remains. The differences between Neanderthal and Modern humans are not only physical but also genetically evolved and this research will determine an estimated amount of admixture between the two groups.
Afterward, he revealed to us within a half million years, Homo ergaster or Homo erectus started to become apparent in East Africa. Later on, modern humans- Homo Sapiens, arrived eventually. Furthermore, learning how humans lived earlier in comparison today is much more complex. Each culture, religious practices, appearance, characteristics, and norms are different from this present day. (Christian 14-15).
“The scientific study of how humans developed did not begin until the 1800s in Europe. Until that time, people relied on religious explanations of how humans came into existence. Starting in the 1500s a scientific revolution began to sweep Europe. Thinkers started using scientific methods and experiments to try to better understand the world and the creatures living in it. Eventually these methods were turned to the question of human origins” (The Nature Of Human Origins, 1). Earth made it possible for species to change over time because Ancient Earth provides ability to plenty of time.The Homo Sapien a is very complex creature. The species started off very simple by living in caves and surviving with little food and then later evolved into a species that were able to do many more complex things. The first species was Sahelanthropus tchadensis They were one of the most simple humans in that time period and on. They had very small skulls compared to Homo Sapiens today and their motor skills were just the same. We have evolved and changed for the better both mentally and physically. The Evolution of Homo Sapiens started off simple, such as the Neanderthals, and now we are the most advanced species to ever walk the planet so far.
Few bygone civilizations fascinate us as much as that of the ancient Egyptians. The kingdom along the Nile River has been the subject of countless books, magazine articles, movies, and television shows and documentaries. There is even a hotel in Las Vegas with an ancient Egyptian theme! Museums all over the world dedicate entire galleries to excavated Egyptian artifacts, and Egypt itself receives millions of tourists flocking to photograph its ruins each year.
The evidence for human evolution begins with the australopithecines. All the australopithecines were bipedal and therefore possible hominines. In details of their teeth, jaws, and brain size, however, they modify enough among themselves to be divided into five species: Australopithecus anamensis, A. afarensis, A. africanus, A. robustus, and A. boisei. Genus Homo are also divided in five different spices: Homo erectus, H. habilis, H. sapiens, and H. sapiens sapiens.
Mankind’s origin is from God through creation. The Bible tells us in Genesis chapter 1 verse 27; So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him: male and female created He them. The Bible also says in Genesis chapter 2 verse 7, And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.