Реферат: The Earliest Hominines Essay Research Paper The

The Earliest Hominines Essay, Research Paper

The Earliest Hominines

The first undoubted hominine discovered thus far is Ardipithecus ramidus,

which was found in 1994 and is known from 17 fragments of teeth and bone. It

dates to approximately 4.4 million years ago.

Thought to be the descendent genus of Ardipithecus is the genus

Australopithecus; individuals of this genus were bipeds while on the ground and

had ape-like brains and dexterous hands. There are at least six species of

Australopithecus: A. anamensis, A. afarensis, A. aethiopicus, A. africanus, A.

boisei, and A. robustus.

In 1924 an unusual fossil was brought to Raymond Dart, an anatomist at the

University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. This fossil had a curious mix of

ape-like and human-like traits. Dart named the fossil Australopithecus africanus

and claimed that, based on the forward position of the foramen magnum, the

creature was a biped.

At least four species are recognized: A. afarensis and A. africanus being

smaller and lacking the massive jaws of the two larger species, A. boisei and A.

robustus. A. afarensis and A. boisei are from East Africa, while A. africanus and A.

robustus are from South Africa. An earlier species, A. anamensis comes from

Kenya, while a single representative of a sixth species, A. aethiopicus comes from

West Turkana and is known as the “black skull” for its distinctive black staining.

Australopithecus africanus has been discovered at three South African sites:

Taung, Makapansgat, and Sterkfontein. All of these sites range in date from 3 to

2.3 mya; however, a partial foot may be as old as 3.5 million years.

Australopithecus afarensis dates to between 3.9 and 2.9 mya, and was

discovered in the 1970s and 1990s in the Afar region of northern Ethiopia.

Included in this species are the two famous finds of Don Johanson: the remarkably

complete female skeleton AL 288-1, known as “Lucy”, and the collection of 13

individuals at Afar Locality 333 which has come to be known as the “First Family”.

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