Dr Jeremy Pritchard

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Human Evolution an overview
Dr Jeremy Pritchard
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• Hominoid Great apes and humans
• Hominid Closer to us than gorillas and chimps

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You
Cuz
Dad Mum Aunt
Uncle

• Humans did not evolve from Apes
• You are descended from your mother and father
• You are related to your aunt and cousin

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Common ancestor
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Contemporary animals
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Contemporary animals
Fossils
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Organisms with common features are likely to have
a more recent common ancestor.
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Locomotion
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• Brachiation
• Grip
• Stereo vision

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Humerus
Femur
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• 1. Chimpanzee 2. Australopithecus
  africanus 3. Homo erectus 4.
  Homo sapiens

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Brain size
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Primate Characteristics/Trends

• Brains larger than other animals

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Brains larger than other animals in relation to
body size
Log brain weight (g)

• Brains larger than other animals

Log body weight (g)
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Information from the skeleton

• sex
• age
• stature
• race/species
• pathological conditions
• skeletal trauma

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Trauma
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Trauma
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Trauma
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Trauma
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Proconsul
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• Sahelanthropus tchadensis
• close to the common ancestor of humans and
  chimpanzees _at_ 7 million years

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Australopithecus afarensis
Lucy, discovered in Ethiopia in 1974.
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Australopithecus africanus
Southern Ape of Africa
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Dont run before you can walk
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Homo habilis (ca. 2.5-1.6 mya)
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Homo erectus (1.6 mya-300 kya)
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Homo neanderthal
Homo sapiens
Homo erectus

Homo habilis
ramapithicus
Australopithicus africanus


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Skull radius (cm) Brian volume (cm3)
6 454
6.25 513
6.5 577
6.75 646
7 720
7.25 800
7.5 886
7.75 978
8 1075
8.25 1179
8.5 1290
8.75 1407
9 1531
9.25 1662
9.5 1800
9.75 1946
10 2100
10.25 2261
10.5 2431
10.75 2609
11 2795
11.25 2990
11.5 3194
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Neanderthals (ca. 100-32 kya)
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Neanderthals (ca. 100-32 kya)

• Restricted to Europe, eastern Middle East during
  Ice Age
• Evolved to be cold-adapted
• Short and stocky
• Large nose (for warming air)
• Barrel chest (for warming air)
• Long, low, thick skull but with large Brain

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Neanderthals are not our ancestors
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NOT our ancestors.
Krings et al 1997 Neandertal DNA Sequences and
the Origin of Modern Humans
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Are we still evolving?
Microevolution change in gene frequency -
YES Macro evolution formation of species - NO
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Are we still evolving?

• Some parts of Africa have seen an increase in the
  frequency of a gene called CCR5-32
• Protects against infection with HIV-1.
• May have been selected for during bubonic plague

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Human Evolution - Chimps are our closest relative
25,000 genes
25, 000 genes
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