Rama Rao's Reviews > Evolution: The Human Story, 2nd Edition

Ancient history of humans

Ancient relics such as fossils, stone tools, bones, footprints, genetic and hereditary information contained in DNA shed light on human ancestors. In few decades, a substantial amount of new evidence suggests origins and the demise of several closely related hominin species that lived in the last seven millions years. Modern humans are new kids on the block who are around for only about 200,000 years on a planet that created life 3.8 billion years ago. The palaeobiological and genetic studies have shown that the origins of modern human beings included interactions with other species like Neanderthals and Denisovans before they went extinct. Hominin species evolved in response to the numerous challenges of nature and selection pressures. Almost all species of hominin are now extinct except for Homo sapiens. Many of extinct species are now known from fossil remains, Homo Neanderthalensis (the Neanderthals), Denisovans, Homo Erectus, Homo Habilis, Homo Ergaster, and various species of Australopithecus. Hominins are distinguished from other primates from their erect posture, bipedal locomotion, larger brains, and behavioral characteristics such as specialized tool use and communication. The living primates most closely related to hominins today are Chimpanzees and Bonobos.

This book is essentially a monograph of history and archaeology of hominin species, and it features numerous colored images of closely related species and the paleoenvironments that included many modern-day wild animals. Their adventures invite us to think about becoming a human species and speculate on the natural section pressures on gene evolution on several dimensions. The reconstructions of extinct hominin species from their anatomical and skeletal remains tell the evolutionary history.

There is a lot to learn about how hominin species and their habitats. Next time, when you are in New York City and If you have time, I recommend visiting the Anne and Bernard Spitzer Hall of Human Origins at the American Museum of Natural History and look at the exhibits. It features four life-sized tableaux of Homo Ergaster, Homo Erectus, Neanderthals, and Cro-Magnons in its natural habitat.