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Summary Human Evolution
Matric CAPs syllabus
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CHAPTER ELEVENHUMAN EVOLUTION
BASICS
● Charles Darwin explained evolution by natural selection
● James Burnet suggested human and apes shared a common ancestry
OUR PLACE IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM
● All living things are classified into five groups
● One of the five groups is Kingdom Animalia which is divided into
invertebrates and vertebrates
● The vertebrates are divided into:
○ Class Pisces
○ Class Amphibia
○ Class Aves
○ Class Reptilia
○ Class Mammalia (This is us)
● 1735: Carl Linnaeus classified humans in the Order Primates of the Class
Mammalia and referred to us as Homo sapiens. Humans once belonged to the
species Homo habilis, Homo erectus and Homo neanderthalensis.
● Within the primates there are two suborders. One of which is
Anthropoidea (monkeys, apes and humans).
● Within the Anthropoidea are three families: Hylobatidae (gibbons),
Pongidae (orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees) and Hominidae (Humans).
COMMON ANCESTORS FOR LIVING HOMINIDS (INCLUDING HUMANS)
THE NEW CLASSIFICATION FOR HOMINIDAE
Recent studies and discoveries indicate that orangutans, gorillas and
chimpanzees are more similar to humans as previously believed.
Therefore:
● The gibbons remain in the family Hylobatidae
● The African Apes and orangutans are placed with the humans in Hominidae
● The family Pongidae no longer exists
, HOMINID: The group consisting of modern humans, chimpanzees, gorillas and
orangutans plus immediate ancestors.
HOMININ: The group consisting of modern humans, extinct human species and all
our immediate ancestors
SIMILARITIES BETWEEN AFRICAN APES AND HUMANS
ARBOREAL LIFE: Life spent mostly in the trees
THE UPPER LIMBS
● Long arms which can move freely because of the glenoid cavity and
because of scapulae which are not attached to the vertebral column.
Useful for plucking fruit. Gives primates the ability to rotate their
arms.
● Flat nails instead of claws. The bare finger tips are rich in nerve
endings which make them sensitive, allowing for precision work such as
making tools.
● All primates have opposable thumbs (work in the opposite direction as
the other fingers) which help them to form a power grip (ie grasping
trees) or precision grip (ie holding tweezers).
THE BRAIN
● Brains are large compared to body mass
● Allows primates to make sense of information
● Olfactory brain centres reduced sense of smell
VISION
BINOCULAR VISION: looking at an object with both eyes
STEREOSCOPIC VISION: observing the solid nature of an object
● Primates eyes’ are in the front of their heads
● They have binocular and stereoscopic vision
● They have cones and rods for clear, colour vision
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