Human Evolution (courtesy of a trip to the Natural History Museum)
September 2019
If you are interested in finding out about evolution and especially in how our own species evolved then a good start would be to make a trip to the Natural History Museum in London.
Below is a set of photos from the gallery on Human Evolution. This takes you on a seven-million-year journey when the human lineage split from the chimpanzee lineage. You can see the first hominins and trace the human family tree from our ancient ape-like ancestors through the slow evolutionary process that resulted in us - Homo sapiens.
The Natural History Museum is a super place to take children (of all ages). It has a fantastic collection of dinosaurs, minerals, fossils, mammals, birds and creepy crawlies. Anyone who goes there would have to be very dull of spirit not to be amazed at what the natural world has to show. In addition, the building is a cathedral-like homage to all the beauties that nature has produced.
Brian Madican
Sept 2019
On the way out, you might want to stop and look at the statue of Charles Darwin – the man of genius who did so much to explain our place in the natural world.
Top tip To get to the Human Evolution gallery, do not go in by the main entrance. It is easier to walk up Exhibition Road (the road between the V&A and the Natural History Museum) and enter the via the small side entrance there. The gallery is just up the stairs from this entrance. You can always leave via the main entrance to see the wonderful architecture of the building (and Darwin’s statue) after you have seen the exhibition.
Note The photos in this article were taken by me and a couple of them are not up to family holiday snap level let alone professional level. I have included photos of the exhibits as well as some of the explanatory blurbs. Where the photos have not come out too well I have included additional text.
THE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM HUMAN EVOLUTION GALLERY
TRACING OUR ANCESTORS On the wall outside the entrance to the gallery is a wonderful set of 18 skulls showing some of the ancient relatives of Homo sapiens.
The Oldest Hominins – Scientists haven’t found enough remains to say much about the very earliest hominins, the ones from the first phases of human evolution.
The earliest one found so far, in Chad, is about 6.5 million years old. Other fossil finds show that four to six million years ago a number of different hominin species existed in Africa. Some, like Ardipithecus ramidus, are well studied. Research suggests they ate nuts, leaves, fruit and insects and this species probably lived in woodland.
Living and extinct relatives – Scientists studying human evolution use many methods to determine what is a hominin, and what is not. We know, for example, that hominins have an upright posture, walk on 2 legs, and have small canines. Comparing skeletons, dating and analysing fossil bones and teeth are all key techniques to understand how we related. In addition, DNA, the genetic material that determines the makeup of all living things, can sometimes survive in fossil remains. This can tell us huge amounts about our living non-hominin and extinct hominin relatives.
We now know we share around 98% of our DNA with chimpanzees. We would have had even more of our DNA in common with our extinct hominin relatives such as Australopithecus sediba.
Walking upright – our ancestors’ skeletons adapted for upright walking. An s-shaped spine keeps the body balanced and helps absorb the impact of each step along with aligned toes and arched feet. Like our fellow hominin, Australopithecus sediba, inwardly slanting thigh bones transfer weight to our feet through the knees.
Walking on two legs – We know how some of our earliest predecessors moved by looking at fossils of their lower body. These reveal that hominins known as the australopithecines, some of them alive more than 3 million years ago, shared a very human characteristic. They walked upright.
This behaviour may have bestowed survival benefits, such as the ability to spot dangerous predators earlier, more efficient travel over long distances and, perhaps crucially it freed up their hands to do other tasks, such as carry food and use tools. These advantages may have helped them survive as a species for many hundreds of thousands of years.
Above is the most complete skull of an Australopithecus africanus adult ever found. It is about 2.5 million years old. Its brain was similar in size to modern apes such as chimpanzees.
The robust australopithecines. Less than 3 million years ago, there was a major shift in the African climate, which started to fluctuate between wet and dry periods. This may help explain why Australopithecus afarensis became extinct.
Around the same time, two new groups began to evolve. One contained the ancestors of modern humans, the other was a robust australopithecine group in the genus known as Paranthropus, characterised by heavy jaws and huge molars. Sharing geographical space with other hominin species may have pressured them to develop more specialised diets, as they adapted to different ecological niches.
What is a human?
There have been many species similar to us that have lived over the last two million years. Some co-existed with modern humans in Asia and Europe as recently as 40,000 years ago.
Apart from our species, the gallery features eight other kinds of human: Homo habilis, Homo rudolfensis, Homo erectus, Homo antecessor, Homo heidelbergensis, Homo floresiensis (nicknamed 'the Hobbit'), Homo neanderthalensis (the Neanderthals) and the recently discovered Homo naledi.
Sites where key fossils have been found in Africa, Europe and Asia.
POSSIBLE ANCESTOR SPECIES Both Homo rudolfensis and Homo habilis have been identified as possible stem species from which we – Homo sapiens – evolved. Both lived around 1.9 million years ago, one larger-bodied and larger brained, one smaller. Another ancient human species, Homo erectus, may also have lived at the same time.
These species co-existed with other hominins. However, early tool innovation and a less specialised diet may have made Homo habilis and Homo rudolfensis the precursors of an entire line of new species: one in which Homo sapiens eventually appeared. Scientists don’t know this for sure, and future fossil finds are likely to shed more light on our evolutionary path.
A Homo habilis skull.
ANCIENT HUMANS WORLDWIDE Both Homo erectus and the later Homo heidelbergensis lived across large parts of the world. Many partial skulls and teeth belonging to Homo erectus spanning more than one million years have been found, showing their geographical range and the diversity between individuals.
Homo heidelbergensis is thought to have evolved from the species Homo erectus and has been found in Africa and Eurasia. Homo heidelbergensis fossils show a mix of Homo erectus features and later human characteristics. These people established populations in Africa and Europe by about 600,000 years ago. Regional differences began to develop as they adapted to their new environments.
THE NEANDERTHALS Neanderthals are one of our closest human relatives. Their remains have been found across Europe and West Asia, we know more about them than any other extinct human.
Shorter and stockier than most people today, they had powerful, muscular bodies. Their brains were as big as ours, but shaped differently. Their faces had hefty brow ridges and large noses.
Neanderthals existed for about 350,000 years. Their bodies developed in a time dominated by cold, but they also thrived in warmer times. Cut-marked remains of animal bones and tools show they were successful hunters who developed new stone tool technology and made fire from around 300,000 years ago.
(One of my poorer photos of early Neanderthal skulls)
THE LAST NEANDERTHALS – The extinction of Neanderthals is a well known fact. The species went extinct about 39,000 years ago, but why did they disappear after having survived for 350,000 years?
Two major factors may have contributed to their extinction: an unstable climate, where severe changes in temperature happen rapidly, sometimes within a lifetime, and competition from another species, like us. Only the most resourceful and adaptable could survive.
Remains from some of the most recently living Neanderthals have been found in Gibraltar. So was this their last stand? The area had a stable and mild climate for the previous 125,000 years, unlike northern Europe, which experienced numerous cold stages that often made the land uninhabitable.
A Neanderthal model from the Gallery
MEMOIRS OF A NEANDERTHAL We will never know the details of a Neanderthal’s personal life. But we do know from injuries found on their prey that they were skilled hunters, undoubtedly intelligent and able to share information with others. We know they lived in small groups and were social beings. We don’t know if they had a language like ours, but they did have similar vocal anatomy, and their genetic profile suggests they should have been capable of speech. The way they looked after their sick, for example, and buried their dead, also suggest they were social and even compassionate beings.
OUT OF AFRICA - The final part of the gallery explores how our species, Homo sapiens, originated in Africa, before dispersing around the world and becoming the only surviving species of human left today. Modern humans evolved in Africa around 200,000 years ago. They have a higher and more rounded brain case, smaller faces and brow ridges, and a more prominent chin than other ancient humans.
A Homo sapiens skull
Below is a timeline of evolution which will add a little more "flesh to the bones" and skulls of this wonderful display in the Human Evolution Gallery.
55 million years ago (MYA) First primitive primates evolve
8 – 6 MYA First gorillas evolve. Later, chimp and human lineages diverge
5.8 MYA Orrorin tugenensis, oldest human ancestor thought to have walked on two legs
5.5 MYA Ardipithecus, early “proto-human” shares traits with chimps and gorillas, and is forest-dwelling
4 MYA Australopithecines appear. They have brains no larger than a chimpanzee’s – with a volume around 400 – 500 cm3 -, but walk upright on two legs. First human ancestors to live on the savannah
3.2 MYA Lucy, famous specimen of Australopithecus afarensis, lives near what is now Hadar, Ethiopia
2.7 MYA Paranthropus, lives in woods and grasslands, has massive jaws for chewing on roots and vegetation. Becomes extinct 1.2 MYA
2.5 MYA Homo habilis appears. Its face protrudes less than earlier hominids, but still retains many ape features. Has a brain volume of around 600 cm3
Stone tools - Hominids start to use stone tools regularly, created by splitting pebbles – this starts Oldowan tradition of toolmaking, which lasts a million years
Some hominids develop meat-rich diets as scavengers. The extra energy from this may have favoured the evolution of larger brains
1.8 – 1.5 MYA Homo erectus is found in Asia. First true hunter-gatherer ancestor, and also first to have migrated out of Africa in large numbers. It attains a brain size of around 1000 cm3
1.6 MYA Fire Possible first sporadic use of fire suggested by discoloured sediments in Koobi Fora, Kenya. More convincing evidence of charred wood and stone tools has been found in Israel and dated to 780,000 years ago
More complex Acheulean stone tools start to be produced and are the dominant technology until 100,000 years ago
600,000 YA Homo Heidelbergensis lives in Africa and Europe. Similar brain capacity to modern humans
500,000 YA Wooden huts Earliest evidence of purpose-built shelters – wooden huts – are known from sites near Chichibu, Japan
400,000 YA Spears Early humans begin to hunt with spears
325,000 YA Oldest surviving early human footprints are left by three people who scrambled down the slopes of a volcano in Italy
280,000 YA First complex stone blades and grinding stones
230,000 YA Neanderthals appear and are found across Europe, from Britain in the west to Iran in the east, until they become extinct with the advent of modern humans 28,000 years ago
195,000 YA Our own species Homo sapiens appears on the scene – and shortly after begins to migrate across Asia and Europe. Oldest modern human remains are two skulls found in Ethiopia that date to this period. Average human brain volume is 1350 cm3
170,000 YA Mitochondrial Eve, the direct ancestor to all living people today, may have been living in Africa
150,000 YA Humans possibly capable of speech. 100,000-year-old shell jewellery suggests that that people develop complex speech and symbolism
140,000 YA Trade First evidence of long-distance trade
110,000 YA Jewellery Earliest beads – made from ostrich eggshells – and jewellery
50,000 YA “Great leap forward”: human culture starts to change much more rapidly than before; people begin burying their dead ritually; create clothes from animal hides; and develop complex hunting techniques, such as pit-traps.
Colonisation of Australia by modern humans
33,000 YA Art Oldest cave art. Later, Stone Age artisans create the spectacular murals at Lascaux and Chauvet in France
Homo erectus dies out in Asia – replaced by modern man
18,000 YA Homo Floresiensis, “Hobbit” people, found on the Indonesian island of Flores. They stand just over 1 metre tall, and have brains similar in size to chimpanzees, yet have advanced stone tools
12,000 YA Modern people reach the Americas
10,000 YA Agriculture develops and spread. First villages. Possible domestication of dogs
5,500 YA Stone Age ends and Bronze Age begins. Humans begin to smelt and work copper and tin, and use them in place of stone implements
5,000 YA Earliest known writing
4,000 to 3,500 BC Civilization The Sumerians of Mesopotamia develop the world’s first civilization.
The Wheel - Evidence indicates they were created to serve as potter's wheels around 3500 B.C. in Mesopotamia—300 years before someone figured out to use them for chariots.
The development of the spear is mentioned above. This was a major step forward in hunting and obtaining food. The World's Oldest Spear is in the Museum's collection.
The Clacton Spear – This spear is made of yew and is the oldest preserved wooden spear in the world. Its owner would probably have used this as a lethal weapon, stabbing at close range to generate enough force to pierce the animal’s skin. It was found in Clacton, Essex and is around 420,000 years old.
There is a lot more to this gallery than my photos and notes can show. For instance, getting close up and personal to some of the skulls is a much more rewarding experience than the photos can ever convey. Also, there are other items in the cabinets and skeletons which I have not commented on or included photos of otherwise this article would need to be expanded into a book.
Plus there is an interesting video at the end featuring Alice Roberts discussing the inter-mixing of Neanderthals and Homo sapiens. A fact revealed by various people undergoing tests to discover how much “Neanderthal” DNA they have in them.
If you would like to learn more about human evolution then see :
https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/the-origin-of-our-species.html
There are also many documentaries on Youtube – simply put in “Darwin” and “evolution”. I would recommend any that feature Richard Dawkins.
Finally I hope you will visit the Natural History Museum personally to learn more about our fascinating origins as a species and to see the other wonderful exhibits in the museum.
Brian Madican
Sept 2019
