THE EVOLUTION OF HUMANS

OBJECTIVES

Upon completion of this unit you should be able to:

• 1. describe the nature of climatic changes leading to and throughout the Holocene;
• 2. discuss how the relationship of climate change with sea level for the Holocene can be studied on the basis of fossil and climatological evidence;
• 3. place humans within the taxonomic classification of primates;
• 4. mention the line of ancestors to humans pointing out the approximate times when they evolved and their anatomical characteristics;
• 5. elaborate on the capabilities and limitations that the anatomical characteristics imposed on the different human ancestors; in other words, what kind of functions could they perform and how well?;
• 6. indicate the impact that the change from an arboreal life to a life in the grasslands had on human ancestors;
• 7. describe the different aspects of the Oldowan, Acheulian, Mousterian and Neolithic cultures;
• 8. outline the geographic distribution of the different species of the genus Homo indicating the approximate time when each of them appeared;
• 9. indicate how humans reached America, the approximate time of their arrival and what is known of their way of life;
• 10. identify the impact the arrival of humans had on the population of large mammals;
• 11. give an account of the climatic fluctuations in the last 10,000 and describe the evidence that supports those changes;
• 12. demonstrate how those changes have influenced human endeavors over the years.

OUTLINE