Stand right in front of your mirror, look at your body. Move your fingers, and look around. Move your leg and walk, then run. Think about what to eat for your dinner, and what is your plan tonight. The way you move, the way you see the world with rich colours, the way you grab things with your hand, and even the way you think, can be traced back to your distant ancestor in the past. If you know how to look the people around you, everyone is actually possessed by the ghost of their ancestral animals from the past.
In 1859, Charles Darwin published On The Origin Of Species, which became the central foundation of the evolutionary biology studies, also known as Darwinian theory. Darwin suggest that all living beings, including humans, mammals, reptiles, plants and sea creatures originate from the common ancestor. Through the natural selection, every species develop an ability to adapt the ability to compete, survive and reproduce. When a species gain a new ability to survive during the isolation of reproduction, the genes passed on to their descendants, thus formed a new species.
It is not the strongest nor intelligents who survive in this harsh environment, but the one who can adapt the changes are - Charles Darwin, 1809
The theory however sparked controversial dispute among scientist and religious community, as the concept of evolution or Darwinism conflicted with the creation of life from religious perspective. For example, in the Old Testament in biblical mythology, Adam was created by God mimicking His own image. Eve emerged, and they were reproduced to form the societies until today. Despite various evidence of archaic humans found throughout the century, particularly Lucy, the controversial debate from the two different fields between science and religion seemingly never end.
Natural selection occurs when a species adapt to changes and eventually, formed a new species.
The Human Evolution
The studies of human evolution includes various fields of dicipline such as evolutionary biology, primatology, physical anthropology, archaeology, linguistic, paleontology, genetic biology, ethology, evolutionary psychology, embryology neurobiology and sociology. Genetic research revealed that early primate ancestor diverged from the mammals 80 million years ago, around the Late Cretaceous period. The oldest known proto primate known as Plesiadapis which exist around 50 million years ago from North America, followed by Archicebus from China.
Specimen of plesiadapis, the earliest primate found.
The human species separated with the last common ancestor with chimpanzee when the homo genus begins to develop bipedalism, increased in brain size, increase in colour vision and decrease of sexual dimorphism. Bipedalism occurs when proto human species need to carry food around and hunting with stones, creating tools, causing the brain size enhanced it's growth and using lesser energy than quadrupedal knuckle walk. As proto human hands shrinked in size, which make the species easy to run. Tails were disappeared during the divergence as it serve no functions to human. However in rare case, some human babies born with tails, which further support the theory of evolution of humans.
One of the proto human fossils develop bipedalism, Lucy, a Australopithecus afarensis human species discovered in Africa in 1974. The age of the fossil estimated around 3.5 million years ago, suggest that early humans diverged even longer before the discovery of archaic humans such as Homo Erectus, homo Neanderthal, and homo antecessor which anotomically similar to evolved modern humans.
Reconstruction of Lucy.
Lucy(Scarlett Johansson) meet prehistoric Lucy in a scene in Lucy (2014 film)
Modern humans or homo sapien have been theorized to be evolved from homo Erectus, which emerged 143 000 years to 1.9 million years ago during the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Homo erectus believed to beemerged in Eurasia and migrate to Africa 1.85 million years ago. Fascinatingly, homo erectus had develop the ability of using fire to cook their meals and make primitive tools using stones for hunting purpose. Homo erectus also believe to be diverged with homo ergaster which develop much more sophisticated tools compare to homo erectus.
Skull of a homo erectus.
Homo Neanderthal begins to diverged between 400 000 years to 800 000 years ago. Various fossils of Neanderthal has been found from throughout the centuries particularly around European Union countries, suggest that they could be evolved from Europe. Research shows that the DNA of neanderthals and modern humans shares 99.7% similarities, shows that the species could be related. Because of the similarity, some theory suggest that neanderthal may have interbred with some sub species of archaic humans and developed the early modern human, as the earliest modern human whom appeared 100 000 years to 200 000 years might have coexisted with neanderthals during their lifetime. Neanderthals completely extinct around 24 000 years ago possibly due to hybridizations, climate change, and most probably, aggresion with early modern humans that caused violence as proposed by paleontologist after the analysis of Neanderthal bone injuries due to sharp primitive weapons.
A complete specimen of homo neanderthal.
Comparison of reconstructed homo erectus (right), homo neanderthal (center) and modern human (left)
Linguistic and Cognitive Abilities
The origin of linguistic and cognitive capabilities of archaic humans remains mystery. Despite the millenial extinction of some species of archaic humans, various theory of the origin of language has being develop. Language may not necessarily be spoken, but the ability of our closest cousins, chimpanzee, orang utan and gorilla to learnt sign languages fascinates both scientist and people without science background. Koko, a female gorilla reported to have learnt 1000 signs of American sign language, 2000 spoken English words, and even expressed her inner thoughts. Kanzi, a bonobo, whom learnt sign language from Koko also reported to have develop linguistic capability using keyboards with lexigram and American sign language learnt from Koko the gorilla.
Koko the gorilla and her pet cat. She also mourn for the death of her friend, Robin Williams whom commited suicide on August 2014.
Kanzi, the bonobo who can mimic human speech and uses American sign language whom she learnt from Koko.
If Koko and Kanzi had develop such a deep language thoughts, how does a Neanderthals, erectus and Lucy communicate with their own species? Do they speak with a similar manner like modern humans do? The answer perhaps can be discovered in Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics. On 2013, Dan Dediu suggested that Neanderthals and modern human shares the similar capacity of language. This is due to the discovery of a Neanderthal hyoid bone in 1989, which is very similar to modern human. However, research shows that neanderthal humans lack of quantal vowel which results in higher pitch dubbed as High Pitch Voice Theory. As for homo erectus, they do possessed an ability of speech and likely to communicate using proto languages as they does not have developed structure of modern human language, but more develop than non verbal animals such as bonobos and gorilla. Homo erectus also among the earliest archaic humans known for using tools for hunting and creating hut and using fire for cooking.
An artist depiction of homo erectus in their everyday life.
Neanderthals also shown to have symbolic thoughts as they could carved some artistic drawing in a cave where they live hundred thousands of years ago. Their diet mainly consist of animal protein shows that they are likely to be carnivorous and even practices cannibalism during the winter season when there were scarce of food source. Some researches even suggest that neanderthals do practices animism.
An artist depiction of homo neanderthal performing body mutilation for sacrificial burial or possibly cannibalism.
Conclusion
Almost everything about the studies of archaic humans are controversial as the studies required a long period of research from various field. Of course, everything mentioned here might be a theory, but it could be even true. Perhaps, the only time when we could get the best answer, is the period where time machine is exist.
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