Our ancestors compared

In this paragraph, you can compare the different species of our possible ancestors. First you can check the characteristics of different species, then you can compare their brain sizes.

The characteristics of the different species

Australopihecus afarensis
Geleefd:	3,9 - 3,0 million years ago
Lengte:	107 - 152 cm
Herseninhoud:	375 - 550 cc
Kenmerken:	Smaller teeth, which stand in a parabol-form. The fingers and toes were still crooked. Probably a remainder of climbing in trees.
Opmerkingen:	Lucy belongs to this species.

habilis
Geleefd:	2,4 - 1,5 million years ago.
Lengte:	127 cm
Herseninhoud:	500 - 800 cc
Kenmerken:	He could make hand-axes and swingstones. Probably, he also could talk.
Opmerkingen:	-

erectus
Lived:	1,8 miljoen - 300.000 years ago.
Length:	-
Brainsize:	750 - 1250 cc
Features:	Ze konden vuur gebruiken
Comment:	Er waren meerdere soorten binnen deze doort: De Europeaans/Afrikaanse and te Aziatische. Europeaans/Afrikaanse erectus heeft waarschijnlijk efficiënter gelopen dan ons.

sapiens neanderthalensis
Geleefd:	230.000 - 30.000 years ago.
Lengte:	168 cm
Herseninhoud:	1450 cc
Kenmerken:	They were strongly and heavily built. Through the cold they were dependent on fire and the amount of hunt. The were very good hunters, because they had also better tools.
Opmerkingen:	It still is not clear if they are extincted. It was probably the first species, which buried its deaths.

sapiens sapiens
Geleefd:	120.000 years ago - now.
Lengte:	150 - 180 cm
Herseninhoud:	1350 cc
Kenmerken:	Bigger forehead, less robust. Better tools, which were also made from different resources.
Opmerkingen:	The last 120.000 years we have changed very much. We became taller and taller and smarter.

The growth of the brains

Fig 2.3.1: You can see that the Neanderthal man had bigger brains. This does not mean that they had a higher intelligence. A whale has also bigger brains, but he is not more intelligent. The absolute brainsize and the brainsize with respect to the size of the body are both not the decisive factor.

Fig 2.3.2: These are the side- and top-views of th Australopithecus africanus, erectus and a early species of the sapiens. You can see that the upper jaw of the Australopithecus africanus is pushed very much forward and that the upper jaw of the early sapiens is not as much pushed forward. You can also see that the skulls became bigger and beigger. This did not mean that the only got a bigger skull, but that their whole body grew.

Questions