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Lesson Overview
26.3 Primate Evolution
Lesson Overview Primate Evolution
What Is a Primate?
Primates share several adaptations for a life spent in trees.
Evolution of Primates:
Early in their history, primates split into two groups.
Lesson Overview Primate Evolution
Hominine Evolution
Hominine Evolution
The evolution of bipedal, or two-
footed, locomotion was very
important, because it freed both
hands to use tools.
These data have enhanced the picture of our species’ past, but
questions still remain as to how fossil hominines are related to one
another—and to humans.
Lesson Overview Primate Evolution
Australopithecus
Hominines of the genus
Australopithecus lived from about
4 million to about 1.5 million years
ago. Australopithecus afarensis
fossils are shown.
Lucy
The best-known A. afarensis
specimen is a partial skeleton of an
adult female discovered in 1974,
nicknamed “Lucy.”
One set of fossils was found with tools made of stone and bone, so it
was named Homo habilis, which means “handy man” in Latin.
Lesson Overview Primate Evolution
Some current hypotheses about when hominines first left Africa and
which species made the trip are shown in the figure.
Lesson Overview Primate Evolution
More recent DNA data suggest that a small subset of those African
ancestors left northeastern Africa between 65,000 and 50,000 years
ago to colonize the world, supporting the out-of-Africa hypothesis.
Lesson Overview Primate Evolution
Modern Humans
The story of modern humans over the past 200,000 years involves two
main species: Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens.
Lesson Overview Primate Evolution
Homo neanderthalensis
Neanderthals flourished in Europe and western Asia beginning about
200,000 years ago.
Evidence suggests that they made stone tools, lived in complex social
groups, had controlled use of fire, were excellent hunters, and
performed simple burial rituals.
For the last 24,000 years, however, Homo sapiens has have been
Earth’s only hominine.