By Haylie Palichuk

1. Early Man By Haylie Palichuk

2. EvolutionHow did humans come to be? Before the first human-like hominids appeared on the earth, many animals existed. Until about 3 million years ago, apes and early humans began to evolve,becoming smarter and taller, and soon became the modern humans we are today.

3. Australopithecus Australopithecus man was the first step to evolve into modern humans. These early men were still a far cry from being anything like our humans today, but showed somewhat of a small resemblance. Not unlike chimpanzees, they had dangly arms, short legs, and a small brain. Australopithecus had walked upright and stood about 120-170cm tall. Their tools consisted of mainly rocks and branches, and they knew very little about how to hunt. Australopithecus’ lead a very simple, primitive lifestyle. Living in Southeast Africa, the climate was warm, and they weren’t in need of any clothing or shelter. The name “Australopithecus” comes from the Latin language, “Australis” meaning southern, and “pithekos” meaning ape.

4. A Great Discovery In 1974, Professor Donald Johanson discovered Australopithecus afarenis bones in Ethiopia. His fossil finds was one of the oldest hominid skeletons in history. Johanson’s finds showed that the bones belonged to a female of about 20 years old when she died, and she had been about 4 feet tall and weighed 50 pounds. The scientist decided to nickname her Lucy, after the Beatles’ “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”, which had been playing in the background at the camp when the bones had been discovered.

5. Homo Habilis Soon, another group called Homo habilis was born. Homo habilis lived 1.75 million years ago in Eastern Africa before migrating to Southern Asia. These hominids looked like both an ape and a human, and were smarter than Lucy’s kind, with a brain 2/3 the size of ours. Fully grown they were about 4 feet tall, were quite hairy, and walked upright. Homo habilis were the first to make tools, hence the name, which is Latin for “Handy Man.” Some of the tools included: stone knives, stone hammers, and antlers. Because of the hot climate, clothes were not a necessity to them. They developed a form of shelter, which were huts made from animal hides and sticks. These early mans’ diet consisted mainly of wild plants, but they did capture some small animals to eat, such as wild pigs, but were unable to make fires to cook the meat. To communicate they used grunts and gestures, as they were not able to talk.

6. Homo Erectus Around 250,000-1.25 million years ago, a new grouping named Homo erectus evolved. Homo erectus, meaning man who walks upright or erect, was first discovered by Eugene Dubois in 1893. This grouping of early humans had begun in Africa,but slowly they moved out to Europe and Asia by using bridges formed by ice. The Upright Man had a more complex brain than Homo habilis, and began to communicate more, although it was in a slow and halting way. These hominids had bony eyebrow ridges, sloping down foreheads, and grew to about 1.5 meters tall. Homo erectus were the first to create fire, something past hominids had been unable to do. They developed more complex tools such as hand axes and spears, and hunted larger animals like buffalo and elephants.

7. Neanderthals In 1856, Mr. Beckershoff discovered Neanderthals by a lucky accident in his limestone quarry. He decided to name the subspecies after the Neander Valley in Germany, as this is where the remains had been discovered. Neanderthals were a lot alike Homo erectus and today’s modern people. Although they had thick eyebrow ridges and were short and stocky, they would easily blend in if they showed up in present time. Neanderthals first began in Asia, but after time migrated to Africa, Europe, and Germany. It is believed that these early humans were the first to have some sort of a religion, as they were the first to bury the dead, and even sprinkled flowers on top of the graves. In addition to this, they also believed in afterlife, kept animal bones for good luck, and held ceremonies. Their tools included knives, spears, and axes, which they used to kill animals such as bears and mammoths. To make clothing, they poked holes through animal hides and laced strips of skin to hold it together.

8. Cro-Magnon Cro-Magnon people were very similar to us. Their foreheads were high, their chins were prominent, and they had the same vocal system and bone structure as today’s people. Moving from France to Africa, Asia, and Spain, they lived in caves and skillfully made pants and tunics out of animal hides and fur. The name “Cro-Magnon” comes from the Cro-Magnon cave in Dordogne, France, where it was first discovered by Louis Lartet in 1868. Cro-Magnon people had eaten a lot of vegetables such as carrots, beets, and onions in addition to the animals they hunted, which no part of it was wasted. Using the fat leftover from their game and crushed stone, they would make pictures. Like the Neanderthals, they developed a primitive form of religion and held funerals for those who passed on.

9. How Did Man Survive in Change? The main reason why they were able to survive was that they adapted to change. Here are some more reasons: • Moved out to new places • Adjusted to fit the environment • Used environment to their advantage (e.g. Were hunters and gatherers, so they hunted and ate whichever food sources were in the area)

10. How did Early Man Move Forward? As each species died out, the new group was born a little bit smarter than the one before them. Their tools were more efficient, their brains were larger, and they began to bury the dead. They also began to make clothing, hunt more skillfully, and paint pictures on cave walls. All of this led to what we now are; modern humans. As well as changing mentally, they also changed physically. If you look at the Australopithecus, they walked slumped over, were immensely hairy, and resembled more closely a monkey than a human. But as we work up the line of early man species, they began to walk more upright, have more defined features, and began to look like our humans today. This, it what we call evolution.

11. Impact of Human Activity on Physical Environment Early Man • Lost objects became embedded in ground • Over-hunted animals • Damaged ecological system (e.g. Over-hunted otters, which lead to overpopulating sea urchins, which caused the ocean floor to become damaged from too much kelp being eaten) • Uncontrolled fires (lead to forest fires)

12. Impact of Human Activity on Physical Environment Modern Humans • Growing landfills • Air and water pollution • Climate change due to greenhouse gases • Over-hunting animals • Cutting down too many trees • Increase of population (lead to global warming problems)

13. Influences and Contributions of Ancient Culture to Present Day • Tool-making • Funerals • Burying the dead • Have religious beliefs • Hunt/fish • Immigrate to different countries • Celebrations • Paint pictures • Build houses • Sew clothing

14. The End!