UNIB10003 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Nicotine, Homo Sapiens, Natural Disaster
5
Why did we survive?
Climate as a backdrop for human evolution
• Increased climate fluctuations may have spurred key human evolution
Many types of human
• At least 8 different species of Homo in the last million years
Earlier Homo species
Homo erectus
• First hominin to leave Africa (2Mya)
Homo antecessor
• Occupation during warm and humid climate, likely died out when glaciation occurred
Homo heidelbergensis
• Migrated out of Africa into Eaurope and Asia
• Evolved into modern humans(Africa) , neandethals (Europe) and denisovans (Asia)
Neanderthals
• Used to be depicted as stupid and brutish
• Europe and Western Asia
• Physical adaptation to cold climate
• Larger brain than humans
• Low slopping forehead - frontal cortex not as developed
• Used language
• Likely buried dead
• Controlled fire
• Used body decoration
• Made art
• Levallois Tools and diet
o More complex tool making
o Around the same time, modern humanns were developing flake tools in Africa
• Environments
o From british isles across Europe, into the Middle east and Western Asia
o Survived a series of glacials
o Disappeared soon after Homo sapiens came to europe
• Neanderthal extinction
o Disappeared from Europe 39-40000 BP
o Overlapped with modern human for several years
• Ancient DNA
• What does the neanderthal genome tell us
o Neanderthals mated with modern humans
o About 20% of neanderthal genome lives on in modern humans populations
• Benefits of interbreeding with neanderthals
o Modern humans picked up genes that boosted their immune system
o Helped adapt to new environments
o Genes influenced skin and nail thickness
o Helps with vitamin D absorption in a cold climate
• Negatives of interbreeding with Neanderthals
