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What is a human being?

When did humans evolve, are neanderthals classified as humans.

human evolution

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Humans are culture-bearing  primates classified in the genus  Homo , especially the species  Homo sapiens . They are anatomically similar and related to the great  apes ( orangutans , chimpanzees , bonobos , and gorillas ) but are distinguished by a more highly developed  brain that allows for the capacity for articulate  speech  and abstract reasoning. Humans display a marked erectness of body carriage that frees the hands for use as manipulative members.

The answer to this question is challenging, since paleontologists have only partial information on what happened when. So far, scientists have been unable to detect the sudden “moment” of evolution for any species, but they are able to infer evolutionary signposts that help to frame our understanding of the emergence of humans. Strong evidence supports the branching of the human lineage from the one that produced great apes (orangutans, chimpanzees, bonobos, and gorillas) in Africa sometime between 6 and 7 million years ago. Evidence of toolmaking dates to about 3.3 million years ago in Kenya . However, the age of the oldest remains of the genus Homo is younger than this technological milestone, dating to some 2.8–2.75 million years ago in Ethiopia . The oldest known remains of Homo sapiens —a collection of skull fragments, a complete jawbone, and stone tools—date to about 315,000 years ago.

Did humans evolve from apes?

No. Humans are one type of several living species of great apes. Humans evolved alongside orangutans, chimpanzees, bonobos, and gorillas. All of these share a common ancestor before about 7 million years ago.

Yes. Neanderthals ( Homo neanderthalensis ) were archaic humans who emerged at least 200,000 years ago and died out perhaps between 35,000 and 24,000 years ago. They manufactured and used tools (including blades, awls, and sharpening instruments), developed a spoken language , and developed a rich culture that involved hearth construction, traditional medicine , and the burial of their dead. Neanderthals also created art ; evidence shows that some painted with naturally occurring pigments . In the end, Neanderthals were likely replaced by modern humans ( H. sapiens ), but not before some members of these species bred with one another where their ranges overlapped.

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human evolution , the process by which human beings developed on Earth from now-extinct primates . Viewed zoologically, we humans are Homo sapiens , a culture -bearing upright-walking species that lives on the ground and very likely first evolved in Africa about 315,000 years ago. We are now the only living members of what many zoologists refer to as the human tribe, Hominini , but there is abundant fossil evidence to indicate that we were preceded for millions of years by other hominins, such as Ardipithecus , Australopithecus , and other species of Homo , and that our species also lived for a time contemporaneously with at least one other member of our genus , H. neanderthalensis (the Neanderthals ). In addition, we and our predecessors have always shared Earth with other apelike primates, from the modern-day gorilla to the long-extinct Dryopithecus . That we and the extinct hominins are somehow related and that we and the apes , both living and extinct , are also somehow related is accepted by anthropologists and biologists everywhere. Yet the exact nature of our evolutionary relationships has been the subject of debate and investigation since the great British naturalist Charles Darwin published his monumental books On the Origin of Species (1859) and The Descent of Man (1871). Darwin never claimed, as some of his Victorian contemporaries insisted he had, that “man was descended from the apes ,” and modern scientists would view such a statement as a useless simplification—just as they would dismiss any popular notions that a certain extinct species is the “ missing link ” between humans and the apes. There is theoretically, however, a common ancestor that existed millions of years ago. This ancestral species does not constitute a “missing link” along a lineage but rather a node for divergence into separate lineages. This ancient primate has not been identified and may never be known with certainty, because fossil relationships are unclear even within the human lineage, which is more recent. In fact, the human “family tree” may be better described as a “family bush,” within which it is impossible to connect a full chronological series of species, leading to Homo sapiens , that experts can agree upon.

(Read T. H. Huxley’s 1875 Britannica essay on evolution & biology.)

The primary resource for detailing the path of human evolution will always be fossil specimens. Certainly, the trove of fossils from Africa and Eurasia indicates that, unlike today, more than one species of our family has lived at the same time for most of human history. The nature of specific fossil specimens and species can be accurately described, as can the location where they were found and the period of time when they lived; but questions of how species lived and why they might have either died out or evolved into other species can only be addressed by formulating scenarios, albeit scientifically informed ones. These scenarios are based on contextual information gleaned from localities where the fossils were collected. In devising such scenarios and filling in the human family bush, researchers must consult a large and diverse array of fossils, and they must also employ refined excavation methods and records, geochemical dating techniques, and data from other specialized fields such as genetics , ecology and paleoecology, and ethology ( animal behaviour )—in short, all the tools of the multidisciplinary science of paleoanthropology .

This article is a discussion of the broad career of the human tribe from its probable beginnings millions of years ago in the Miocene Epoch (23 million to 5.3 million years ago [mya]) to the development of tool -based and symbolically structured modern human culture only tens of thousands of years ago, during the geologically recent Pleistocene Epoch (about 2.6 million to 11,700 years ago). Particular attention is paid to the fossil evidence for this history and to the principal models of evolution that have gained the most credence in the scientific community . See the article evolution for a full explanation of evolutionary theory, including its main proponents both before and after Darwin, its arousal of both resistance and acceptance in society, and the scientific tools used to investigate the theory and prove its validity.

Human Evolution

Paleoanthropology

Definition of evolution

Evolution: The process by which different kinds of living organisms are believed to have developed from earlier forms during the history of the earth

How does evolution work?

Occasionally a genetic variation give one member of a species an edge. That individual passes the beneficial gene on to its descendents. More individuals with the new trait survive and pass it on to their descendents.

Fascinating! Who is credited with this idea?

Since ancient times, some people had this idea, but it was not proven until 1859. That year, Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace published On the Origin of Species.

1879, Ernst Haeckel

Australopithecus Afarensis - “Southern Ape from the Afar Region”

• Lived in East Africa, 3.9 to 3 million years ago
• Other animals around during this time: Giraffes, Elephants, Ostriches, All Types of Fowl (Birds), Wild Hare (Rabbits)
• Under 4 ft. tall, brain ⅓ size of modern humans
• Bipedal - walked on two legs
• Lacked a common language
• Probably used simple digging tools and lived in small groups

Homo Habilis - “Handy Person”

• Lived in Africa, 1.9 to 1.5 million years ago
• Animals around during this time: Zebras, giraffes, elephants, ostrich, all types of fowl, wild hare
• Larger brain size and smaller back teeth than Australopithecus
• Around 5 feet tall
• Made tools out of bones and stones

Homo Erectus - “Human who Stands Upright”

• Lived in Africa, Asia and Europe, 1.8 million to 200,000 years ago
• Animals around during this time: Boar, deer, elephants, rhinos, goats, oysters
• Upright stance
• Made flint axes
• Controlled fire
• Lived in huts made of tree branches
• Possible Sounds/Language

Homo Sapiens Neanderthalensis “Wise Person from the Neander Valley”

• Lived in Europe, Western Asia, and the Near East, 230,000 to 30,000 years ago
• Animals around during this time: Bears, shellfish, small reptiles
• Thick, heavy bones and powerful muscles
• Hunted large animals in bands
• Cared for sick, old, wounded
• Possessed a simple language
• Approx. 300,000 years ago to PRESENT
• Over time, lived all over the world
• Animals Around at that Time: Horses, Oxen, Bison, etc.
• Large Brain • High, rounded skull, small teeth
• Countless tools for engraving, sculpting, sewing, and hunting
• Lived in social groups
• Created art in caves
• Advanced spoken language - eventually - not until 30,000 - 70,000 years ago

Homo Sapiens or Homo Sapiens Sapiens “Wise Person” OR “Modern Human”

Homo Sapiens vs. Homo Sapiens Sapiens

Species Homo sapiens is believed to have originated West Africa about 300,000 years ago.

Homo sapiens = homo sapiens sapiens

Some argue the Cognitive Revolution allowed us to evolve to homo sapiens sapiens

Scientists still argue about this! We may never know…

Why don’t we have hair?

• Humans are the only primate species that has mostly naked skin.
• Loss of fur was an adaptation to changing environmental conditions that forced our ancestors to travel longer distances for food and water.
• Analyses of fossils and genes hint at when this transformation to bare skin occurred.
• The evolution of hairlessness made way for the emergence of large brains and symbolic thought.

Cognitive Revolution - Collective Learning

Threshold 6 Video

Are humans still evolving?

• In a study analyzing the genomes of 210,000 people in the United States and Britain, researchers have found that the genetic variants linked to Alzheimer's disease and heavy smoking are less frequent in people with longer lifespans, suggesting that natural selection is weeding out these unfavorable variants in both populations.

Human Migration

Quiz Time! No talking or looking at someone else’s paper. If you do, you receive a zero.

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I will finish checking off at-home journals at 1:30

The Shining

Put the two creepy twins (girls) Storey, Soomin, Grace, Kellen, Kieren

Put a fake hole in the door with a fake ax Madison, Taylor, Joe, Abe, Ellis

Head in between windows Nea, Malika, Morgan, Delaney

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Practice Collective Learning NOW!

Get in groups of 3 or 4, and share your notes with each other.

Human Evolution

Six million years of human evolution.

Human evolution is the lengthy process of change by which people originated from apelike ancestors. Scientific evidence shows that the physical and behavioral traits shared by all people originated from apelike ancestors and evolved over a period of approximately six million years.

Paleoanthropology is the scientific study of human evolution which investigates the origin of the universal and defining traits of our species. The field involves an understanding of the similarities and differences between humans and other species in their genes, body form, physiology, and behavior. Paleoanthropologists search for the roots of human physical traits and behavior. They seek to discover how evolution has shaped the potentials, tendencies, and limitations of all people.

What Can Human Fossils Tell Us?

Early human fossils and archeological remains offer the most important clues about this ancient past. These remains include bones, tools and any other evidence (such as footprints, evidence of hearths , or butchery marks on animal bones) left by earlier people. Usually, the remains were buried and preserved naturally. They are then found either on the surface (exposed by rain, rivers, and wind erosion) or by digging in the ground. By studying fossilized bones, scientists learn about the physical appearance of earlier humans and how it changed. Bone size, shape, and markings left by muscles tell us how those predecessors moved around, held tools, and how the size of their brains changed over a long time.

Archeological evidence refers to the things earlier people made and the places where scientists find them. By studying this type of evidence, archeologists can understand how early humans made and used  tools and lived in their environments.

Humans and Our Evolutionary Relatives

Humans are primates . Physical and genetic similarities show that the modern human species, Homo sapiens, has a very close relationship to another group of primate species, the apes. Modern humans and the great apes (large apes) of Africa – chimpanzees (including bonobos, or so-called “pygmy chimpanzees”) and gorillas – share a common ancestor that lived between 8 and 6 million years ago.

Humans first evolved in Africa, and much of human evolution occurred on that continent. The  fossils of early humans who lived between 6 and 2 million years ago come entirely from Africa. Early humans first migrated out of Africa into Asia probably between 2 million and 1.8 million years ago. They entered Europe somewhat later, between 1.5 million and 1 million years. Species of modern humans populated many parts of the world much later. For instance, people first came to Australia probably within the past 60,000 years and to the Americas within the past 15,000 years or so.

Most scientists currently recognize some 15 to 20 different species of early humans. Scientists do not all agree, however, about how these species are related or which ones simply died out. Many early human species – certainly the majority of them – left no living descendants. Scientists also debate over how to identify and classify particular species of early humans, and about what factors influenced the evolution and extinction of each species.

Human Characteristics

One of the earliest defining human traits, bipedalism – the ability to walk on two legs – evolved over 4 million years ago. Other important human characteristics – such as a large and complex brain, the ability to make and use tools, and the capacity for language  – developed more recently. Many advanced traits -- including complex symbolic expression, art , and elaborate cultural diversity – emerged mainly during the past 100,000 years. The beginnings of agriculture and the rise of the first civilizations occurred within the past 12,000 years.

Smithsonian Research Into Human Evolution

The Smithsonian’s Human Origins Program explores the universal human story at its broadest time scale. Smithsonian anthropologists research many aspects of human evolution around the globe, investigating fundamental questions about our evolutionary past, including the roots of human adaptability.

For example, Paleoanthropologist Dr. Rick Potts – who directs the Human Origins Program – co-directs ongoing research projects in southern and western Kenya and southern and northern China that compare evidence of early human behavior and environments from eastern Africa to eastern Asia. Rick’s work helps us understand the environmental changes that occurred during the times that many of the fundamental characteristics that make us human  - such as making tools and large brains – evolved, and that our ancestors were often able to persist through dramatic climate changes. Rick describes his work in the video Survivors of a Changing Environment .

Dr. Briana Pobiner is a Prehistoric Archaeologist whose research centers on the evolution of human diet (with a focus on meat-eating), but has included topics as diverse as cannibalism in the Cook Islands and chimpanzee carnivory. Her research has helped us understand that at the onset of human carnivory over 2.5 million years ago some of the meat our ancestors ate was scavenged from large carnivores, but by 1.5 million years ago they were getting access to some of the prime, juicy parts of large animal carcasses. She uses techniques similar to modern day forensics for her detective work on early human diets.

Paleoanthropologist Dr. Matt Tocheri conducts research into the evolutionary history and functional morphology of the human and great ape family, the Hominidae. His work on the wrist of Homo floresiensis , the so-called “hobbits” of human evolution discovered in Indonesia, received considerable attention worldwide after it was published in 2007 in the journal Science. He now co-directs research at Liang Bua on the island of Flores in Indonesia, the site where Homo floresiensis was first discovered.

Geologist Dr. Kay Behrensmeyer has been a long-time collaborator with Rick Potts’ human evolution research at the site of Olorgesailie in southern Kenya. Kay’s role with the research there is to help understand the environments of the sites at which evidence for early humans – in the form of stone tools as well as fossils of the early humans themselves – have been found, by looking at the sediments of the geological layers in which the artifacts and fossils have been excavated.

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The Story of Human Evolution

Published by Carli Loft Modified over 9 years ago

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Presentation on theme: "The Story of Human Evolution"— Presentation transcript:

Evolution of Primates Chapter 6, Section 3.

The Earliest Humans © Student Handouts, Inc..

From Africa to Aotearoa The story of human migrations.

Prehistoric Life—In the Paleolithic Era. What is the Theory of Evolution?  Theory—an educated guess about something that is based on solid evidence.

Human Evolution Chapter 17.

The Story of Human Evolution. Part 1: From ape-like ancestors to modern humans Part 2: What makes us human? Evolution and adaptation in modern humans.

Early Hominids History Alive Chapter 2.

T HE E ARLIEST H UMANS © Student Handouts, Inc.. F OSSIL E VIDENCE FOR E VOLUTION Paleontology Study of prehistoric life of all forms, typically using.

APWH Unit 1 Chapter 1 Early Human History Key Questions What is Civilization or Culture? Which came first? How are the terms similar? How are the terms.

Ms. Carmelitano.  If the present is “midnight” what “time” do you think human beings came into being?

KEY CONCEPT Humans appeared late in Earth’s history.

SBI3U. 3 Physical Characteristics 1. very large brain to body ratio 2. hands are capable of fine manipulation and coordination 3. walk upright (bipedal),

Primates BIO 2215 Oklahoma City Community College Dennis Anderson.

Humans Have a Relatively Short History

Section 4 Primates & Human Origins

BIOE 109 Summer 2009 Lecture 13- Part II Human evolution.

Evolution of Humans. Australopithecus Ape like humans 2 legs Africa Trees No language No Tools Lucy is the oldest fossil we have found.

1 Human Evolution Chapter Human evolution Closest living relatives Fossil hominids (“missing links”) Origin and spread of Homo sapiens.

HOW AWESOME ARE WE?. WHY ARE WE UNIQUE?  Human success can be attributed to:  The ability to perform complex reasoning  Our ability to learn  The.

Lesson Overview 26.3 Primate Evolution.

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Human Origin 101

The story of human evolution began about 7 million years ago, when the lineages that lead to Homo sapiens and chimpanzees separated. Learn about the over 20 early human species that belong in our family tree and how the natural selection of certain physical and behavioral traits defined what it means to be human.

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Science Subject for High School: Human Evolution

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Human Origins

• Skin & Musculoskeletal System
• Paleobiology
• Human Evolution

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• Click & Learn

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Copy and paste this HTML into your webpage or LMS to embed a running copy of this interactive. Use the "View HTML Editor" option in your LMS to paste the HTML into a page.

Description

This interactive module allows students to examine fossils of early humans and compare them to modern primates.

DNA and fossil evidence has revealed that six million to seven million years ago, the human lineage split from the one that eventually gave rise to modern chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes ) and bonobos ( Pan paniscus ). Modern humans have evolved to have large brains and move around on two legs; chimpanzees and bonobos have smaller brains, walk on all fours, and are excellent climbers. To determine when these differences in traits emerged, scientists examine fossils and artifacts from prehistoric hominins, our early human ancestors.

In this Click & Learn, students explore the fossilized skeletons, footprints, and/or stone tools of four different hominids: Homo erectus, Homo habilis, Australopithecus afarensis , and Ardipithecus ramidus . Students also compare the physical features of these hominins with those of modern humans and chimpanzees.

Student Learning Targets

Compare anatomical features of primate skeletons and footprints to identify differences and similarities.

Estimated Time

Africa, anatomy, Ardi, bipedalism, brain, Homo sapiens , Great Transitions, Laetoli, Lucy, skull, trace fossil

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Version History

Curriculum connections, ngss (2013).

HS-LS4.A, HS-LS4.C

AP Biology (2019)

EVO-1.E, EVO-1.N, EVO-1.O, EVO-3.E, EVO-3.G

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Ap environmental science (2020).

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Human Origins and Evolution

Jul 21, 2014

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Human Origins and Evolution. Homo sapiens: “ The wise human ”. Probably first appeared about 200,000 years ago . Paleoanthropologists study human evolution .

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• large cranial capacity
• greater range
• modern humans
• reduced snout
• flat skull bases

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Homo sapiens: “The wise human” • Probably first appeared about 200,000 years ago. • Paleoanthropologists study human evolution. • There is sparse evidence relating to the evolution of humans - pieces of a puzzle in time, some out of sequence, with many pieces missing. • DNA, RNA, proteins, and chromosomes are filling in the gaps in our knowledge of the past. • Species with common DNA sequences are more likely to have arisen from a common ancestor. • Humans belong to the order of mammals called primates. Other primates include tree shrews, lemurs, tarsiers, monkeys, and apes.

Characteristics of Primates • Traits of primates: • mostly arboreal (live in the trees) • highly movable fingers and toes • flattened nails • good vision • color vision (to locate ripe fruit) • front-facing eyes & depth perception • reduced snout, decreased sense of smell. • ability to hold body in vertical position

Types of Primates Anthropoids • Monkeys, apes, and humans • Well developed collar bone, rotating shoulder joints, partially rotating elbow joints (strength and flexibility) • Opposable thumb – a thumb that can be positioned opposite the other fingers – precision grip • Most also have opposable big toe. • Large brain for body size.

Cont’d • Fossils show brains get bigger over time. Look at cranial capacity (size of brain case). • Humans and apes- gibbons, orangutans, gorillas, and chimpanzees – have a large cranial capacity relative to body size. • Humans and apes have become increasingly capable of sitting, standing, or walking erectly. • Tail bones reduced in apes and humans.

Characteristics of Humans • Bipedal – upright walking on two legs. • Pelvic bones – broad with muscular attachments (supports internal organs during walking) • Foot – big toe aligned with other toes – distributes weight evenly • Jaw and teeth – U-shaped jaw with wide spaces between teeth in apes (pull branches through teeth to strip off leaves). Round jaw with smaller and less specialized teeth (more varied diet) • Brain - Cranial capacity (1,400 cm3) larger than other primates. Large forehead (large frontal part of the brain – verbal language.

Aegyptopithecus • 30 - 40 million years ago • cat sized • could run on the ground • lived in the trees • social • males had large canine teeth

Hominoids • 22-32mya • ancestors of apes and humans • lived in trees, but walked more than aegytopithecus • many different forms

Hominids • 4 – 19 mya • ancestors of humans only

Australopithecines • 4 mya • bipedal • hunter-gatherer lifestyle • flat skull bases • humanlike teeth • gorilla-sized brains • 4-5 feet tall • did not live in the forest

A. afarensis • 3.6 mya • “Lucy” (1974, Ethiopia) • less than 1.5 m tall. • 380 – 450 cm3 cranial capacity (1/3 modern)

A. africanus • 2.8 mya • taller and heavier than A. afarensis • 430 – 550 cm3

A. rubustus & A. boisei • 1-2 million years old (Africa) • heavier skulls and larger back teeth • 450 – 600 cm3

A. garhi • 2.5 mya • Possibly the “missing link” (bridge between Australopithecus and Homo) • Ethiopia near younger Homo fossils • Hunted (butchered antelope)

Homo • 2.3 mya - present • Early species coexisted with Autralopithecus

H. habilis • 1.6 – 2 mya • “handy human” • used tools, butchered animals • 600 – 800 cm3

H. erectus • .5 – 1.6 mya • “upright human” • Fossils found in Java (south pacific island) • Thick skull, large brow ridges, a low forehead, & a very small chin • 700 – 1,250 cm3 • Probably as tall as modern humans • Used stone tools and hunted • Built fires • Signs of social organization • Angled skull that permitted them to make a greater range of sounds. • Widespread (China, Africa, and Asia) • Families of male-female pairs • Male hunted and female nurtured young • Some fossils as recent as 35,000 ya

H. sapiens - (“the wise human”) probably appeared ~200,000 ya.) • Neanderthal • 150,000 – 28,000 ya • slightly larger brains than humans • prominent brow ridges • gaps between certain teeth • muscular jaws with small chin • large barrel-shaped chests. • 5 ft tall • adapted to cold climate of northern Europe • lived in caves and stone shelters • lived at same time as modern humans

H. Sapiens – Cont’d • Cro-magnon (modern) • 35,000 ya • 1,400 cm3 • high forehead, prominent chin, lack of brow ridges • taller than Neanderthals • sophisticated culture

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Evolution: Facts about the processes that shape the diversity of life on Earth

Discover interesting facts about how evolution works, the different patterns that can emerge from evolution, how quickly organisms can evolve, and whether evolution is a random or ordered process

5 fun facts about evolution

• Evolution FAQs
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Evolution is the way groups of life-forms change over time to better fit the places they live.

It is why life takes "such endless forms most beautiful and wonderful," as British biologist Charles Darwin wrote in his famous 1859 book " On the Origin of Species ."

Oldest ancestor of all life : Approximately 4.2 billion years

First human species : Homo habilis , which lived from about 2.0 to 1.6 million years ago

Number of species on Earth : Around 9 million

You can thank evolution for the diversity of life, from microscopic bacteria to the blue whale, the biggest animal to ever live.

Darwin and fellow naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace developed the theory of evolution in the mid-1800s.

Evolution works thanks to a process called natural selection. Life-forms that have traits that make them better suited to a certain environment — whether icy tundra or deep-sea volcano — have a better chance of surviving and passing that trait to their offspring.

Members of the group that don't have that trait, meanwhile, will either die or make fewer offspring. Over time, more members of the population will inherit that beneficial trait.

Evolution helps explain how humans came to be, why bacteria can resist antibiotics and why new diseases, like COVID-19, are always emerging.

• The last common ancestor of all life on Earth is estimated to have existed around 4.2 billion years ago.
• There are three ingredients necessary for natural selection to occur: variation, inheritance and competition.
• The first complex life (animals, plants and fungi) appeared around 540 million years ago during the Cambrian explosion .
• There are three main branches of life : Eukaryota, Bacteria and Archaea (microbes that are similar to bacteria and often live in extreme environments).
• Homo sapiens (us) coexisted with other species of humans early in our history.

Everything you need to know about evolution

How does evolution work.

Evolution by natural selection is where a trait is weeded out or becomes more common in a population depending on how well the trait helps organisms (living things) survive and reproduce. Three key ingredients in natural selection are variation, inheritance and competition.

First, there is variation . For example, some lions are bigger or smaller, have longer manes or shorter ones, are more aggressive or cautious, and so on. Every population of organisms has variation in almost any trait you can imagine. Traits are encoded through genes in DNA , a molecule found in every living cell that gives instructions on how to develop, live and reproduce. Traits vary within a population partly because when DNA gets copied, sometimes some of the letters in the code get changed — a process called mutation.

Next there is inheritance. Many of these variable traits are inherited. Genes are passed on from one generation to the next through reproduction.

Finally, there is competition . Every creature in a population is competing with others in their group for food, shelter, resources and mates.

Here's how all those ingredients work together.

To survive, an organism must be well suited to its environment. For example, a plant in the Mojave Desert needs to make do with very little water, while a tree in the Amazon rainforest needs to keep its leaves from getting waterlogged.

Those with a trait that is a better fit for their environment — say, a cactus that needs less water in the desert — are more successful in the competition for resources, shelter, food and mates.

They're likelier to survive and reproduce than their counterparts without the trait. Their offspring inherit these traits that give them an advantage over their rivals, continuing the cycle of evolution.

Eventually, more of the members of the population carry the trait that gives them an edge in survival and reproduction. That’s evolution in a nutshell.

Evolution explains how species emerge and change over time. While scientists have described between 1 million and 2 million species , they know they're missing a lot. There could be 9 million — or even up to a trillion — species on Earth.

Is evolution completely random?

Natural selection requires variation, and variation within a population largely comes from DNA mutations.

Most mutations are random, but some areas of DNA might mutate more easily than others .

In humans, children are usually born with about 60 new mutations , or DNA changes that their parents didn't have.

Different life-forms have different rates of mutation, and there are always some mistakes. Most of these mutations don’t affect the organism in any noticeable way. (These are called neutral mutations.) But sometimes, mutations can make it easier or harder for an organism to survive or reproduce. This is where natural selection comes in.

If a mutation helps an organism compete better, it is more likely to survive and pass on the beneficial mutation to its offspring. On the other hand, if a mutation makes survival or reproduction harder, the mutation is less likely to be passed down.

So, while mutations mostly occur randomly, evolution is not random.

However, natural selection is not perfect, and mutations that have no or very small negative effects can stick around in a population.

For instance, a lot of people have wisdom teeth that once helped us grind up plants in our diet, but now mainly crowd other teeth and usually have to be pulled. But because having wisdom teeth doesn't make it hard to survive or reproduce, it hasn't been weeded out yet.

How long does evolution take?

Usually, evolution is thought of as a process that occurs over thousands or millions of years, but some organisms can evolve within days . The rate of evolution depends on several factors.

First, organisms that reproduce quickly evolve faster because evolution occurs through inherited changes, with each generation differing slightly from the last. Over time, these small changes add up to big differences.

Second, population size matters. Larger populations are likelier to have at least one individual with mutations that affect survival or reproduction. Natural selection then either weeds these out or makes the genes more common depending on whether they're good or bad for a species.

The mutation rate also influences the speed of evolution. More mutations mean more chances to evolve, but because most mutations are neutral or harmful , organisms often evolve proteins to fix DNA copying mistakes , which keeps the mutation rate low. Sunlight, chemicals and factors tied to different species' error-correction tricks can all affect how quickly genes mutate.

Lastly, the environment plays a critical role in the rate of evolution. In harsh conditions, natural selection quickly removes individuals that are not a good fit for their environment, leading to more rapid evolutionary changes .

These factors mean small organisms that make copies of themselves quickly — like bacteria — evolve much more quickly than large ones that take a long time to reproduce, like elephants. This rapid evolution in microscopic organisms can help scientists study adaptation through laboratory experiments.

What is Lamarck's theory of evolution?

Charles Darwin comes to mind when we think of the theory of evolution .

But before Darwin published his groundbreaking work in 1859, other scientists were already trying to explain the diversity of life on Earth. One such scientist was Jean-Baptiste Lamarck , a French researcher who proposed a different theory of evolution 50 years before Darwin published his work.

Lamarck believed that traits or characteristics that were used more often would grow stronger and bigger, while those that weren’t used would gradually disappear. He also thought that any traits that were improved through use could be passed down to offspring.

A commonly used example is the giraffe. According to Lamarck’s theory of evolution, giraffes have long necks because their ancestors constantly stretched to reach leaves high up in trees, causing their necks to get longer. He believed that this stretching led to longer necks, which were passed on to the next generation.

We now know that this is not correct , and it is through genetic mutations that nature selects the most successful neck lengths in the population.

But Lamarck’s ideas were still an essential stepping stone that inspired Darwin’s ideas of natural selection.

What are the different types of evolution?

Evolution can produce different patterns over time. We can label the three main patterns as divergent, convergent and parallel evolution.

Divergent evolution occurs when related populations become increasingly different from each other as they adapt to different environments. This can sometimes lead to the formation of new species. The Galápagos finches that helped Darwin form his theories on evolution are a classic example: At first, these songbirds were just one species. But over time, birds from different islands evolved different beak shapes — from long to short, and curved to straight — to better eat the food on those islands. Biologists can even see this transformation happen in real time when island rainfall patterns change.

Convergent evolution occurs when unrelated organisms start looking or acting more like each other because they live in similar environments or must face the same types of challenges to survive and reproduce. For instance, dolphins and sharks both have streamlined bodies that help them swim well in water. However, dolphins evolved from a wolf-like mammal called Pakicetus around 50 million years ago, whereas sharks evolved from their fish ancestors approximately 450 million years ago . This pattern can create the illusion that animals share a more recent common ancestor than they actually do.

Parallel evolution is similar to convergent evolution, but it involves related species with recent common ancestry. In parallel evolution, closely related species that live apart independently evolve similar traits when confronted with similar environmental challenges. For example, the ancestors of living centipedes didn't make venom . But many centipede species separately evolved venom, indicating it was helpful to them.

Evolution pictures

Charles Darwin, aged 60.

The Galápagos finches were made famous by Charles Darwin's observations of beak variation that he collected during his voyages on the HMS Beagle.

Pakicetus, the ancestor of whales and dolphins, lived around 50 million years ago.

Reproductions of skulls from a Neanderthal (left), Homo sapiens (middle) and Australopithecus afarensis (right).

Many animals have evolved camouflage to protect them from predators.

The evolution of stickleback fish from a marine to freshwater habitats gives a great example of parallel evolution.

Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913) developed a theory of natural selection at the same time as Charles Darwin.

Antibiotic resistance is a global problem that is caused by evolutionary processes.

Microbes such as bacteria have been useful to study evolution in real time in the lab thanks to how rapidly they evolve.

Discover more about evolution

— How long do new species take to evolve?

— What is Darwin's theory of evolution?

— E. coli offers insight to evolution

Books about evolution

Amazing Evolution: The Journey of Life

$13.99 on Amazon

The Origin of Species: 150th Anniversary Edition

$6.26 on Amazon

30-Second Evolution: The 50 most significant ideas and events, each explained in half a minute

$16.36 on Amazon

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Tiffany Taylor is working at Live Science in the summer of 2024 as a Fellow of the Association of British Science Writers. She is a professor of Microbial Ecology and Evolution at the University of Bath in the U.K., where her research group studies evolution in real-time in the lab, using bacteria to explore how genes and genomes evolve. She has also authored three children’s books on evolution and genetics. When she is not doing research, she’s usually running – sometimes for pleasure, more often after her two small children.

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Human Evolution

Learn how early humans evolved from Homo habilis, to Homo erectus, to Homo sapiens and developed basic survival tools.

Anthropology, Archaeology, Biology, Genetics

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