Hominin Discussion Paper

Introduction

Biological evolution brought about presence of contemporary human beings. Evolution started from primitive and unconscious living to Homo erectus with more advanced and developed organisms. More speculation has been in circulation ever since the time of Charles Darwin due to environment of human development. General assumptions of Pliocene and Pleistocene habitats were as a result of analyzing pollen, sediments and animal bones. Thus, there is an insufficient quantity of spatial and temporal data that is directly associated to in situ evidence of hominins. Usually, presence of fossils and dating them overshadows any effort to determine their habitats (Delson & Tattersall, 1997). Surface collecting remains the main problem in most projects due to poor analysis of their decomposition and contextual control of fossils obtainable by digging. However, only accurate study of rocks related to fossils, environmental data and artifacts can give solutions to questions that may emerge about the range of habitats appropriate for particular species. In this regard, when major expansions of habitat use took place, hominin adaptive change also occurred, leading to new questions within scientific explorations. Researches prove that the skulls are the oldest form of human fossils. Therefore, skulls have being of great help in understanding human development. Herto skulls are proofs that the evolution theory is true (Mellars, 1996). The age of the skulls proceeds the time when the Neanderthal fossils were discovered creating real evidence that human could have evolved from Neanderthals.

 

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Discussion

Grouping of major fossils of Neanderthals is a clear evidence of human evolution. Nonetheless, pale biological investigation about the sound taxonomy is a prerequisite for all researches that address the evolution of modern human life history. The main reason for the allocation of individual fossils to each hominin determines the inferences drawn about the life history. Growth in the period from 2.3 to 1.7 mya is more associated with archeological identifiable mannerisms that are related to stone transport and habitat use. The most important problem is concerned with the temporal and geographical collision of the potential multiple species of making tools. An overlap of possibly three families of Homo and the presence of robust Australopithecines poses an issue that has a need for a thorough study to find a solution (Buss, 2009). During this time, the paleoanthropologists perform more observation about generic stone tool makers and draw a conclusion of changes in archeological patterns, independently of how specific behaviors were shared among lineages. However, observations from such study identify all essential changes in behavior leading to the invention of new taxa in the lineage. Even if the results are not correlated, generic behavioral changes are important to identify in an analysis of hominin evolutionary history up to Homo erectus. Most of the items analyzed give a proof that the Neanderthals had a height of about five feet with very strong bodies. Neanderthals had very prominent brow ridges and brain capacity that is comparable to the size of modern human being. Their population went decreasing and eventually they became extinct. Homo sapiens moved into their territory and occupied it as their cradle.

The Dmanisi skulls elapsed during the time when the need to fill a gap of missing fossils between pre- and modern humans between 100,000 and 300,000 years ago. More attention has to be paid to this issue since the previously collected fossil findings seem to be younger in age, obtained from different geographical sites, not properly dated and bearing incomplete information. An implication is drawn from the Dmanisi skulls that are of better quality that the Neanderthal and Erectus ones and share common features which were discovered in ancient times (Stanford, Allen  & Anton, 2012). These details seem to be true, though there is no substantial evidence to fully theorize approval or disapproval of their common ancestry. Upon comparing all fossils, similarities existing are used as evidence for the existing speculation. The skulls have less prominent brow ridges and higher cranial vault creating a difference between them and the pre-human skulls, trying to eliminate any links to the contemporary humans. Also, the Dmanisi skulls have links of similarity based on morphology and facial features. Comparisons of the Dmanisi skull with other 3,000 skulls from all over the world were made so to validate the existing resemblance. Unfortunately only the skulls were sampled and no other body parts were available for study. From the researches, anthropologists’ theories of similarity were developed to give more supposition to the issue.

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Neanderthals demonstrated their labor and, to some extent, spiritual development since they made some tools and they buried their dead. Tools and artifacts of Neanderthals were featured in what is called the Mousterian. Precisely, they made their tools using breakages of rock flakes. For instance, they used smaller sharp tools and hand axes for cutting. The primary occupation of Neanderthals was hunting and they fully adapted to live in the frigid environment of Pleistocene in Europe. Additionally, they had a lifespan of about forty years of age and seemed to be the first hominin to bury their dead. Their graves had flowers, tools, and food. These circumstances make it possible to theorize that Neanderthals believed in life after death. Their way of life was communal through grouping of members to form a social class. Consequently, their way of living had more similarity compared to way of life of modern man.

Conclusion

Real explanations about human development prove that drastic changes in the environment for prolonged periods of time had a significant impact on adaptive evolution in hominins. According to the thesis statement, the functions of key adaptations and adaptive trends such as Pleistocene, Pliocene bipedality, use of stone tool and increase in brain capacity primarily lead to served the purposes of behavioral capability. These features enabled ways of adapting to novelty in the environment. Moreover, the dynamic nature of the environments led to settling down of Neanderthals that had not been experienced previously. The particular process that brought about such features must have operated over broad time scales of habitat disparity.