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Homo neanderthalensis
The first Neanderthal was discovered in Western Europe, however there is not much information on who discovered and described the species. They are the most well known archaic humans species and many specimens have been found since the original discovery. They lived from 130,000 to 28,000 Kya, which means they existed when Homo sapiens, our species, did. http://anthro.palomar.edu/homo2/mod_homo_2.htm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoEVYx2plcc -
Charlies Darwin: On the Origin of Species
Charles Darwin publishes his book about the "means of natural selection and the preservation of favored races in the struggle for life." This book was very influencial on the acceptance of natural selection and without the ideas written in the book, scientists today would not be able to recreate the human family tree. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Origin_of_Species#Events_leading_to_publication -
Homo erectus
Homo erectus was discovered in Java, Indonesia by Eugene Dubois. The specimen was a well preserved skull cap where Dubois could also see the prominent brow ridges, retreating forehead, and angled rear skull. He concluded that Homo erectus had traits that were intermediate between modern humans and apes. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/270386/Homo-erectus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_t6O3V7e4g -
Homo heidelbergensis
The first specimen found of Homo heidelbergensis was a jaw discovered in a quarry near Mauer, which is a village near Heidelberg, Germany. Homo heidelbergensis means Heidelberg Man. This species lived from 300,000 to 600,000 Kya. Fossils have been found from Africa to Europe. Homo heidelbergensis eventually gave rise two species of humans, Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens. http://news.discovery.com/history/archaeology/humans-neanderthals-heidelberg-man-110504.htm -
Australopithecus africanus
Australopithecus africanus was found in Southern Africa in 1924. The first specimen found of this species is referred to as the Taung child. Professor Raymond Dart described and named the species, but it still took more than 20 years for the scientific community to accept Australopithecus africanus as a member of the human family tree. http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/species/australopithecus-africanus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYF8sy4NwOQ -
Paranthropus robustus
The first specimen of this species was found by a schoolboy named Gert Terblanche in a breccia filled cave in Gauteng, Africa. Gert brought the teeth to paleontologist Robert Broom who investigated the site to find more specimens and went on to describe the species. He named the species robustus because of the strong jaw and teeth that this species has. http://www.macroevolution.net/paranthropus-robustus.html#.VUF9mF6UzU4 -
Homo habilis
Homo habilis was discovered in Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania by Louis and Mary Leakey. The Homo habilis species is referred to as Handy Man because of the many tools found near the fossils. The species was eventually described in the mid 1960's. Homo habilis lived between 2.3 and 1.5 Ma. http://australianmuseum.net.au/homo-habilis http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/humans/humankind/j.html -
Paranthropus boisei
Paranthropus boisei was first discovered by Mary Leakey. The oldest specimen was found in Omo, Ethiopia and is about 2.3 Myr and the youngest specimen was found in Olduvai Gorge and is about 1.2 Myr. This species was said to die out because they specialized in eating hard low-quality foods and once their environment changed rapidly they couldn't adapt. http://www.columbia.edu/itc/anthropology/v1007/2002projects/web/paranth/paranth.html -
Paranthropus aethiopicus
Paranthropus aethiopicus was discovered in Omo River in Omo Valley, Ethiopia by Camille Arambourg and Yves Coppens and their French team. The specimen is about 2.5 Myr. A second specimen of this species was found in 1985 by Alan C. Walker, where he also described the specimen nicknamed The Black Skull. The Black Skull was found in Lake Turkana, Kenya and is 2.5 Myr. http://www.efossils.org/page/specimens/Paranthropus%20aethiopicus -
Homo rudolfensis
Homo rudolfensis was discovered by Richard Leakey and his team near Lake Rudolf AKA Lake Turkana. V.P. Alexeev named H. rudolfensis in 1986. The species lived from about 1.9 to 1.8 Ma. It was originally considered to be Homo habilis but because of some anatomical differences like a longer face and larger molar and premolar teeth it recieved its own name. http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/species/homo-rudolfensis https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmckxWO23Vw -
Australopithecus afarensis
Although A. afarensis is the earliest species of human, it is not the first species of human to be discovered. The species was discovered by Donald Johanson and his team in Hadar, Ethiopia in 1973, with several other specimens to follow throughout the years. The species lived between 3.9 and 2.8 Mya. The most popular specimen is referred to as Lucy. http://australianmuseum.net.au/australopithecus-afarensis https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xT8Np0gI1dI -
Homo ergaster
C. Groves and V. Mazak described ergaster as it's own species although most researchers would place it in the same species as erectus. Some individuals did not like the idea that a species that eventually gives rise to modern humans originated in Africa, so that is why even though ergaster is the same as erectus, they remain separate. Ergaster means Homo erectus out of Africa. http://archaeologyinfo.com/homo-ergaster/ -
Leaving Africa
A jaw belonging to Homo erectus was found in Dmanisi, Georgia. This disproved the idea that only hominids with very big brains were intelligent and fit enough the leave Africa, because Homo erectus has a smaller brain and primitive tools. Scientists thought hominids didn't leave Africa until about 1 Ma, but the specimen from Dmanisi was 1.8 Myr. -
Lucy's baby, Selam
A fossilized toddler named Selam, or Lucy's baby was found in Ethiopia along the Great Rift Valley. The specimen is 3.3 Myr and belongs the the species Australopithecus afarensis, hence why it is called Lucy's baby. Researchers estimate that Selam was 3 years old when she died and a female. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/09/060920-lucys-baby.html -
Sahelanthropus tchadensis
The first of this species was found in East Africa by Michel Brunet and his team. Brunet described the species and determined it was a biped although it was 6,000,000 Myr. This means it is a possibility S. tchadensis could be the first human ancestor. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/evolution/becoming-human.html#becoming-human-part-1 -
Homo sapiens
Homo sapiens are what we are! We evolved about 200,000 to 150,000 Kya from archaic humans and continue to thrive today. Modern humans evolved from archaic humans in East Africa, and traveled to other regions after many thousands of years. http://anthro.palomar.edu/homo2/mod_homo_4.htm
