| Themes > Science > Life Sciences > Physical Anthropology > Human Organic Evolution > The Evolution of Hominids |
The fossil record of the hominids (Homo Sapiens and its relatives) is sparse, with many long gaps (since fossils only tend to be found where the process of fossilisation occurs most readily). The evolution of the hominids is therefore not well understood in detail and new fossil finds are still causing significant changes to the proposed lines of descent. |
| Height (m) |
Physique |
Brain size (ml) | Skull form | Jaws/teeth | Distribution | Known date (years ago) | ||
![]() Homo habilis (small) |
1 | Relatively long arms | 500-650 | Relatively small face; nose developed | Thinner jaw; smaller, narrow molars | Eastern (+ Southern?) Africa | 2-1.6 million | ![]() Homo habilis (small) |
![]() Homo habilis (large) |
c. 1.5 | Robust but 'human' skeleton | 600-800 | Larger, flatter face | Robust jaw, large narrow molars | Eastern Africa | 2-1.6 million | ![]() Homo habilis (large) |
![]() Homo erectus |
1.3-1.5 | Robust but 'human skeleton' | 750-1250 | Flat, thick skull with large occipital and brow ridge | Robust jaw in larger individuals; smaller teeth than H. habilis | Africa, Asia and Indonesia (+ Europe?) | 1.8-0.3 million | ![]() Homo erectus |
![]() 'Archaic Homo Sapiens' |
? | Robust but 'human skeleton' | 1100-1400 | Higher skull; face less protruding | Similar to H. erectus but teeth may be smaller | Africa, Asia and Europe | 400,000-100,000 | ![]() 'Archaic Homo Sapiens' |
![]() Neanderthals |
1.5-1.7 | As 'archaic H. sapiens' but adapted for cold | 1200-1750 | Reduced brow ridge; thinner skull; large nose; midface projection | Similar to 'archaic H. sapiens'; teeth smaller except for incisors; chin development in some | Europe and western Asia | 150,000-30,000 | ![]() Neanderthals |
![]() Early modern Homo sapiens |
1.6-1.85 | Modern skeleton; adapted for warmth | 1200-1700 | small or no brow ridge; shorter, higher skull | Shorter jaws than Neanderthals; chin developed; teeth may be smaller | Africa and western Asia | 130,000-60,000 | ![]() Early modern Homo sapiens |
From The Cambridge Encylopedia of Human Evolution, p251. Reproduced with permission of Cambridge University Press.
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