The First Tools and different species of hominids

The First Tools and different species of hominids

The human race has a long and complex history. In the last century, there have been many discoveries that help anthropologists develop theories as to how humans evolved. However, different people who find the same kind of fossils have come up with different theories, leading to arguments about the order of species in which we evolved and where those species underwent the evolutionary process. Whenever a new fossil discovery occurs, new questions arise about these fossils. Articles are often written by people who wish to attempt to answer these questions. These articles usually voice the personal opinion of the author, and this ends up contradicting other published articles that voice the personal opinions of their authors. There are a very large number of questions about the history of human evolution.

        "How Man Began," an article out of TIME Magazine, talks about the discovery of a human skull in China that is thought to be as old as the human remains found in Africa, which would disrupt theories that humans once migrated from Africa to China. This find creates the theory that humans may have evolved in different parts of the world at the same time. The article also tells about the many different species of human ancestors that have been found in the last century, including Donald Johanson's Australopithecus afarensis, nicknamed Lucy. The author discusses the arguments supporting two theories. One theory is that all humans originate from Africa, while the other theory is that humans evolved. The main point of this article is to show that there is not a great deal about our past that is seen as true by all anthropology experts. (Dorfman, 80-87)

        "Up From the Apes" is an article written by Michael Lemonick for TIME Magazine. It discusses the various discoveries that link humans to their primate ancestors. The two oldest discoveries of this type are Ardipithecus ramidus and Australopithecus anamensis. A. ramidus was the first of the two to be discovered. This species shows some hominid traits, but is too apelike to be place in the Australopithecus family. The physical features of A. anamensis are more like that of Lucy, so it is seen as a more direct human ancestor. Lemonick describes how the Australopithecus family evolves into more human-like species and become more intelligent along the way. They eventually learn the art of tool making, which gives them a superior advantage over the other hominid species. The main point of this article is to explain the complexity of the way humans have evolved throughout their long history.         

        The next article, "We Were Not Alone," is taken from the Scientific American issue of January 2000. This article shows how our society once believed that our ancestors evolved in a single line, one species down to the other, all the way to modern humans. The author then disproves that theory by telling about the various discoveries that show humans and Neanderthals ...