Ben+Mills

**__ HOW WE BECAME WHO WE ARE __**


People have wondered for thousands of years, where did we come from? The theory of **Evolution** (that animals adapt to their environment over time) has given birth to the widely accepted idea that we humans evolved over millions of years from animals similar to modern day chimpanzees. This however is not true, our bone structure was similar to that of a lemur. This animal turned out to be an ancestor not only for humans, but for most monkeys as well. However, we became a separate species than other monkeys or **Primates** as they are known. We still were a kind of Primate, but we also had a new category in the Primate family. This category became known as **Hominids.** Scientists have discovered over 18 different species of hominids.
 * WHAT MAKES US HOMiNIDS **

All Primates have certain things in common: we all have opposable thumbs, a digit (like a finger) that is capable of moving over the palm of the hand, and have something called **Binocular Vision.** Binocular vision is when both eyes are on the front of the head (like humans) instead of being on the sides of the head (like cows). Almost all other primates besides humans have big toes that work like opposable thumbs. Unlike our closest primate relative, the chimpanzee, all Homonids have something called **bipedalism**. Unlike the way apes walk, on their legs and arms, using their knuckles. Bipedalism is walking on two legs with your back mostly straight. An ape's back is curved and its arms are longer than its legs to make walking on its legs and knuckles easier. Our backs are much straighter and our legs are longer than our arms. If we tried to walk like most primates, we would be slow and it would be hard to do because our arms our shorter than our legs. Bipedalism is one of the things that makes us hominids!

 **THE MANY, MANY HOMONIDS**

You may have already known about Neanderthals and Homo Sapiens, but there are many hominids that not a lot of people know about. The earliest Homonids were **//Australopithicines//** (what a mouthfull!). They were the earliest tool makers and the first primates to walk on two legs and to have bigger brains than other apes. They probably ate mostly rough plants like roots. Scientists think that we are not related to them. Over 2.4 million years ago, a species called **//Homo// Habilis** arose. This was the first species in the homo era, the age of hominids more advanced than Australopithicines. They had larger brains, rounder skulls and flatter faces. They could also make more complex tools. Only 1.8 million years ago, a new Homonid appeared. It was called **//Homo// Erectus**, This species was similar to Homo Habilis exept it could grow as tall as a modern human! 

Over the ages, our ancestors were manydifferent **species** (type of animals), some of them living at the same time! Perhaps the most well known are the **Neanderthals** and the **//Homo// Sapiens**. The Neanderthals apeared over 230,000 years ago, the //Homo// sapiens apeared 100,000 years ago. Neanderthals were much taller than modern humans and were much stronger, but key differences in their brains separated them from //Homo// Sapiens. They did not communicate well, and things like fire and spears were probably rediscovered often. Homo Sapiens however, communicated well through language and also through art. They would use sculptures to  communicate about areas or stategies for hunting. The Neanderthals died out around 30,000 years ago, but the //Homo// Sapiens lived on and became modern day humans!


 * Ending thoughts **

It may seem like we know almost everything about our history, but the discovery has only begun! We are still at a loss for explinations of why we came down from trees at all and how almost all of our ancestors acted when two "tribes" met. We may still be discovering about our past hundreds of years later!



__**More websites on Evolution:**__ http://www.becominghuman.org/ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/

http://www.anth.ucsb.edu/projects/human/#

http://www.allaboutcreation.org/evidence-for-evolution.htm

__   Images used **  __ http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.ugopozzati.it/images/Speranza-Neanderthal.jpg&imgrefurl=http://jasonjeffrey.wordpress.com/2008/04/&h=609&w=425&sz=39&hl=en&start=4&um=1&usg=__iA8V6Sc-BWqREzLP6j0AF0Bw9_g=&tbnid=8foS5aAcZoYkhM:&tbnh=136&tbnw=95&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dneanderthal%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1T4ADBS_enUS283US289%26sa%3DN

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.teachersnetwork.org/powertolearn/web/Prehistory%2520Web%2520Quest/images/HomoHabilis.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.teachersnetwork.org/powertolearn/web/Prehistory%2520Web%2520Quest/homo_habilis.htm&h=318&w=425&sz=17&hl=en&start=4&um=1&usg=__s-wpYSVC-_LwyqCGUXob4-wT_GA=&tbnid=GlrmYKHKbTkxyM:&tbnh=94&tbnw=126&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dhomo%2Bhabilis%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1T4ADBS_enUS283US289%26sa%3DN**

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.teachersnetwork.org/powertolearn/web/Prehistory%2520Web%2520Quest/images/Homo_Erectus.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.teachersnetwork.org/powertolearn/web/Prehistory%2520Web%2520Quest/homo_erectus.htm&h=600&w=800&sz=321&hl=en&start=1&um=1&usg=__AgfafesaSxxMsiQmZiNUSVtDQsE=&tbnid=ZZbUJozo27Pn6M:&tbnh=107&tbnw=143&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dhomo%2Berectus%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1T4ADBS_enUS283US289

http://www.accessexcellence.org/BF/bf02/klein/slides/PhyloftheHom.gif

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://hydrodictyon.eeb.uconn.edu/courses/EEB210/evolution.jpg&imgrefurl=http://hydrodictyon.eeb.uconn.edu/courses/EEB210/&h=302&w=826&sz=44&hl=en&start=1&um=1&usg=__oaki4pvAo4nO8YJ0lBr2C-7dBv4=&tbnid=G8LpQF6Nc4feiM:&tbnh=53&tbnw=144&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dhuman%2Bevolution%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1T4ADBS_enUS283US289%26sa%3DN

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.primates.com/chimps/chimpanzee-picture.jpg&imgrefurl=http://paternallife.wordpress.com/2008/02/05/chimpanzees-and-children/&h=819&w=1024&sz=82&hl=en&start=3&um=1&usg=__wIZgO_YF643d0ISo_pgz0v1Z1t8=&tbnid=8P2A0UbhJooRRM:&tbnh=120&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dchimpanzee%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1T4ADBS_enUS283US289

Other Scources:

//Cells, Heredity, and Classification. // Holt Science and Technology Series. Holt, Rinehart and Winston. 2007. p 148-153