The oldest people lived 2 million - 500 thousand years ago.

Pithecanthropus - "ape man". The remains were found

first on about. Java in 1891 by E. Dubois, and then in a number of other places.

Pithecanthropes walked on two legs, their brain volume increased, they

used primitive tools in the form of clubs and slightly hewn

stones. Low forehead, powerful brow ridges, half-bent body with abundant

hairline - all this pointed to their recent (monkey) past.

Sinanthropus, whose remains were found in 1927 - 1937. in

cave near Beijing, in many respects similar to Pithecanthropus, this is a geographical

variant of Homo erectus. Sinanthropes already knew how to maintain fire.

The main factor in the evolution of ancient people was natural

Ancient people

Ancient people characterize the next stage of anthropogenesis,

when social factors also begin to play a role in evolution: labor

activities in the groups they lived in, the joint struggle for life and

intelligence development. These include Neanderthals, whose remains were

found in Europe, Asia, Africa. They got their name from the place

the first find in the river valley. Neander (Germany). Neanderthals lived in an ice age

the era of 200 - 35 thousand years ago in the caves, where the fire was constantly maintained,

dressed in skins. The tools of labor of Neanderthals are much more perfect and have

some specialization: knives, scrapers, percussion instruments. More elaborate and have

some specialization: knives, scrapers, percussion instruments. real name

they received at the place of the first find in the valley of the river. Neander (Germany). jaws

testified to articulate speech. Neanderthals lived in groups of 50

- 100 people. Men collectively hunted, women and children gathered

edible roots and fruits, old people made tools. Latest

Neanderthals lived among the first modern humans, and then were them until the end

heavily repressed. Some scientists consider Neanderthals a dead end

branch of hominin evolution that did not participate in the formation of modern

person.

Modern people.

The emergence of modern physical people

type occurred relatively recently, about 50 thousand years ago. Their remains

found in Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. In the Grotto of Cro-Magnon (France)

several skeletons of fossil humans of the modern

type, which they called Cro-Magnons. They had the whole complex

physical features, which are characte-tsami. They had everything

a complex of physical features, which is characterized by articulate

speech, as indicated by a developed chin protrusion; housing construction,

the first rudiments of art (rock paintings), clothing decorations,

perfect bone and stone tools, the first tamed animals -

everything indicates that this is a real person, finally

detached from their animal-like ancestors. Neanderthals, Cro-Magnons and

modern people form one species - Homo sapiens - reasonable man; this

the species was formed no later than 100 - 40 thousand years ago.

In the evolution of the Cro-Magnons, social

factors, immeasurably increased the role of education, transfer of experience.

The driving forces of anthropogenesis. In human evolution

anthropogenesis - the most important role belongs not only to biological factors

(variability, heredity, selection), but also social (speech, accumulated

work experience and social behavior). Peculiarities

human, due to social factors, are not fixed genetically and

are passed not by inheritance, but in the process of education and training. At first

stages of evolution, selection for greater adaptability to

rapidly changing circumstances. However, later the ability

to pass on from generation to generation genetic acquisitions in the form of

diverse scientific, technical and cultural information began to play all

more important role, freeing man from the strict control of natural

selection. Social patterns have become important in evolution

person. The winners in the struggle for existence were not necessarily

the strongest, and those who kept the weak: children are the future of the population,

old people - keepers of information about ways to survive (hunting techniques,

making tools, etc.). The victory of populations in the struggle for existence

provided not only with strength and intelligence, but also with the ability to sacrifice

yourself in the name of the family, the tribe. Man is a social being

the hallmark of which is consciousness, formed on the basis of

collective labor.

In the evolution of Homo sapiens, social relations play everything

growing role. For modern people, the leading and defining have become

social and labor relations. This is the qualitative originality of evolution.

According to scientists, primitive people (hominids) appeared on our planet about 2,000,000 years ago in Africa (it was there that their remains were first found). It was thanks to the study of these skeletons that paleontologists were approximately able to restore the appearance of the very first people.

1. Primitive people were very much like great apes, but moved on two legs. The structure of the skeleton was different from the skeleton of a modern person. Although the ancient man moved on two hind short limbs, his torso bowed strongly when moving forward. The hands moved freely and hung down to the very knees, with which primitive people learned to perform simple work. Later, they learned to hold stone tools used for hunting in their hands.

2. The skull of a primitive man was smaller than the skull of a modern man, this was due to a smaller brain volume. The forehead was small and low. Although the brain of primitive man was larger than that of modern apes, it was less developed. Primitive people did not know how to speak, but uttered only individual sounds that expressed their emotions. But such sounds were a means of primitive communication.

3. The face of a primitive man looked bestial. The lower jaw strongly protruded forward. Superciliary arches were strongly expressed. The hair was mostly black, long and shaggy. The entire body of a primitive man was covered with thick hair, which looked like wool. Such "wool" protected the body from the sun and from the cold.

4. Primitive people had a muscular, strong body, because their life was spent in constant fights with wild animals, climbing rocks and trees, hunting and running for kilometers. Scientists gave the name Homo habilis to the very first ape-like people.

5. Approximately 1.8 million years ago, a more intelligent species of people appeared in Africa, they were called Homo erectus. Outwardly, he had significant differences from his ancestors. He was taller, had a more slender build and straight posture. This species had the beginnings of speech, they learned how to get meat, butcher and cook it on fire.

Australopithecus: Anthropologists attribute Australopithecus to the very first monkeys that moved on their hind limbs. This genus began to emerge in East Africa more than 4,000,000 years ago. Over the course of 2,000,000 years, these creatures spread to almost the entire continent. These ancient people grew up to 1.4 meters in height and weighed no more than 55 kilograms. Australopithecus had more pronounced sexual dimorphism in contrast to monkeys, however, in males and females, the structure of fangs was almost the same. The cranium was small and contained a brain with a volume of no more than 600 cm3.

Handy man Homo habilis (translated from Latin "handy man"). This independent separate species of humanoid creatures appeared about 2,000,000 years ago in Africa. The growth of these ancient people reached 160 cm, they had a brain more developed than that of Australopithecus, it was about 700 cm 3 in volume. monkeys.

Homo erectus (Homo erectus) . These ancient people had an increased brain volume, almost equal to the brain volume of a modern person. The jaws and brow ridges were quite massive, but not as pronounced as in their predecessors. The physique outwardly practically did not differ from the body of a modern person.

Neanderthals appeared on the scene of life relatively recently - about 250,000 years ago. The growth of these people reached 170 centimeters, and the volume of the skull reached 1200 centimeters. From Africa and Asia, these ancestors of mankind were able to populate the territories of Europe. Neanderthals lived in tribes of no more than 100 people in one tribe. Unlike their predecessors, Neanderthals had the beginnings of speech, they learned to exchange information.

Cro-Magnons or Homo sapiens ) - the last oldest species of people known to science. The growth of this species reached 170 - 190 centimeters. Outwardly, this species of primitive people differed from monkeys, as it had reduced superciliary arches, and the lower jaw no longer came forward. The bones of the skeleton had more weight than the bones of a modern person, but this is perhaps the only significant difference. in all other respects, the brain, arms, legs, structure of the speech apparatus was the same as that of a modern person.

The oldest people appeared on Earth about 2.5 million years ago. According to Darwin's theory, their predecessors were australopithecines - a group of higher primates, in the genes of which mutation processes occurred. The oldest people are divided into two types - Asian ancient people (upright man) and African ancient people (working man).

Where did the earliest people live?

We all know that the most ancient people lived in caves, hence their second name - "caveman". However, the cave did not serve as a home for ancient people for a long time; over time, the caves turned into primitive places of worship, where magic rites were performed and the dead were buried.

At times early paleolithic, the oldest people built their dwellings from tree branches, and for reliability, they lined their foundations with stones. Very often, the bones of mammoths killed during the hunt acted as a building material. Instead of a roof, such huts were covered with skins. The leather held up well in wind and rain.

At the time of completion ice age, people began to build dwellings from logs. The houses of the most ancient people accommodated about 15 people. Dwellings were built in a circle, in the center of which was a hearth. In the northern territories, houses often looked like semi-dugouts, that is, they were partially deepened into the ground.

Appearance of ancient people

The most ancient people had an appearance that was close to the appearance of a modern person, but still retained many common features with animals. The average height of the most ancient people was approximately 1.6 m. They had a straight gait, which distinguished them from animals.

The structure of the skull is archaic: the frontal part was much smaller than the jaw, the supraorbital ridges protruded, the chin was in most cases oblique. The hands of the most ancient people remained elongated.

In ancient Asian people, the total brain volume significantly exceeded the brain volumes of working people. They were the forerunners Neanderthals(old people who replaced the ancient ones).

The geography of the settlement of the most ancient people

According to research, the oldest people first appeared in East Africa. Approximately 1.8 million years ago, the most ancient people moved to the lands of the Middle East, and spread widely across the territories of Eurasia favorable for life.

The most ancient people also settled in all the lands of the Old World. Existence in different geographical conditions contributed to the division of the most ancient people into various subspecies. The ancient people who lived on the territory of Eurasia quickly began to overcome the next step of evolution compared to their African and Middle Eastern relatives.

Myth #1: Neanderthals had very big eyes.

This is one of the fresh, but already spread pseudo-scientific myths. Look at the Neanderthal skull: it has huge eye sockets! And that means big eyes. Perhaps Neanderthals were twilight or even nocturnal? Imagine a squat creature with headlight eyes, like an owl's, hiding in caves during the day, but as soon as the sun disappears, silently crawling out onto the main road, sneaking up on a peacefully sleeping mammoth. Where did the talk about huge eyes come from? In the spring of 2013, the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences published an article by English anthropologists who put forward an original hypothesis: Neanderthals lived for a long time in the north, where "there is less sun than in the tropics." Their visual system adapted to the dusk, and their eyes grew in size. Accordingly, the area of ​​the visual cortex of the brain also increased, to the detriment of thinking and the ability to communicate. The researchers decided to test their hypothesis: they calculated the average size of the eye sockets of Neanderthals and ancient sapiens, and in Neanderthals they really turned out to be larger on average - 6 mm in height and almost 3 mm in width. Then this news gets into the media, and from there - into our heads. But how do you like this fact: among modern races, the highest eye sockets ... in the Mongoloids! And they have the smallest eyes. The suggestion that northerners must have large eyes to see better in constant twilight also fails empirical testing. According to this logic, the equatorials should have the smallest eyes, and the inhabitants of the Far North should have the largest ones. In fact, it's exactly the opposite. In addition, a number of studies of modern primates have shown that there is no direct relationship between the size of their eye sockets and the size of their eyes ... not revealed. Therefore, we will continue to trust the classical reconstructions, in which Neanderthals are the owners of albeit sad, but quite human eyes.

Summary: Neanderthals did not have large eyes, but large eye sockets. Studies have not revealed a direct relationship between the size of the eye sockets and the eyes in humanoids. Modern inhabitants of the North - the owners of large eye sockets - do not differ at all with large eyes.

Myth No. 2: Ancient people walked wrapped in skins and with a club in their hand.

A shaggy savage in a skin and with a heavy club clutched in his paw is a classic image of mass culture, which may never have existed in nature. Great apes use sticks, which means, most likely, Australopithecus had enough brains to swing a stick for intimidation and protection. However, the finds of prehistoric "clubs" are unknown to archaeologists. And even if something similar were found, how to distinguish a club from an ordinary fragment of a branch or trunk? The oldest undisputed wooden tool is a spear. The wooden tools now used by the tribes of Africa or Australia are not at all like those spectacular gnarled monsters that our ancestors invariably equip in classical illustrations. Of course, there are no finds of “cloaks of skins” in which our ancestors were wrapped, although, probably, ancient people wore something similar. Something else is important here. Apparently, the source from which the authors of popular pictures and descriptions of prehistoric life drew their inspiration is not archaeological finds or scientific facts, but popular publications and cinema. The replicated "caveman" became a kind of brand, the hero of commercials and even comedy cartoons (The Flintstones, 1960).

Alexander Sokolov. "Myths about human evolution"

Artists portrayed people of the Stone Age, guided by their ideas of what a real savage should be: powerful, furry and ruthless. However, the roots of the “caveman with a club” image can be found in a much deeper past. It turns out that the wild man was a popular character back in the Middle Ages. His image emerges in European literature and decorative arts, on tapestries, bas-reliefs and even on coins, adorns coats of arms. The “wild man” was depicted as completely covered with hair, and in his hands, you guessed it, he was clutching a club. From the depths of centuries, from the depths of the human subconscious, the image of the “wild man” has come down to us in all its primeval beauty.

Summary: "Caveman" is a very stable archetype that has been living in human culture for more than 2 thousand years. In the last quarter of the 19th century, the image of the "wild man" fit perfectly into the newfangled idea of ​​the origin of man from animals. And - under the mask of either a Neanderthal or a Cro-Magnon - our renewed hero returned to popular culture. So natural science and folklore imperceptibly mixed up. "Wild Man" is not a product of scientific research, but of folklore and popular culture.

Myth #3: Ancient people were very hairy.

Ask anyone you know to describe primitive man. Most likely, the word "hairy" will be in the top three epithets. Shaggy, covered with hair - this is how we remember them from illustrations in popular books, where the emphasis was on the bestial essence, the ape-like ancestor. But what do we really know about their hairline, and at what point did it disappear? Did it happen gradually, or did the hair fall out all at once and completely? Even so, the loss of hair should have been accompanied by a parallel restructuring of many systems: the number of sweat glands increased, the fat layer thickened, and the entire mechanism of thermoregulation changed. The growth of hair on the head, on the contrary, increased, and the men, in addition, grew an impressive beard. Paleontology will not help us: bones are preserved in the fossil form, but not hair. Yes, mammoth carcasses are sometimes extracted from permafrost, but no one has found Neanderthal mummies. And yet, Neanderthals did not differ fundamentally from us in terms of skeletal structure and lifestyle: they did not live in forests, but in open areas, used fire and tools, and went hunting. We are unlikely to be mistaken if we assume that there was no radical difference between us and them in terms of the degree of hairiness. In 2004, experts studied variations in the gene responsible for skin color in Africans and concluded that human skin became dark at least 1.2 million years ago. In great apes, under the coat, the skin is light, as it is protected from ultraviolet radiation by the hairline. It should have darkened after our ancestors lost their wool. This means that already more than a million years ago people were not “shaggy troglodytes”. Why is our hair thinning? Here is a possible explanation. After our ancestors got down from the trees and went out into the savannah, under the scorching sun, they needed a more efficient system of thermoregulation. The number of glands that secrete sweat increased, which, evaporating, lowered the body temperature. In such a situation, the hairline was more of a hindrance: evaporation occurs more efficiently from the open surface of the skin. So the fur disappeared. Please note that on the head exposed to the sun's rays, a cap of hair has been preserved, which performs the function of thermal protection. You ask: why didn't the ancient people again become overgrown with wool when they went north, into the cold? You can answer this way: instead of waiting for the mercy of evolution, man invented clothes and a hearth. The disappeared wool was replaced by a warm skin taken from a dead animal. The walls of the cave or hut protected from rain and wind, and the fire made it possible to survive the harsh winter.

Summary: It is believed that ancient people were very hairy. Unlike bones, hair decomposes quickly, so the degree of hairiness of our ancestors can only be guessed at. However, it is very likely that the hairline disappeared already in the early stages of human evolution.

Myth #4: Ancient people had knee-length arms, short and crooked legs, and walked hunched over.

Short, absurd, with monkey-like long arms, the Neanderthal cowardly huddles up to the entrance to the cave ... An important role in creating such a repulsive image was played by the French anthropologist Marceline Boulle. In 1911, in a book on the skeleton of a Neanderthal old man from La Chapelle-aux-Seine, Boule described the Neanderthal as a stooped subhuman, with his neck stretched forward, moving on half-bent legs. And the artist Frantisek Kupka, under the guidance of Buhl, embodied the image created by the anthropologist on paper. It turned out to be an extremely unattractive creature, something like a character in a horror movie. Decades later, it turned out that the signs that Buhl took as characteristic of Neanderthals were actually the result of old age: the old man was twisted by arthritis. In his youth, he could well have been a stately handsome man with his head held high. However, the standard has been set. And off we go. Hairy and scary, with a large, mask-like face, massive eyebrows and no hint of a forehead, clutching a huge stone and moving like a baboon. This is how the ancient man entered the mass consciousness. As you understand, finding a complete skeleton that would include both upper and lower limbs, so that proportions and posture can be assessed, is a rare success. For a long time, anthropologists had to be content with fragments and guess the rest. They reasoned as follows: since evolution is a smooth and uniform process, then all parts of the human body "humanized" gradually and synchronously. A primitive head should correspond to an ape-like body (although the first finds of Pithecanthropus contradicted this: an almost modern femur was attached to the archaic skull). It seemed logical that Neanderthals, and even more so Pithecanthropes, climbed down from the trees yesterday and did not have time to really master walking on two legs. The stereotype has survived. It is now known that our ancestors became upright several million years before the appearance of Pithecanthropus: this time is more than enough to achieve high skill in walking and running on foot. Judging by the structure of the legs, pelvis and spine, Australopithecus already walked lightly and naturally, and there was absolutely no need for them to stoop.

Summary: The image of hunched, crooked and awkward ancient people arose at the beginning of the last century on the basis of early ideas about the stages of human evolution. The formation of the stereotype was facilitated by the study of the skeleton of a Neanderthal old man: scientists incorrectly interpreted age-related changes as inherent in the whole species. Now we know that almost modern proportions and the structure of the body (except for the skull) developed among ancient people already 1.5 million years ago. We can be quite proud of the posture of our ancestors.

Myth #5: Ancient people were giants

What epic did without giants, titans, giants or cyclops? Of course, it is tempting to think that the mythical characters had a real prototype - some ancient race, the builders of gigantic stone structures, which are beyond the power of an ordinary person to erect. What do supporters of the reality of the ancient giants cite as evidence? Firstly, spectacular photographs of huge skeletons and perfectly preserved, and secondly, eyewitness accounts - for example, peasants who once found huge bones right in their garden. True, then these bones usually disappeared somewhere. Thirdly, megalithic buildings - for example, the famous Stonehenge. People of our complexion with you, with the then technologies, were not able to drag multi-ton stones for tens or even hundreds of kilometers, only giants are capable of this! Fourthly, quotes from chronicles, diaries of medieval travelers who described encounters with giants on an exotic island, in Patagonia, in the snowy Himalayas, or somewhere else at the end of the world. And finally, stories about the remains of Gigantopithecus and Meganthropes found already in the 20th century. Well, well-packaged, such a set of arguments makes a strong impression on the unprepared reader. But speaking seriously, it is easy to make sure that the photographs of "huge skeletons" are a banal photomontage, and in some cases even the author of the fakes is known. Eyewitness accounts are not evidence. The honest eyes of an eyewitness cannot replace the main thing - the finds themselves. Meganthropes and Gigantopithecus have long found their place on the evolutionary tree, but they have nothing to do with the legendary "giants" and definitely did not build Stonehenge (Gigantopithecus are relatives of orangutans, and meganthropes are now classified as Javanese Homo erectus). The builders of megaliths have also been known for a long time, described, and in some cases experimentally tested technologies that make it possible to build Stonehenge without the help of giants or aliens. In addition, when getting acquainted with biomechanics and the laws of physics, it becomes obvious that a person who mysteriously grew to several meters would not be able to move normally. His legs would break, crushed by the weight of his own body. Take a look at real giant animals - elephants or at least gorillas, at the shape of their body, at the thickness of their limbs. A primate that grew to the size of an elephant, and even walked upright, would have completely inhuman proportions. What does paleoanthropology say about the growth of our ancestors? Despite the difficulties associated with the reconstruction of a fossil creature, modern science has accumulated considerable statistics on the size of the body of ancient people. And we can say with confidence that in the process of evolution, the growth of our ancestors did not decrease, but increased.

Summary: Science knows neither the finds of the remains of giant people, nor any indirect evidence of their existence in the past. Judging by the data of paleoanthropologists, in the process of evolution, the growth of our ancestors did not decrease, but increased. Compared to Australopithecus, we are real giants.

Human brains predate humans
Hominid brains reorganized before the size increase that was thought to draw the line between human and primate brains. The discovery was made based on analysis of the remains of a small-brained hominid from South Africa. The researchers studied the inside of the skull Stw 505, belonging to the species Australopithecus Africanus, found in the Sterkfontein cave in the 80s. He is 2-3 million years old. Allowing for changes in brain size, researchers at Columbia University showed that the brains of this primate and the brain of modern humans show a surprising similarity.

The most ancient hominin
(upright primate) lived in the territory of northern Chad (Africa), and he lived 7 million years ago. Maybe, Sahelanthropus tchadensis was the earliest human ancestor. His discovery made it possible to consider Africa the cradle of mankind. The heir of this hominid was Australopithecus anamensis who lived 4.2 million years ago. He is very similar to A. afarensis, who lived 3.5 million - the owner of a big face and small brains. The discovery of a female skull, which was christened Lucy, also belongs to this species. These hominins lived in the savannas of East Africa and were upright, but they still had much in common with apes.

Hominid without tools
Southern Great Ape, or australopithecine was an upright, bipedal hominid lacking the ability to make stone tools. They used stones and bones as primitive tools, primarily as weapons. It was the making of tools and life in communities that helped hominids leave their shelters in trees and survive in open space.

Black skull of the Ethiopian Australopithecus aethiopicus
Black skull of Australopithecus Ethiopian Australopithecus aethiopicus- a rough skull was found in Lomekwi (Western Turkana, Kenya). It dates back to 2.5 million years. Its owner had a large face and a small brain. This is thought to be a primitive form of A. robustus.

Human ancestors stopped choosing partners based on smell
The development of color vision led to the fact that the primates that lived in the Eastern Hemisphere, and then appeared as a result of their development, people lost the ability to recognize pheromones. This happened about 23 million years ago, shortly before the superfamily of great apes, from which humans eventually evolved, broke up into several separate groups. This period roughly coincides with the time when primates in the eastern hemisphere developed full-color vision.

Faces rough and graceful
At australopithecines and robustus had broad, flat faces, while the afarensis and africanus species had finer features. A. aethiopicus had a massive jaw, which this vegetarian used to grind solid plant food.

The brain is similar, but the behavior is more complex
One of the few differences between humans and Australopithecus is the position of the primary visual cortex. Its border is indicated by a depression in the surface of the brain. In the ancient hominid, this area is located closer to the front, and therefore larger. But in Australopithecus Stw 505, this area is located slightly behind - just like in humans. This means that the brain of Australopithecus was already changing, turning into the brain of a modern person. In front, there is an area associated with various forms of complex behavior, such as the evaluation of objects and their qualities, face recognition and social communication.

The last species of ape from which the great apes and modern man descended
The age of the skeleton found in the Spanish city of Barcelona is 13 million years. New species named in Latin Pierolapitecus catalaunicus. The growth of the found specimen - male, reached 120 centimeters. He weighed about 35 kilograms. After examining the jaw and teeth, experts came to the conclusion that this creature ate mainly fruits, but on occasion it could well have eaten insects or the meat of small animals. This monkey was well adapted to climbing trees. She needed all four limbs to move, but some changes are visible in the structure of the skeleton that allowed later species of human ancestors to start walking on two legs.

The one who began to use fire
Appeared two million years ago homo lineage who invented tools and fire. At the same time, migration from Africa begins, which took place in four stages. In the process, they separated african australopithecines, Homo erectusHomo erectus and .

Homo erectus was the first to hunt
Homo erectus Homo erectus lived 1.7 million - 300,000 years ago and is considered the first of the people who hunted large animals. The number of people has increased. And they began to spread over a wide range, left Africa a million years ago and began to colonize areas of the old world with a warm climate. His face was coarse due to a massive lower jaw, massive brow ridges, and a long, low skull. The volume of the brain was 750 - 1225 cubic meters. see c (average 900). The discovery of a complete skeleton of Homo erectus under the name "Turkan boy" from Western Turkana is known (Kenya, 1984)

A skilled man began to make tools
The brain of a skilled man Homo habilis, who lived 2.2 - 1.6 million years ago in East Africa, had a volume of 500-800 cubic meters. cm, larger than that of Australopithecus and approximately half the volume of the brain of a modern person. He was the first of the people who made tools, breaking long bones into long fragments that served him as knives.

Human mental faculties have grown
Over the past 2.5 million years, human intelligence has increased many times over that of other primates. The human brain is now about three times the size of the brains of its "closest relatives" - chimpanzees and gorillas.

Ancient man became wiser due to mutation
The human brain in the course of evolution has developed to a large size as a result of a mutation that occurred 2.4 million years ago. The body of our ancestors lost the ability to produce one of the main proteins that stimulate the growth of massive jaw muscles in primates. Unconstrained by a bulky chewing apparatus, the human skull was given the opportunity for free growth: weak muscles squeezed the skull much less, allowing the medulla to grow and expand. In the period of about 2 million years ago, judging by the fossil remains, is the rapid growth of the brain. By then, our ancestors had moved from chewing tough leaves all day to eating meat, and they didn't need overly powerful jaws.

Goodbye Autralopithecines
Approximately two million years ago, Homo habilis and developed brains in excess of 500 cubic centimeters. Both of these varieties had significantly smaller jaw muscles compared to their ancestors, representatives of the genus Australopithecus.

Homo erectus did without a brain
Early Homo erectus lived 1.8 million years ago and had a small brain. For several hundred thousand years, humanity has lived without powerful jaws and without a developed brain. Homo erectus (upright people) lived from 2 million to 400 thousand years ago. According to one version, they appeared in Africa, but gradually settled throughout the Old World. The first fossil remains of Homo erectus were found by Eugène Dubois at the end of the 19th century in Java. Since then, many other remains have been found, but they remain fragmentary nonetheless.

In Indonesia, there lived ancient hobbits who built boats
The remains of a new species of man, tentatively designated as "hobbits", unearthed on the Indonesian island of Flores. At first they believed that these were the remains of a child, but the analysis showed that these were the bones of an adult, one meter tall and with a skull the size of a grapefruit. These remains are 18 thousand years old. The scientific name for the new species of humans is Homo floresiensis, a relative of Homo erectus. They came to Flores one million years ago and developed their unusual appearance under conditions of isolation. Interestingly, there was no earlier evidence of Homo erectus' ability to build boats, but this is how the ancestors of floresiensis could have got to the island. These people are not only interesting for their short stature, but also for their relatively long arms. Perhaps they fled in the trees from Komodo dragons - giant lizards, the remains of which (of the same age) were found near the remains of Homo floresiensis. In addition to these bones, archaeologists unearthed on Flores the remains of an ancient pygmy elephant (Stegodon), which the "hobbits" probably hunted. Now you need to pay more attention to the legends of hobbits and gnomes.

160 thousand year old man
In June 2003, the oldest human remains in the world were found in Ethiopia - they are about 160 thousand years old. The largest number of remains of primitive people was found in Africa, in particular in Tanzania and Kenya. But they are all scattered over a large area, so it is difficult for scientists to restore the primitive way of life of hominids.

Homo neanderthalensis - people from the Neander Valley
Neanderthals lived 230,000 - 28,000 years ago in Europe, central Asia and the Middle East. These people ate mostly meat. Men reached 166 cm and weighed 77 kg, women - 154 cm and 66 kg. Their brains were 12% larger than those of a human. As a species, Neanderthals formed during the Ice Age. The short body of a dense addition was adapted to the preservation of heat. Despite their small stature, they had strong, well-developed muscles. The superciliary arch was wide and low, passed in the middle of the face and hung over the nose, which was vulnerable during snowstorms and prolonged frosts

Neanderthals were skilled hunters and hunted cooperatively, breaking into separate groups that interacted while hunting. They surrounded the prey and killed it at close range. Many remains of Neanderthals with traces of severe mutilations have been found.

Neanderthals could speak, but their speech was not complex. They did not understand abstract concepts. They were alien to art.

Neanderthal Rivals
Modern humans, who appeared in Europe 40,000 years ago, became rivals of the Neanderthals. The data of the researchers showed that by the time of the interaction of modern humans and Neanderthals, the mortality rate among the latter was 2% higher. In this competition for survival, the latter lost. Within 1,000 years, the Neanderthals died out. 28,000 years ago, the last Neanderthals disappeared. A number of scientists optimistically believe that they did not disappear, but assimilated, giving their genes to modern man. This is not supported by the data.

Intelligent supplanted the Neanderthals
Currently, the most common theory of appearance in Europe says that Homo sapiens came to the continent from Africa about 200 thousand years ago and gradually replaced other species of anthropoids inhabiting it, including Neanderthals. (Homo neanderthalensis). Scientists compared the preserved remains of four Neanderthals and five early modern humans from Western Europe. The DNA of these samples differed so much that it was possible to unequivocally reject the hypothesis of large-scale interbreeding between the two species.

Didn't mix with Neanderthals
Comparison of genomes and Neanderthals shows that modern man has practically no genes characteristic of Neanderthals. In addition, the results of some molecular studies prove that Homo sapiens fully developed into its modern form before the appearance of Neanderthals.

The climate killed the Neanderthals
Neanderthals and the first humans to arrive in Europe struggled with falling temperatures, a new study involving more than 30 scientists has found. These two types of hominids coexisted in Europe approximately 45-28 thousand years ago, before the extinction of the Neanderthals. The reason for the death of Neanderthals was their inability to adapt to climate change. The problem was not only in the cold snap itself - both species had fur clothes like robes. Rather, the researchers believe, Neanderthals were unable to change their hunting methods. Neanderthals, who once used forest cover to sneak up on herds of animals unnoticed, turned out to be less effective hunters in conditions when animals scattered across the steppe had to be approached without any camouflage. Feeding worse, Neanderthals became weaker, more prone to disease and other threats. Although early humans also experienced similar problems, they eventually adapted to the changing environment.

Neanderthals led a hectic life
Skeletons of Neanderthals show that they led a tumultuous life - often breaking bones and receiving strong blows. They rarely lived past 40 years of age. Hunting in the new environment proved even more dangerous and far less successful. This is what made it impossible for the Neanderthals to survive. With a shortage of food, they became more susceptible to disease, reproduction slowed down, starvation became a frequent occurrence, and the population was slowly but surely declining.

Europeans have Neanderthal teeth
Oldest remains of Homo sapiens found in Europe Analysis of the remains found in the Romanian Carpathians in a cave showed that they are from 34 to 36 thousand years old. This is the age of the male jaw found in the cave. These bones, without a doubt, belong to Homo sapiens, but they have features characteristic of more primitive species of anthropoids. In particular, the wisdom teeth on the found jaw are of such a huge size that they have not been noted in any of the remains of Homo Sapiens, starting from those whose age is 200 thousand years.

invention of the spear
The invention of such a useful tool for hunters and fishermen as a spear, which happened, as it is now believed, over a million years ago, served as a prologue to the great peace concluded between the tribes of the ancestors of people 985 thousand years ago. In addition, the advent of such weapons led to a decisive split in the behavioral patterns of chimpanzees and humans, which allowed us to stand out from the animal world.

Range expansion
People invented weapons that could be thrown from a distance and thus successfully hunt large mammals. The ability to kill at a distance also led to the spread of new tactics for border fighting between people - it was possible to set up ambushes. Circumstances forced the most ancient people to come up with new ways to resolve their long-standing conflicts: in particular, to maintain friendly relations with neighbors as much as possible.

Collaboration between the tribes made it possible to seriously expand the range of early human settlements and even provoked their migration from Africa. All this also served as an impetus for the emergence of new types of social organization, which ultimately led to the organization of planned military actions and the attack on the first human settlements. The earliest archaeological evidence of such organized wars dates back to the 10th-12th millennium BC, they were found in Africa, on the territory of present-day Sudan.

Migration
The biological species that we call originated in the east or south of Africa and from there gradually spread throughout the planet. However, experts do not yet have a consensus on how exactly this migration took place. Scientists from several countries have put forward a hypothesis according to which modern humans began migrating from their African ancestral home to other continents by crossing the Red Sea and then moving east along the coast of the Indian Ocean. The conclusions are based on the results of the analysis of the genetic information of the aborigines of Malaysia, whose ancestors once first settled this part of the land.

Eurocentric theory
In the 1980s, the Eurocentric hypothesis of this process dominated. At that time, most anthropologists believed that man appeared rather late, about 50 thousand years before our time. According to this model, 45,000 years ago, our ancestors entered the Levant and Asia Minor through the Isthmus of Suez and the Sinai Peninsula. Over the next ten thousand years, they colonized Europe, displacing the Neanderthals from there, and at about the same time they reached Australia.

Africanocentric theory
The results of excavations on the African continent have definitely shown that the age of Homo sapiens significantly exceeds 100 thousand years. At the same time, it was proved that people have lived in Southeast Asia for at least 45 thousand years, and in Australia - from 50 to 60 thousand years. Gradually, among specialists, the belief was formed that Homo sapiens appeared in Africa about 200 thousand years ago, after 100 thousand years he crossed the Sinai and entered the Asian expanses. Thus, the chronology of the emergence of man has undergone a strong adjustment, but the alleged path of his exit from Africa has remained unchanged.

sea ​​route theory
In the mid-90s, that is, a decade ago, Italian and British anthropologists put forward another hypothesis. They came to the conclusion that some of the first settlers from Africa to Asia did not move by land, but by sea. First, these people penetrated the coast of the Horn of Africa, and then crossed the Red Sea in the area of ​​​​Bab el-Mandeb and entered the Arabian Peninsula. From there they moved east along the coast of the Indian Ocean and by this route they reached India, and then Australia. The authors of this theory have calculated that this migration began at least 60 thousand years ago, but it is possible that all 75 thousand.

The oldest man in Europe was a Georgian
Georgian scientists discovered in Eastern Georgia the skull of the oldest human on the European continent. According to preliminary estimates of scientists, the discovery in Dmanisi is 1 million 800 years old. The discovery in Dmanisi allows research not only of individual individuals, but of the whole settlement. Along with the remains of the hominid discovered in Dmanisi, animal bones and stone tools were found. For example, the so-called "choping", as well as a hewn stone that a primitive man could use instead of a knife. "These oldest primitive stone tools are very similar to what was found in Africa"

Wars arose when they began to cultivate the land
Scholar Kelly attributes the emergence of the first wars to the development of agriculture, which exponentially increased the value of cultivated areas. Until this happened, the largest human conflicts were like sporadic attacks by the same chimpanzees, because no one seriously planned such fights.

The prehistoric climate was spoiled by farmers
Analysis of ancient air bubbles stored in Antarctic ice has provided evidence that humans began to change the global climate thousands of years before the industrial revolution. About eight thousand years ago, the carbon dioxide content in the atmosphere began to rise - at the same time, people began to cut down forests, engage in agriculture and raise livestock. Forests in Europe and Asia began to replace cultivated fields. About five thousand years ago, as evidenced by ice samples, an increase in the content of methane in the air began.

Cattle turned this world into a world of men
The earliest female-dominated human societies (during matriarchy) were replaced by a patriarchal way of life after the practice of acquiring cattle spread among the tribes was already conducted through the male line) just when people got cattle, appeared from the very beginning of modern anthropological research in the nineteenth century. However, at that time no one was able to convincingly demonstrate this causal relationship.

The most ancient writings
Signs carved into turtle shells over 8,000 years ago could be the world's oldest words found to date. The results of their deciphering may also help to learn something about the rituals of Neolithic China. One of the graves contains a headless skeleton with 8 tortoise shells placed where the skull should have been.

All humans were once cannibals
Cannibalism was probably much more common among our prehistoric ancestors than previously thought. A certain gene variation protects some Guinea Fore from prion disease caused by their former cannibalistic habits. Scientists after analyzing many DNA samples showed that the same protective gene variant is found in people around the world. Putting all the findings together, they concluded that such a feature could only have arisen on the condition that cannibalism was once very widespread, and a protective form of the MV "prion" gene was required to protect cannibals from prion diseases lurking in the flesh of the victims.

The first wine was made in the Stone Age
It is possible that Paleolithic people obtained a wine drink from naturally fermented juice of wild grapes. The idea of ​​winemaking may have come to our quick-witted and observant ancestors as a result of observing birds goofing off after eating fermented fruit. During the Neolithic era, the eastern and southeastern part of Turkey was a good place for the emergence of agriculture. Among others, wheat was domesticated here - this event paved the way for the transition to a sedentary lifestyle. So by all indications - the place is quite suitable for the initial domestication of grapes.

Mankind was created by old people
Researchers from the Universities of Michigan and California found that a significant increase in human lifespan occurred at the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic, about 32,000 years ago. A study of more than 750 remains showed that the number of people reaching old age almost quadrupled during this period. It is this, they say, that gave humans an evolutionary advantage, determining the evolutionary success of the species. Representatives of the culture of the late Australopithecus, people of the early and middle Pleistocene, Neanderthals from Europe and Western Asia, and people of the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic were studied. By calculating the ratio of old to young adults for each period of human evolution, the researchers found a trend of increasing survival of older people over the course of human evolution.

The increase in the number of older people allowed early modern humans to accumulate more information and pass on specialized knowledge from one generation to the next. It could also strengthen social and family ties, as grandparents could raise growing grandchildren and other non-family people. In addition, the increase in life expectancy should have increased the number of offspring produced.

Ancient jewelry found in African cave
In the Stone Age, shells were in vogue. So say the archaeologists who dug up the oldest known pieces of costume jewelry. The beads from Blombos Cave in southern South Africa are possibly 75,000 years old. A team of researchers from the University of Bergen (Norway) found over 40 pearl-sized shells with holes drilled and worn, showing that they were collected in a necklace, bracelets or patches on clothing. Such beads, sewn on clothes or worn on the body, indicated a high social status; and therefore they believe that representatives of a fairly modern culture lived in the cave.

Human ancestors created symbols
A series of parallel lines carved into the bones of an animal 1.2-1.4 million years ago may be the oldest example of human symbolic behavior. Many other scientists believe that the ability for genuine symbolic thinking appeared only in Homo sapiens. The 8 cm bone that caused these disputes was excavated from the Kozarnik cave in northwestern Bulgaria. Another bone, found in the same place, has 27 notches along the edge. The scientists who studied them claim that these cannot be traces of butchering. Near the bones, a milk tooth of a similar age was found, belonging to some early Homo, but the researchers find it difficult to name a specific species. It is most likely Homo erectus. The carved bone belonged to an unknown ruminant.