ancient human ancestors. When did a reasonable person appear and how does he differ from other types of people

Anthropogenesis (Greek anthropos man, génesis origin), part biological evolution, which led to the appearance of the species Homo sapiens, which separated from other hominids, anthropoid

monkeys and placental mammals. This is the process of historical and evolutionary formation of the physical type of a person, the initial development of his labor activity, speech, and society.

Stages of human evolution

Scientists argue that modern man did not originate from modern anthropoid apes, which are characterized by a narrow specialization (adaptation to a strictly defined lifestyle in tropical forests), but from highly organized animals - driopithecus, which died out several million years ago.

According to paleontological finds (fossils), about 30 million years ago, ancient parapithecus primates appeared on Earth, living in open spaces and on trees. Their jaws and teeth were similar to those of great apes. Parapithecus gave rise to modern gibbons and orangutans, as well as an extinct branch of driopithecus. The latter in their development were divided into three lines: one of them led to the modern gorilla, the other to the chimpanzee, and the third to Australopithecus, and from him to man. The relationship of driopithecus with man was established on the basis of a study of the structure of his jaw and teeth, discovered in 1856 in France. The most important step in the transformation of ape-like animals into ancient people there was an appearance of bipedalism. In connection with climate change and the thinning of forests, there has been a transition from an arboreal to a terrestrial way of life; in order to better view the area where the ancestors of man had many enemies, they had to stand on their hind limbs. Subsequently, natural selection developed and fixed upright posture, and, as a result of this, the hands were freed from the functions of support and movement. This is how australopithecines arose - the genus to which hominids belong (a family of people).

australopithecines

Australopithecus - highly developed bipedal primates that used natural objects as tools (hence, Australopithecus cannot yet be considered people). Bony remains of Australopithecus were first discovered in 1924 in South Africa. They were the size of a chimpanzee and weighed about 50 kg, the brain volume reached 500 cm3 - on this basis, Australopithecus is closer to humans than any of the fossil and modern monkeys.

The structure of the pelvic bones and the position of the head were similar to those of a person, which indicates a straightened position of the body. They lived about 9 million years ago in open steppes and fed on plant and animal food. The tools of their labor were stones, bones, sticks, jaws without traces of artificial processing.

skillful man

Not possessing a narrow specialization of the general structure, Australopithecus gave rise to a more progressive form, called Homo habilis - a skilled man. Its bone remains were discovered in 1959 in Tanzania. Their age is determined at about 2 million years. The growth of this creature reached 150 cm. The volume of the brain was 100 cm3 larger than that of Australopithecus, the teeth of a human type, the phalanxes of the fingers, like those of a person, are flattened.

Although it combined signs of both monkeys and humans, the transition of this creature to the manufacture of pebble tools (well-made stone ones) indicates the appearance of labor activity in it. They could catch animals, throw stones, and perform other activities. Heaps of bones, found together with the fossil remains of a skilled man, indicate that the meat has become permanent part their diets. These hominids used rough stone tools.

Homo erectus

Homo erectus - Homo erectus. the species from which modern man is believed to have descended. Its age is 1.5 million years. His jaws, teeth and brow ridges were still massive, but the brain volume of some individuals was the same as modern man.

Some bones of Homo erectus have been found in caves, suggesting a permanent home. In addition to animal bones and rather well-made stone tools, heaps of charcoal and charred bones, so that, apparently, at this time the Australopithecus had already learned how to make fire.

This stage of hominin evolution coincides with the colonization of other colder regions by Africans. It would be impossible to survive the cold winters without developing complex behaviors or technical skills. Scientists suggest that the prehuman brain of Homo erectus was able to find social and technical solutions (fire, clothing, food supply and cohabitation in caves) to the problems associated with the need to survive in the cold of winter.

Thus, all fossil hominids, especially Australopithecus, are considered to be the precursors of humans.

The evolution of the physical features of the first humans, including modern humans, spans three stages: ancient people, or archanthropes;ancient people, or paleoanthropes;modern people, or neoanthropes.

archanthropes

The first representative of the archanthropes is Pithecanthropus (Japanese man) - an ape-man, upright. His bones were found on about. Java (Indonesia) in 1891. Initially, its age was determined to be 1 million years, but, according to a more accurate modern estimate, it is a little over 400 thousand years old. The height of Pithecanthropus was about 170 cm, the volume of the cranium was 900 cm3. Somewhat later, there was a synanthrope (Chinese man). Numerous remains of it were found in the period 1927 to 1963. in a cave near Beijing. This creature used fire and made stone tools. This group of ancient people also includes the Heidelberg man.

Paleoanthropes

Paleoanthropes - Neanderthals appeared to replace the archanthropes. 250-100 thousand years ago they were widely settled in Europe. Africa. Front and South Asia. Neanderthals made a variety of stone tools: hand axes, side-scrapers, sharp-pointed ones; used fire, coarse clothing. The volume of their brain grew 1400 cm3.

Features of the structure of the lower jaw show that they had rudimentary speech. They lived in groups of 50-100 individuals and during the onset of glaciers they used caves, driving wild animals out of them.

Neoanthropes and Homo sapiens

Neanderthals were replaced by people of the modern type - Cro-Magnons - or neoanthropes. They appeared about 50 thousand years ago (their bone remains were found in 1868 in France). Cro-Magnons form the only genus and species of Homo Sapiens - Homo sapiens. Their monkey features were completely smoothed out, there was a characteristic chin protrusion on the lower jaw, indicating their ability to articulate speech, and in the art of making various tools from stone, bone and horn, the Cro-Magnons had gone far ahead compared to the Neanderthals.

They tamed animals and began to master agriculture, which made it possible to get rid of hunger and get a variety of food. Unlike their predecessors, the evolution of the Cro-Magnon people took place under great influence social factors(team building, mutual support, improvement of work activity, higher level of thinking).

The emergence of Cro-Magnons is the final stage in the formation of a modern type of person . The primitive human herd was replaced by the first tribal system, which completed the formation of human society, the further progress of which began to be determined by socio-economic laws.

18) Evidence for the origin of man from animals. Atavisms and rudiments in man.

To they are traditionally referred to comparative anatomical, embryological, physiological and biochemical, molecular genetic, paleontological.

1. Comparative anatomical.

The general plan of the structure of the human body is similar to the structure of the body of chordates. The skeleton consists of the same sections as in other mammals. The body cavity is divided by the diaphragm into the abdominal and thoracic regions. Nervous system of tubular type. In the middle ear there are three auditory ossicles (hammer, anvil, stirrup), there are auricles and ear muscles associated with them. In human skin, like other mammals, there are milk, sebaceous and sweat glands. Circulatory system closed, there is a four-chambered heart. Confirmation of the animal origin of man is the presence of rudiments and atavisms in him.

2. Embryological.

In human embryogenesis, the main stages of development characteristic of vertebrates (crushing, blastula, gastrula, etc.) are observed. early stages Embryonic development in the human embryo shows signs characteristic of lower vertebrates: a notochord, gill slits in the pharyngeal cavity, a hollow neural tube, bilateral symmetry in the structure of the body, and a smooth surface of the brain. Further development the embryo exhibits features characteristic of mammals: several pairs of nipples, the presence of hair on the surface of the body, as in all mammals (except monotremes and marsupials), the development of the cub inside the mother's body and the nutrition of the fetus through the placenta.

3. Physiological and biochemical.

In humans and great apes, the structure of hemoglobin and other body proteins is very close. There is a similarity in blood groups. The blood of the pygmy chimpanzee (bonobo) of the corresponding group can also be transfused to humans. There is also a blood Rh antigen in humans (it was first identified in the Rhesus monkey). Great apes are close to humans in the duration of pregnancy, the timing of puberty.

4. Molecular-genetic.

All great apes have a diploid number of chromosomes 2 n = 48. In humans, 2 n = 46 (it has been established that human chromosome 2 is formed by the fusion of two chromosomes homologous to those of chimpanzees). There is a high degree of homology in the primary structure of genes (more than 90% of human and chimpanzee genes are similar to each other).

5. Paleontological.

Numerous fossil remains have been found (individual bones, teeth, fragments of the skeleton, tools, etc.), which make it possible to compose an evolutionary series of ancestral forms of modern man and explain the main directions of their evolution.

The difference between man and animals

Hereditary changes that have arisen in the course of evolution are under control natural selection contributed to the appearance of upright posture in a person, the release of hands, the development and increase in the brain skull, and the reduction of its facial part. At the same time, a person developed a need for the systematic manufacture of tools, which contributed to the improvement of the structure and function of the hand, brain, speech apparatus, mental activity and the emergence of speech. A significant role in the development of the brain and hand was played by binocular (stereoscopic) color vision, which was present in human ancestors.

Atavisms and rudiments in man.

Rudiments are organs that have lost their main significance in the process of the evolutionary development of the organism.

Many vestigial organs are not completely useless and perform some secondary function with the help of structures apparently designed for more complex purposes.

Atavism is the appearance in an individual of signs characteristic of distant ancestors, but absent in the nearest ones.

The appearance of atavisms is explained by the fact that the genes responsible for this trait are preserved in DNA, but do not function, as they are suppressed by the action of other genes.

Rudiments in humans:

∙ tail vertebrae;

∙ some humans have a vestigial caudal muscle, the extensor coccygis, which is identical to the muscles that move the tail in other mammals. It is attached to the coccyx, but since the coccyx in humans is practically unable to move, this muscle is useless for humans;

∙ body hairline;

∙ special muscles arrectores pilorum, which in our ancestors served to "raise the hair on end" (this is useful for thermoregulation, and also helps animals look larger - to intimidate predators and competitors). In humans, the contraction of these muscles leads to "goose bumps", which can hardly be some adaptive value;

∙ three ear muscles that allowed our ancestors to move their ears. There are people who know how to use these muscles. This helps animals with large auricles to determine the direction of the sound source, but in humans this ability can only be used for fun;

∙ blinker's ventricles of the larynx;

∙ appendix of the caecum (appendix). Long-term observations have shown that the removal of the appendix does not have a significant impact on the life expectancy and health of people, except for the fact that after this operation people on average get sick with colitis a little less often;

∙ a grasping reflex in newborns (it helps monkey cubs to hold on to their mother's fur);

∙ hiccups: we inherited this reflex movement from our distant ancestors - amphibians. In a tadpole, this reflex allows you to quickly pass a portion of water through the gill slits. In both humans and tadpoles, this reflex is controlled by the same part of the brain and can be suppressed by the same means (for example, inhalation carbon dioxide or expansion of the chest)

∙ lanugo: a hairline that develops in the human embryo on almost the entire body, except for the palms and feet, and disappears shortly before birth (premature babies are sometimes born with lanugo).

Examples of atavisms:

∙ caudal appendage in humans;

∙ continuous hairline on the human body;

∙ additional pairs of mammary glands;

19 . Body aging. Theories of aging. Geriatrics and gerontology.

Old age is a stage individual development, upon reaching which regular changes are observed in the body in physical condition, appearance, emotional sphere. Senile changes become obvious and increase in the post-reproductive period of ontogenesis. However, the beginning of the decline of the reproductive function or even its complete loss cannot serve as the lower limit of old age. Indeed, menopause in women, which consists in the cessation of the release of mature eggs from the ovary and, accordingly, the cessation of menstrual bleeding, determines the end of the reproductive period of life. However, by the time menopause is reached, most functions and external signs far from reaching the state characteristic of old people. On the other hand, many of the changes we associate with old age begin before reproductive decline. This applies both to physical signs (graying of the hair, the development of farsightedness), and to the functions of various organs. For example, in men, a decrease in the release of male sex hormones by the gonads and an increase in the release of gonadotropic hormones by the pituitary gland, which is typical for an old organism, begins at about 25 years of age.

There are chronological and biological (physiological) age.

According to the modern classification, based on the assessment of many average indicators of the state of the body, people whose chronological age has reached 60-74 years old are called elderly, 75-89 years old, over 90 years old - centenarians. An accurate determination of biological age is difficult because individual signs of old age appear at different chronological ages and are characterized by different growth rates. Besides, age-related changes even one trait is subject to significant sexual and individual fluctuations.

Let's consider such a sign as elasticity (elasticity) of the skin. The same biological age is reached in this case by a woman at about 30 years old, and by a man at 80. That is why, first of all, women need competent and constant skin care. In order to determine the biological age, which is necessary for judging the rate of aging, test batteries are used, conducting a cumulative assessment of many signs simultaneously that naturally change in the course of life.

Such batteries are based on complex functional indicators, the state of which depends on the coordinated activity of several body systems. Simple Tests are usually less informative. For example, the speed of propagation of a nerve impulse, which depends on the state of the nerve fiber, decreases by 10% in the age range of 20-90 years, while the vital capacity of the lungs, determined by the coordinated work of the respiratory, nervous and muscular systems, decreases by 50%.

The state of old age is achieved through the changes that make up the content of the aging process. This process covers all levels structural organization individuals - molecular, subcellular, cellular, tissue, organ. The cumulative result of numerous particular manifestations of aging at the level of the whole organism is an increasing decrease in the viability of an individual with age, a decrease in the effectiveness of adaptive, homeostatic mechanisms. It has been shown, for example, that young rats, after immersion in ice water for 3 minutes, restore their body temperature in about 1 hour. Middle-aged animals need 1.5 hours for this, and about 2 hours for old ones.

In general, aging leads to a progressive increase in the likelihood of death. Thus, the biological meaning of aging is that it makes the death of the organism inevitable. The latter is a universal way to limit participation multicellular organism in reproduction. Without death, there would be no change of generations - one of the main conditions for the evolutionary process.

Age-related changes in the aging process do not in all cases consist in a decrease in the adaptability of the body. In humans and higher vertebrates, experience is gained in the process of life, the ability to avoid potentially dangerous situations is developed. The immune system is also interesting in this regard. Although its effectiveness generally declines after the body reaches maturity, due to the "immunological memory" in relation to some infections, old individuals may be more protected than young ones.

HYPOTHESES EXPLAINING THE MECHANISMS OF AGING

Gerontology knows at least 500 hypotheses that explain both the root cause and mechanisms of aging of the body. The vast majority of them have not stood the test of time and are of purely historical interest. These include, in particular, hypotheses linking aging with the consumption of a special substance of cell nuclei, the fear of death, the loss of some non-renewable substances received by the body at the time of fertilization, self-poisoning with waste products, and the toxicity of products formed under the influence of the microflora of the large intestine. The hypotheses that are of scientific value today fall in one of two main directions.

Some authors consider aging as a stochastic process of age-related accumulation of "mistakes" that inevitably occur in the course of normal life processes, as well as damage to biological mechanisms under the influence of internal (spontaneous mutations) or external (ionizing radiation) factors. Stochasticity is due to the random nature of changes in time and localization in the body. In various versions of the hypotheses of this direction, the primary role is assigned to various intracellular structures, on the primary damage of which functional disorders at the cellular, tissue and organ levels depend. First of all, it is the genetic apparatus of cells (hypothesis of somatic mutations). Many researchers associate the initial changes in the aging of the body with changes in the structure and, consequently, in the physicochemical and biological properties macromolecules: DNA, RNA, chromatin proteins, cytoplasmic and nuclear proteins, enzymes. Lipids are also distinguished cell membranes often targeted by free radicals. Failures in the work of receptors, in particular cell membranes, disrupt the effectiveness of regulatory mechanisms, which leads to a mismatch in vital processes.

The direction under consideration also includes hypotheses that see the fundamental basis of aging in the increasing wear of structures with age in the range from macromolecules to the organism as a whole, which ultimately leads to a state incompatible with life. This view, however, is too straightforward.

Recall that the occurrence and accumulation of mutational changes in DNA are opposed by natural antimutational mechanisms, and the harmful consequences of the formation of free radicals

decrease due to the functioning of antioxidant mechanisms. Thus, if the "concept of wear and tear" of biological structures correctly reflects the essence of aging, then the result in the form of a greater or lesser rate of senile changes in the age at which different people these changes become apparent, is a consequence of the superimposition of destructive and protective processes. In this case, the wear hypothesis inevitably includes

factors such as genetic predisposition, conditions, and even lifestyle, on which, as we have seen, the rate of aging depends.

The second direction is represented by genetic or program hypotheses, according to which the aging process is under direct genetic control. This control, according to some views, is carried out with the help of special genes. According to other views, it is associated with the presence of special genetic programs, as is the case with other stages of ontogeny, such as embryonic.

In favor of programmed aging, evidence is given, many of which have already been discussed in Sec. 8.6.1. Usually they also refer to the presence in nature of species in which, after reproduction, changes rapidly increase, leading animals to death. A typical example is Pacific salmon (sockeye salmon, pink salmon) that die after spawning. The triggering mechanism in this case is associated with a change in the secretion of sex hormones, which should be considered as a feature of the genetic program of the individual development of salmonids, reflecting their ecology, and not as a universal mechanism of aging.

It is noteworthy that castrated pink salmon does not spawn and lives 2-3 times longer. It is in these additional years life, we should expect the appearance of signs of aging in cells and tissues. Some program hypotheses are based on the assumption that the biological clock functions in the body, in accordance with which age-related changes occur. The role of the “clock” is attributed, in particular, to the thymus gland, which stops functioning when the body passes into adulthood. Another candidate is nervous system, especially some of its departments (hypothalamus, sympathetic nervous system), the main functional element of which are primarily aging nerve cells. Let us assume that the cessation of thymus functions at a certain age, which is undoubtedly under genetic control, is a signal of the onset of aging of the body. This, however, does not imply a genetic control of the aging process. In the absence of the thymus, immunological control over autoimmune processes is weakened. But in order for these processes to start, either mutant lymphocytes (DNA damage) or proteins with altered structure and antigenic properties are needed.

Gerontology and geriatrics

Gerontology (from the Greek gerontos - old man) is a branch of biology and medicine that studies the patterns of aging of living beings, including humans. The main directions of gerontology include the study of the main causes, mechanisms and conditions of aging, the search for effective means of increasing life expectancy and prolonging the period of active working capacity.

Geriatrics (from the Greek iatreia - treatment) is a field of clinical medicine that studies the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of diseases of the elderly and senile.

This article will focus on the ancestors and closest relatives of modern man.

The topic is interesting and yet simple.

Dryopithecus

- literal translation: "tree monkeys"

Common ancestor of modern humans and great apes. They lived about 25 million years ago in Africa and Europe.

Outwardly, most likely, they were similar to modern chimpanzees.

Dryopithecus lived in herds, mainly in trees.

Due to the "arboreal" life in driopithecus and its descendants, one can notice some peculiarity:

forelimbs can rotate in all directions

A similar lifestyle played importance for evolution:

the grasping function of the forelimb developed, which subsequently led to the ability to manipulate objects

improved coordination, developed binocular color vision, life in the herd gave rise to the emergence of society and, as a result, to the emergence speech;
aboutbrain volume clearly more than the ancestors;
at teeth was thin layer of enamel, which suggeststhat driopithecus ate plant foods (fruits, berries).

australopithecines

-transitional form from ape to man (or possibly relatives of the transitional form).

They lived about 5.5 million years ago.

Literal translation: "southern monkeys", so named because the remains of it are found in southern Africa.

Australopithecus is already more "humanized" monkeys.

They moved on their hind legs, slightly hunched over.

they began to use primitive "tools": stones, sticks, etc.
the volume of the brain was approximately 400-520 cm 3, which is three times less than the volume of the brain of a modern person, but slightly more than the brain volume of modern large monkeys;
growth was not high: 110 - 150 cm, weight: 20 - 50 kg.
Australopithecus ate both plant and meat food (less often).
they knew how to hunt using "tools";
life expectancy was short: 18 - 20 years;

Handy man (Homo habilis)

- possibly the first representative of the genus Man

According to an alternative opinion, the Handy Man is a representative of Australopithecus, since he looks very similar to them.

Lived about 2 million years ago.

Possibly a descendant of one of the Australopithecus species. skillful named because started to make and consciously use tools. He selected raw materials for the manufacture of tools, which no animal can boast of.

the volume of the brain, compared with Australopithecus, increased to about 600 cm 2, the facial part of the face of the skull decreased, "giving way" to the brain part;
teeth are smaller than those of australopithecines.
a skilled person switched to euryphagy (omnivorous);
feet, had an arch, became more adapted to walking on the hind limbs;
the hand has become more adapted to grasping, the gripping power has increased;
the larynx was not yet adapted for speech, but the part of the brain responsible for this function was already developed.

Homo erectus (Homo erectus)

- is definitely a representative of the human race.

Lived about 1 million - 300 thousand years ago.

It is named so, as it is not difficult to guess, because of the “final transition” to upright posture.

"human" qualities were already characteristic of him: speech and abstract thinking;
Homo erectus stepped far ahead: his tools became much more complex, he mastered fire, some scientists suggest that he could even mine it on his own;
Outwardly, Erectus was a bit like a modern person, but still different from him: scull had thick walls, the forehead was low with massive supraorbital protrusions, large, heavy lower jaw, the chin protrusion is slightly prominent;
sexual dimorphism was less pronounced than in Australopithecus, but still took place: males were slightly larger than females.
height was 150 - 180. Brain volume: approximately 1100 cm 3.

Homo erectus led a hunter-gatherer lifestyle. They lived and hunted in groups - this helped in the development of speech and sociality. It is assumed that Homo erectus was supplanted by the Neanderthal 300 thousand years ago, but the latest anthropological data reject this.

Pithecanthropus(translated: ape-man)

– type of Homo erectus.

Lived in Southeast Asia 500-700 thousand years ago, was first discovered on the island of Java.

Pithecanthropus is not the ancestor of modern man, it can be called rather our cousin.

Sinanthropus

- another type of Homo erectus.

Lived 600-400 thousand years ago somewhere on the territory of modern China.

Sinanthropes became one of the last most developed representatives of the Homo erectus species. Some scientists are considered as the ancestors of modern man.

Neanderthal, Neanderthal Man

- a species of the genus man, previously considered a subspecies of Homo sapiens.

lived in Europe and North Africa over 100 thousand years ago.

Neanderthals had a hard time, they lived in an era ice age, so it is no wonder that they learned how to make houses and clothes. Neanderthals ate mostly meat. Neanderthal not a direct ancestor of Homo sapiens, although, perhaps, he lived next to the Cro-Magnons and could freely interbreed with them, thus leaving his "genetic mark" in the modern representatives of the genus People. It is also assumed that there was a struggle between Cro-Magnons and Neanderthals, as a result of which the latter probably disappeared. It is likely that Cro-Magnons could hunt Neanderthals, and vice versa. Neanderthals were large muscular creatures, more massive than the Cro-Magnon.

The brain size of Neanderthals was 1200-1600 cm³.
height: about 1.5 meters;
the skull was stretched back (because of the large brain), but the forehead was low, the cheekbones were wide, the jaws were large, the chin, like that of an erectus, was weakly expressed;
the superciliary ridge protruded noticeably;
the Neanderthals had a culture: the first religion (they buried their brothers according to special rites), a musical instrument;
medicine began to appear: Neanderthals could treat fractures.

Cro-Magnon

- the first representative of the species Homo sapiens, lived about 40 thousand years ago.

the Cro-Magnons had a completely human appearance: a high straight forehead, the superciliary ridge disappeared, a chin protrusion appeared;
Cro-Magnons were taller (height was about 180 cm) and less massive than Neanderthals;
brain volume: 1400-1900 cm 3
possessed articulate speech, formed the first "real" human society;
Cro-Magnons lived in tribal communities of 100 people, creating the first settlements. They built dwellings: huts made of skins, dugouts. They made clothes, hunting tools: spears, snares, harpoons, household items: knives, needles, scrapers. They were engaged in agriculture. Hunted collectively using a revolutionary method: driven hunting. Began to domesticate animals;
were highly developed culturally: they were engaged in rock painting, made clay sculptures.

Just like the Neanderthals, they developed burial rites, from which we can conclude that both of them believed in afterlife. According to mainstream science,Cro-Magnon is the direct ancestor of modern man.

It took nature many millions of years to turn the monkey into a modern man - the crown of creation. We are the result of a long evolutionary process, which we have just briefly skimmed over. Questions on this topic can be caught in the GIA and the Unified State Examination. And we covered this topic, I hope you were interested.

Anthropogenesis, races.

OGE biology

Factors of human evolution

Factors of human evolution
In the early stages of human evolution dominated biological factors evolution - variability, struggle for existence, natural selection, etc.
In the later stages of human evolution, the main social factors evolution - a social way of life, the use of tools, the use of fire, the development of speech.

But biological factors have not lost their significance to this day.

Stages of human evolution

Dryopitek 25-15 mln.
Australopithecus (southern monkey (5.5 million) → skilled man (2 million years ago) 5.5 million - 2 million Finds: in the South and East Africa Height is about 130 cm. The brain is about 600 ml. Approximately 3 million years ago, they began to make primitive tools from pebbles (a skilled person).

Ancient man (Pithecanthropus, Homo erectus) 2 million - 300 thousand Finds: Pithecanthropus (Java Island), Sinanthropus (China), Heidelberg Man (Germany).
Height is about 165 cm. Brain 900-1100 ml. They could use fire, made primitive stone tools.

Ancient man (Neanderthal, Homo sapiens Neanderthal) 250 thousand - 35 thousand. The first find was in Germany, in the valley of the Neander River. Then they were found in Africa, Asia, Europe. Height 165 cm. Brain 1400-1600 ml. They could make fire, made a variety of stone tools.

Modern man (Cro-Magnon, reasonable reasonable man) 40 thousand - present First found in France in the Cromagne grotto. Then they were discovered in Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia Height 180 cm. Brain 1200-1500 ml.
Tools made of stone, bone, wood. They could sew clothes and build dwellings. Pottery was developed. Art and religion developed.

1. The biological unity of the human races is evidenced by their ability

1) produce fertile offspring

2) transform the environment

3) settle on the surface of the Earth

4) use tools

2. Most anthropologists refer to the predecessors of people

1) australopithecines

2) chimpanzee

3) orangutans

3. Scientists refer to the group of ancient people

1) Cro-Magnon

2) Australopithecus

3) Neanderthal

4) Pithecanthropus

4. Scientists refer to the group of ancient people

1) Australopithecus

2) Cro-Magnon

3) Neanderthal

4) Pithecanthropus

5. What provided social evolution human?

1) labor activity

2) high metabolic rate

3) upright posture

4) disappearance of hairline

6. Human speech differs from "animal language" in that it

1) provided by the central nervous system

2) is congenital

3) arises consciously

4) contains information only about current events

7. What race is characterized by the following description: black hard straight, rarely wavy hair; dark eyes; swarthy, often yellowish skin color; poor development of the hairline; flattened face?

1) Caucasian

2) Mongoloid

3) negroid

4) Australoid

8. Set the chronological sequence of anthropogenesis 1) skillful man 2) erect man 3) driopithecus 4) reasonable man

9. What is the distinguishing feature of races?

1) brain volume

2) brain mass

3) public lifestyle

4) features of the external structure

10. What contributed to the emergence of bipedalism in humans?

1) settlement of new territories

2) faster movement on the ground

3) closer communication between people

4) liberation of the hand and development of labor activity

11. What sign in a person in the process of evolution arose earlier than others?

2) consciousness

4) upright posture

12. In humans, the formation of speech goes in parallel with the development

1) instincts

2) emotional memory

3) abstract thinking

4) unconditioned reflexes

13. In what part of the world, from the indicated

in the picture, the remains were found

ancient people?

14. What sign is characteristic

for the Mongoloid race of man?

1) flat wide face

2) black skin color

3) black curly hair

4) narrow protruding nose

15. What factor of human evolution is classified as social?

1) speech development

3) struggle for existence

4) natural selection

16. Indicate the historical sequence of the main stages of anthropogenesis 1) Modern man 2) Australopithecus 3) Cro-Magnon 4) Pithecanthropus 5) Neanderthal

17. The external differences of human races appeared as a result

1) habitats in various ecological niches

2) the actions of social factors

3) the impact of the onset of glaciers on the habitat

4) adaptability to different climatic zones

18. The rallying of the members of the collective of primitive people, communication with the help of sounds, and then words, was facilitated by (-a)

1) upright posture

2) permanent migration

3) labor activity

4) eating meat food

19. What number is shown

part of the world where

remains found

australopithecines?

20. At what stage of human evolution did rock art appear?

1) Pithecanthropus

2) australopithecines

3) Cro-Magnons

4) Neanderthals

21. The formation of the second signaling system in humans is associated with

1) the emergence of three-dimensional vision

2) walking on two legs

3) regular work activity

4) climate change on Earth

22. Which of the following had greatest influence on the development of the thinking of human ancestors?

1) upright posture

2) life in groups

3) regular work activity

4) transition from arboreal to terrestrial way of life

23. Modern man is a direct descendant

1) Neanderthals

2) synanthropes

3) Cro-Magnons

4) Pithecanthropus

24. The first to learn how to use fire

1) australopithecines

2) pithecanthropes

3) Neanderthals

4) Cro-Magnons

25. What factor of human evolution is classified as social?

1) development of the second signaling system

2) hereditary variability

3) struggle for existence

4) natural selection

26. What sign distinguishes representatives of the Negroid race of a person from all the rest?

1) narrow protruding nose

2) rounded face

3) yellowish-dark skin color

4) black curly hair

27. As a result of what processes did racial characteristics form in a person?

1) exercises or non-exercise of individual organs

2) public lifestyle of a person

3) the actions of natural selection

4) development of civilization

28. Consider the picture in which

fossil ancestors depicted

genus Person in chronological

a Cro-Magnon man is depicted, if under

number 1 depicts Australopithecus?

Neanderthal?

29. What is the proof of the unity of representatives of different races?

1) the adaptability of representatives of different races to certain living conditions

2) the ability of representatives of different races to marry and produce offspring

3) a high number of representatives of different races

4) the presence of racial characteristics

30. Under what number is a representative of the Caucasian race shown in the figure? Mongoloid? Negroid?

31. Which of the representatives of the genus Man

belong to the submitted images

rock paintings?

1) Pithecanthropus

2) Neanderthal

3) Cro-Magnon

4) Australopithecus

32. The earliest ancestor of modern man is considered

1) Cro-Magnon

2) gorilla

3) Neanderthal

4) Pithecanthropus

33. Modern people belonging to different races are representatives

1) one kind

2) different types

3) one population

4) different genera of the same family

34. Consider the picture in which

depicts the fossil ancestors of the genus

Man in chronological

their order of appearance

on the ground. Under what number on it

pictured australopithecine?

35. Fossil human ancestor with a brain volume of 500 600 cm3, who did not speak and did not make tools, the remains of which were first discovered in Africa, this

1) a reasonable person

2) Neanderthal

3) skillful person

4) Australopithecus

36. The social factors of human evolution include

1) making tools

2) changes in the skeleton

3) development of binocular vision

4) getting food

37. What factors of human evolution include collective labor, speech, abstract thinking?

1) social

2) biotic

3) biological

4) Abiotic

38. What is the difference between a great ape and a person?

1) the structure of the hand

2) tooth differentiation

3) the general plan of the building

4) metabolic rate

39. Determine the correct sequence of the main stages of human evolution.

1) ancient people → predecessors of people → Neanderthals → Cro-Magnons

2) ancestors of people → ancient people → Neanderthals → Cro-Magnons

3) Cro-Magnons → Neanderthals → ancestors of humans → ancient people

4) Neanderthals → ancient people → predecessors of people → Cro-Magnons

40. The social nature of man is manifested in

1) speech activity

2) fitness for upright posture

4) the formation of conditioned reflexes

41. The development of speech in primitive man went in parallel with the development

2) larynx

3) Spine

42. What process ensured the social evolution of man?

1) change in the shape of the limbs

2) the emergence of care for offspring

3) development of art and science

4) increase in brain volume

43. The transition from an ape-like ancestor to man was accompanied by the development

1) hunting skills

2) ability to work

3) muscles of the lower jaw

4) chest

44. What testifies that the representatives of the genus Man appeared about 2 - 3 million years ago?

found historical records

2) comparative anatomy data

3) paleontological finds

4) myths of ancient peoples

45. Which of the following contributed to the joint labor activity of the ancestors of modern man?

1) walking on two limbs

2) change in the arch of the foot

3) the appearance of speech

4) changes in the skeleton of the facial part of the skull

46. The predominance of the brain region of the skull over the facial region in humans led to

1) the emergence of facial muscles

2) development of thinking

4) enlargement of the auricles

47. In humans, due to upright posture

1) developed thumb feet

2) formed nail plates

3) the first two phalanges of the toes have grown together

4) the arches of the foot have formed

48. Simultaneously with the Cro-Magnons lived

1) australopithecines

2) pithecanthropes

3) synanthropes

4) Neanderthals

49. What is the modern race before the era of the Great geographical discoveries was distributed in Europe, Asia Minor, Central Asia, North Africa, central India?

1) negroid

2) Mongoloid

3) Caucasian

4) Australoid

50. The most important social acquisition in human evolution was

1) walking on two legs

2) increase in brain volume

3) use of fire

4) stereoscopic vision

51. Most scientists consider the ancestral home of modern humanity

1) Australia 2) Africa 3) Europe 4) Asia

52. Were capable of creative work

1) driopithecus

2) pithecanthropes

3) australopithecines

4) Cro-Magnons

53. What features in the structure of the body did the ancestor of modern man acquire when he switched to regular labor activity?

1) the pelvic bones are fused, shaped like a bowl

2) the thumb began to resist the rest

3) several bends have formed in the spinal column

4) the foot turned from flat to arched

54. The social nature of man is primarily manifested in

1) complex eating behavior

2) transfer of life experience

3) fitness for bipedal walking

4) alternation of sleep and rest

55. What bones of the human skeleton have undergone drastic changes in the course of evolution?

1) hand bones

2) ribs and sternum

3) shoulder blades and collarbones

4) cervical vertebrae

56. What ensured the social evolution of man?

1) care for offspring

2) upright posture

3) the disappearance of the coat

4) systematic labor activity

57. Art originated from

1) driopithecus

2) Neanderthals

3) australopithecines

4) Pithecanthropus

58. What fossil form is attributed to the stage of modern man?

1) Cro-Magnons

2) Neanderthals

3) pithecanthropes

4) Australopithecus

59. The development of speech in primitive man went in parallel with the development

1) care for offspring

2) larynx

3) hunting instincts

60. The transition of human ancestors to upright posture contributed

1) hand release

2) the appearance of conditioned reflexes

3) the development of a four-chambered heart

4) increased metabolism

61. From the proposed features, select the most convincing proof of the unity of the human races.

1) physique

2) the ability to cross

3) the ability to survive in any region

4) the structure of the respiratory system

62. The most important function of speech is

1) sound signal

2) expression of emotions

3) designation of own needs

4) generalization and abstract thinking

63. The ability to analyze a situation with the help of inner speech is

1) thinking

2) rational behavior

4) fantasy

HUMAN AND APEES

The closest relatives of man are the great apes. Like all mammals, they carry their young in the womb and feed them with milk. They have an intense metabolism and a constant body temperature, that is, they are warm-blooded. Among the teeth of great apes, incisors, canines and molars are distinguished. They, like humans, have auricles, as well as rudimentary organs - the coccygeal bone, a crease in the corner of the eye (third eyelid), ear muscles, and so on. Monkeys are capable of exchanging information, they are trainable and can overcome some difficulties, for example, in obtaining food.

However, there are many differences between humans and apes. The brain section of the human skull predominates over the facial. In monkeys, on the contrary, the facial section is larger. A person has a well-developed chin protrusion, which is associated with the development of the muscles of the tongue and speech. The human brain is about 3 times larger than that of a chimpanzee. He also has a more developed folding of the cerebral cortex, which ensured the development of mental activity. The human skeleton has also changed. It is adapted for upright posture and labor. In connection with labor activity, the hand develops, and in connection with upright posture, the spine acquires bends, the arms become shorter than the legs, the foot along with the spine

performs depreciation functions.

The evolutionary closeness of humans and great apes is not limited to

similarity in structure and physiology, it is also associated with the commonality of chromosomal

sets. For example, the number of chromosomes in humans is 46, in great apes 48.

next questions.

1) What are the features of the human skeleton?

2) Why are great apes not capable of purposeful creation and

use of tools (give two explanations)?

ANCIENT REPRESENTATIONS OF HOW MAN THINKS

The very first ideas about where our thoughts nest creative ideas and dreams, first arose in Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece. At that time, people believed that the source of thought is the heart. Remember your own feelings: how anger is pounding in your chest. Examining the opened bodies of the dead, the ancients drew attention to the central position of the heart and its connection with the main body fluid, blood, and from there they came to the conclusion that it was this organ that was responsible for creativity, intellect, speech, and emotions.

This view was challenged by the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates. From the fact that head injuries lead to impaired speech and emotions, he concluded that the seat of intelligence is the brain. Another argument in support of this theory was for him the results of trepanation of the skull - drilling a hole in the skull that reduces intracranial pressure,

an operation that is still used by surgeons to this day to repair some brain damage.

Hippocrates also came to the conclusion that we suffer when the brain becomes hot, cold, wet or dry. He believed that madness happens when the brain is wet, and only when the brain is calm, a person is able to think rationally and rationally. All of these arguments are not necessarily true, but they inspired the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle. He tried to combine the ideas of Hippocrates with the former about the role of the heart. He himself continued to believe that the heart was the seat of the mind, but suggested that the brain cools the heart when it is overheated by emotion. Rational people, according to Aristotle, are those who have more ability to cool their hearts with their brains.

1) What Hippocrates considered the receptacle of the human mind?

2) What is the role of the brain in thinking according to the views of Aristotle?

3) Whose point of view about the mechanism of thinking from a position modern science turned out to be more believable? Why?

1) What did Aristotle consider as the receptacle of the human mind?

2) What arguments did Hippocrates use to prove the correctness of his position?

3) Why was Aristotle's view that the heart occupies a central position in thinking turned out to be a delusion?

upright walking

About 6 - 7 million years ago, a very important event took place in the evolution of primates. The ancestor of modern man gradually switched to walking on two limbs. This happened due to climate change in Africa. The dry climate led to the fact that savannahs arose in place of forests, where, instead of climbing trees, fast movement on a flat surface was required.

According to the labor hypothesis of F. Engels, the emergence of upright walking is closely related to the specialization of the monkey's hand for labor activity: the transfer of objects, cubs; manipulating food and making tools. In a vulgar presentation, upright posture arose in order to free the hands for work. In the future, work led to the emergence of language and society. However, according to modern data, upright posture arose much earlier than the manufacture of tools. Thus, the most ancient tools found by anthropologists from Gona in Ethiopia are dated only 2.7 million years ago.

According to the so-called water monkey hypothesis, developed in great detail by J. Lindbland, human ancestors could stand on their hind legs to cross water barriers. Most of the Australopithecus are known to have lived close to water and probably obtained some of their food from the water. In the structure of a person, there are a number of signs indicating a significant adaptation of a person to swimming and diving, in contrast to orangutans, gorillas and chimpanzees: the position of the hair on the body in the direction from the top of the head to the legs along the flow of water when diving,

preservation of air in the nasal cavity, the ability to hold one's breath, reduced body hair, which is not typical for savannah animals. The aquatic monkey hypothesis, in its extreme version, has been repeatedly criticized, but some of its provisions cannot be ignored.

2) What are the reasons for the transition of the fossil ancestor of modern man to upright posture according to the labor hypothesis?

3) What is the argument in favor of the "aquatic monkey" hypothesis?

2) What can serve as evidence of the "labor hypothesis" of the origin of man?

3) What advantages, not indicated in the text, in connection with bipedalism did the ancestor receive

modern man? Name it.

Human evolution is a theory of the origin of humans created by the English naturalist and traveler Charles Darwin. He claimed that the ancient one was descended from a monkey. To confirm his theory, Darwin traveled a lot and tried to collect different ones.

It is important to emphasize here that evolution (from Latin evolutio - “deployment”), as a natural process of the development of wildlife, accompanied by a change in the genetic composition of populations, really takes place.

But regarding the emergence of life in general and the emergence of man in particular, evolution is rather scarce in scientific evidence. It is no coincidence that it is still considered just a hypothetical theory.

Some tend to believe in evolution, considering it the only reasonable explanation for the origin of modern people. Others completely reject evolution as an anti-scientific thing, and prefer to believe that man was created by the Creator without any intermediate options.

So far, neither side has been able to scientifically convince opponents that they are right, so we can confidently assume that both positions are based purely on faith. What do you think? Write about it in the comments.

But let's deal with the most common terms associated with the Darwinian idea.

australopithecines

Who are Australopithecus? This word can often be heard in pseudo-scientific conversations about human evolution.

Australopithecus (southern monkeys) are upright descendants of driopithecus that lived in the steppes of Africa about 4 million years ago. These were quite highly developed primates.

skillful man

It was from them that the most ancient view people whom scientists call Homo habilis - "handy man."

The authors of the theory of evolution believe that appearance and the structure of a skilled man did not differ from anthropoid apes, but at the same time he already knew how to make primitive cutting and chopping tools from roughly processed pebbles.

Homo erectus

The fossil species of people Homo erectus (“upright man”), according to the theory of evolution, appeared in the East and already 1.6 million years ago spread widely across Europe and Asia.

Homo erectus was of medium height (up to 180 cm) and was distinguished by a straight gait.

Representatives of this species learned to make stone tools for labor and hunting, used animal skins as clothing, lived in caves, used fire and cooked food on it.

Neanderthals

Once upon a time, the Neanderthal man (Homo neanderthalensis) was considered the ancestor of modern man. This species, according to the theory of evolution, appeared about 200 thousand years ago, and ceased to exist 30 thousand years ago.

Neanderthals were hunters and had a powerful physique. However, their height did not exceed 170 centimeters. Scientists now believe that Neanderthals were most likely just a side branch of the evolutionary tree from which man originated.

Homo sapiens

Homo sapiens (in Latin - Homo sapiens) appeared, according to Darwin's theory of evolution, 100-160 thousand years ago. Homo sapiens built huts and huts, sometimes even living pits, the walls of which were sheathed with wood.

They skillfully used bows and arrows, spears and bone hooks for catching fish, and also built boats.

Homo sapiens was very fond of painting the body, decorating clothes and household items with drawings. It was Homo sapiens who created the human civilization that exists and develops to this day.

Stages of development of ancient man according to the theory of evolution

It should be said that this entire evolutionary chain of human origin is exclusively Darwin's theory, which still has no scientific evidence. does not have information that even in such ancient civilizations as or there were at least some hints of a monkey as the progenitor of man.

Charles Darwin himself was well aware of the absolute hypothetical nature of his judgments, which he wrote about more than once. For all that, one cannot fail to pay tribute to this naturalist, who nevertheless tried to explain the origin of man through natural selection and evolution.

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Scientists argue that modern man did not originate from modern anthropoid apes, which are characterized by a narrow specialization (adaptation to a strictly defined lifestyle in tropical forests), but from highly organized animals that died out several million years ago - driopithecus. The process of human evolution is very long, its main stages are presented in the diagram.

The main stages of anthropogenesis (the evolution of human ancestors)

The most important step in the transformation of ape-like animals into the most ancient people was the appearance of bipedal locomotion. In connection with climate change and the thinning of forests, there has been a transition from an arboreal to a terrestrial way of life; in order to better view the area where the ancestors of man had many enemies, they had to stand on their hind limbs. Subsequently, natural selection developed and fixed upright posture, and, as a result of this, the hands were freed from the functions of support and movement. This is how australopithecines arose - the genus to which hominids belong (a family of people).

australopithecines

Australopithecus - highly developed bipedal primates that used natural objects as tools (hence, Australopithecus cannot yet be considered people). Bony remains of Australopithecus were first discovered in 1924 in South Africa. They were as tall as chimpanzees and weighed about 50 kg, the brain volume reached 500 cm 3 - on this basis, Australopithecus is closer to humans than any of the fossil and modern monkeys.

skillful man

Not possessing a narrow specialization of the general structure, Australopithecus gave rise to a more progressive form, called Homo habilis - a skilled man. Its bone remains were discovered in 1959 in Tanzania. Their age is determined at about 2 million years. The growth of this creature reached 150 cm. The volume of the brain was 100 cm 3 larger than that of Australopithecus, the teeth of a human type, the phalanxes of the fingers, like those of a person, are flattened.

Although it combined signs of both monkeys and humans, the transition of this creature to the manufacture of pebble tools (well-made stone ones) indicates the appearance of labor activity in it. They could catch animals, throw stones, and perform other activities. The heaps of bones found along with the fossils of Homo sapiens testify to the fact that meat has become a permanent part of their diet. These hominids used rough stone tools.

Homo erectus

Homo erectus - Homo erectus. the species from which modern man is believed to have descended. Its age is 1.5 million years. His jaws, teeth, and brow ridges were still massive, but the brain volume of some individuals was the same as that of modern man.

Some bones of Homo erectus have been found in caves, suggesting a permanent home. In addition to animal bones and rather well-made stone tools, heaps of charcoal and burnt bones were found in some caves, so that, apparently, at this time Australopithecus had already learned how to make fire.

Thus, all fossil hominids, especially Australopithecus, are considered to be the precursors of humans.

The evolution of the physical features of the first humans, including modern humans, spans three stages: ancient people, or archanthropes; ancient people, or paleoanthropes; modern people, or neoanthropes.

archanthropes

Somewhat later, there was Sinanthropus (Chinese people). Numerous remains of it were found in the period 1927 to 1963. in a cave near Beijing. This creature used fire and made stone tools. This group of ancient people also includes the Heidelberg man.

Paleoanthropes

Neoanthropes and Homo sapiens

They tamed animals and began to master agriculture, which made it possible to get rid of hunger and get a variety of food. Unlike their predecessors, the evolution of the Cro-Magnon people took place under the great influence of social factors (team building, mutual support, improvement of work activity, a higher level of thinking).

The emergence of Cro-Magnons is the final stage in the formation of a modern type of person. The primitive human herd was replaced by the first tribal system, which completed the formation of human society, the further progress of which began to be determined by socio-economic laws.

human races

Humanity living today is divided into a number of groups called races.
human races
- these are historically established territorial communities of people with a unity of origin and similarity morphological features, as well as hereditary physical features: facial structure, body proportions, skin color, hair shape and color.

According to these features, modern humanity is divided into three main races: Caucasoid, Negroid and Mongoloid. Each of them has its own morphological features, but all these are external, secondary features.

The features that make up the human essence, such as consciousness, labor activity, speech, the ability to cognize and subdue nature, are the same for all races, which refutes the assertions of racist ideologues about "higher" nations and races.

The children of the Negroes, brought up together with the Europeans, were not inferior to them in intelligence and talent. It is known that the centers of civilization 3-2 thousand years BC were in Asia and Africa, and Europe at that time was in a state of barbarism. Therefore, the level of culture does not depend on biological features but on the socio-economic conditions in which peoples live.

Thus, the statements of reactionary scientists about the superiority of some races and the inferiority of others are groundless and pseudoscientific. They were created to justify wars of conquest, plunder of colonies and racial discrimination.

Human races must not be confused with such social associations as a nationality and a nation, which were formed not according to a biological principle, but on the basis of the stability of a common speech, territory, economic and cultural life, formed historically.

Man in the history of his development came out of subordination biological laws natural selection, its adaptation to life in different conditions occurs through their active alteration. However, these conditions to some extent still have a certain effect on the human body.

The results of such an influence can be seen in a number of examples: in the peculiarities of the digestive processes of the reindeer herders of the Arctic, who consume a lot of meat, in the inhabitants of Southeast Asia, whose diet consists mainly of rice; in the increased number of erythrocytes in the blood of the highlanders compared with the blood of the inhabitants of the plains; in the pigmentation of the skin of the inhabitants of the tropics, which distinguishes them from the whiteness of the integument of the northerners, etc.

After the completion of the formation of modern man, the action of natural selection did not stop completely. As a result, in a number of regions of the globe, humans have developed resistance to certain diseases. Thus, measles is much easier for Europeans than for the peoples of Polynesia, who encountered this infection only after the colonization of their islands by immigrants from Europe.

In Central Asia, blood group 0 is rare in humans, but the frequency of group B is higher. It turned out that this is due to the plague epidemic that took place in the past. All these facts prove that in human society there is biological selection, on the basis of which human races, nationalities, nations were formed. But the ever-increasing independence of man from the environment has almost suspended biological evolution.