Human evolution: summary in 12 lessons
“The Saga of Humanity” expands on information about the natural history that brought us here. check out
"Asking whether we humans are descended from the apes is inappropriate – we are apes. The evolution that resulted in the homo sapiens it was not linear, but made up of comings and goings. We got bipedal not all at once, but little by little. For millions of years, hominids have lived between the treetops and the ground: the so-called facultative bipedia", says Walter Neves, the greatest Brazilian specialist in human evolution, professor at USP's Biosciences Institute. In 12 short and simple classes, it presents the main points of the path taken by the common ancestor to us and to the chimpanzees until the appearance of the H. sapiens, 200 thousand years ago.
In his forty-year career as a researcher of human evolution, Walter Neves has assembled replicas of the skulls of the great ape and hominid species that preceded us or, in certain periods of this seven-million-year history, coexisted with humans or our ancestors. . The course "The Saga of Humanity" is based on these replicas, around which Neves reports the habits and characteristics of each species. Of Sahelanthropus tchadensis to Homo neanderthalensis, the professor leads us through the long saga that led our species to occupy the planet.
human evolution in 12 lessons
Human evolution - Lesson 1 (chimpanzees and humans)
Seven million years ago, probably in Africa, there lived a common ancestor to chimpanzees and us humans.
In class 1, Walter Neves explains why his statement that "we are monkeys":Human evolution - Lesson 2 (chimpanzees and humans, II)
In class 2, Walter Neves presents the characteristics that differentiate the skull of chimpanzees from humans and explains why details are so important to understand fossils.
Human evolution - Lesson 3 (mosaic evolution)
Human evolution didn't happen linearly but in mosaic - this is one of the myths disproved in class 3.
Human evolution - Lesson 4 (Sahelanthropus tchadensis)
In class 4, the skull of an ancient hominin (hominid primate that is part of the Hominidae family) will be shown - the Sahelanthropus tchadensis, seven million years old. The fossil is so old that it could even be called the "missing link" between chimpanzees and humans. And he was already bipedal.
Human evolution - Class 5 (Ardipithecus ramidus)
Class 5 will deal with the Ardipithecus ramidus, an ancestor who lived in Africa four and a half million years ago. Archaeologists have found almost an entire skeleton of the ramidus, which allows us to know that the species had characteristics of a biped and a primate that lived in trees.
Human evolution - Lecture 6 (Australophitecus afarensis)
O Australopithecus afarensis is a species described from the location, in Ethiopia, in the 1960s, of the famous "Lucy". O afarensis lived 3.2 million years ago and is the subject of this lesson 6.
Human Evolution - Lesson 7 (homo habilis)
In this class 7, Walter Neves presents the homo habilis, a species with cranial capacity greater than that of chimpanzees.
Human Evolution - Lesson 8 (homo erectus)
O homo erectus he was the first hominid to leave Africa - and the first land biped. 1.8 million years ago, the species was already in the Caucasus and from there it expanded to other parts of Asia. But why didn't he make it to Europe? Check out the answer to this question in class 8.
Human Evolution - Lesson 9 (Homo heidelbergensis)
the skulls of H. heidelbergensis have almost the capacity of the skull of homo sapiens, understand.
Human Evolution - Lesson 10 (Homo neanderthalensis)
The first fossil of a Neanderthal was found in the mid-19th century - a skullcap was discovered and the species described. In 1908, an entire skull appeared in France. Neanderthals and humans crossed, exchanging genes.
Human Evolution - Lesson 11 (homo sapiens)
Our species - homo sapiens, a descendant of the H. heidelbergensis - it appeared 200,000 years ago, along with questions about the meaning of life, and is the subject of this lesson 11.
Human evolution - closing remarks
In this video, Walter Neves recommends books and exhibitions - and speaks his thoughts about religion and science.
