Lucy'S Journey

Zheng Lei / Wen

The study of human development is expanding in two ways: tracing back to the origin of mankind, the network of ethnic groups and communities, and the relationship between mankind and the universe. Where do people come from and how do they come from? Anthropological archaeology is revealing this process. The origin of mankind is a masterpiece in this field. Richard Leakey, the author of this book, is a member of the first family of ancient anthropology. His mother Mary Leakey discovered the first human fossil in East Africa.

The origin of mankind. Data map

Lucy, an ancient human fossil discovered in Ethiopia in 1974, has been regarded as the oldest human being for about 3 million 500 thousand years. But later in Africa, fossils of ancient humans were discovered. Some scholars believe that 1500-2000 years ago, humans and apes were one, and humans began to separate from other African apes (chimpanzee, gorilla) 67 million years ago. Another scholar concluded that the ancestors of humans and apes were still 3 million years ago.

Humans and chimpanzee are close relatives, and share 98.5% of DNA, belonging to large ape, which can be called "highly evolved chimpanzee". The orangutans and humans are far apart. 15 million years ago, orangutans separated from the large African apes and came to Asia to evolve independently. The great apes weighed about 200 kilograms and were the largest primates on earth. Primates are 65 million years old.

The time line of human evolution is Homo erectus (the first member of human being, 2 million years ago), brain capacity began to increase; Homo sapiens (500 thousand years ago), brain acceleration increased; 100 thousand years ago, the human brain was close to modern humans; and the largest brain capacity was Janeane de Te. About 50 thousand years ago, with the advent of the late Paleolithic revolution, modern humans emerged from ape.

According to archeology, Homo erectus tracks all over Eurasia: a far north to Northeast Asia, down to the Indonesia archipelago, and the other to northern Europe. The Homo erectus of Asia may have survived 60 thousand years ago, but in 2004, the dwarf was found in Indonesia, a descendant of Homo erectus, appearing 18 thousand years ago. Early Homo sapiens began to run the Middle East and Europe from Africa 500 thousand years ago; 200 thousand years ago, the late Homo sapiens appeared in East Africa and expanded rapidly, first sweeping across Africa, and entering the eastern Mediterranean about 70 thousand years ago. One of them crossed the continent of South Asia and arrived in Europe 60 thousand years ago. 15 thousand years ago, they crossed the Bering land bridge (the Straits), and they went down South America 12 thousand years ago. Analysis of contemporary human mitochondria and DNA shows that about 7000000000 of the existing population can be traced back to about 5000 women, who lived in Africa 15-20 million years ago. And these common ancestors of human beings still lived somewhere in northeastern Africa 70 thousand years ago.

The origin of human beings introduces the reasons for the development of human beings and apes: because of the great rift valley formed by the movement of the earth's crust, the climate on the two sides of the rift is different, and the east becomes drier. It promotes the evolution of species, leaving behind the development of new technologies and evolution to adapt to the new environment. And those living in the West become all kinds of apes. There were about 30 people in the initial group, mostly adult women and their children, and a few adult males. These small groups interact with each other, forming a social network of about 500 people connected by language and customs - local tribes. These hunter gatherers often engage in complex rituals restricted by social rules when they share food.

Human evolution is accompanied by the development of social characteristics. Because human brain is enlarged and upright, infants can not grow and mature like other primates. Mothers need to be nursed after birth, while most fathers and other adult males form groups that are responsible for defending their families and hunting food, which is conducive to the formation of a spirit of cooperation. Children learn survival skills, practices, social customs, family rules and so on, which constitute the culture of ethnic groups. It is the unique growth pattern of human beings in the childhood and maturity that breeds human culture.

With the progress of Archaeology and gene technology, the footprints of human evolution are becoming clearer. The changes of brain, larynx and language appear in succession. Human beings are not the end of evolution. What is the future destiny of mankind? Will humans be replaced? There is no answer to these questions. What we should know is that dinosaurs on earth exist longer than the known history of mankind, and have been a very successful group. The Neanderthal extinct lived in the west to the Iberian Peninsula in 300 thousand years, and to Iran in Uzbekistan and Western Asia, but they disappeared about 30 thousand years ago. Anthropologists have a model that simulates a population having a 2% advantage over another species. It can replace the less dominant population by 1000. Competition among species is just like that. Wisdom is the weapon of competition and the result.