Human evolution
65 million years ago, a natural disaster wiped out the dinosaurs, our ancestors started adaptive radiation. Plate tectonics, slow movement continued to Eurasia and the Americas opened, expanding the Atlantic area. Primates occupied the American continent, due to the huge Atlantic barrier, primate of the American continent began to separate evolved into "New World monkeys." Then, about 45 million years ago, Australia split from Antarctica in. Although in America, than most mammals marsupials to be more competitive. Australian marsupials happened adaptive radiation. This means that after the Americas have mammoths and saber-toothed tigers when Australia is around giant kangaroos, marsupial lion and a bear as big as a hippopotamus generations. Then, about 4,000 years ago, has been floating in the Southern Ocean (Antarctic Ocean) islands, India, hit Eurasia. Make a huge impact extrusion plate, forming the world's highest mountain range, the Himalayas. Meanwhile, in Africa, the continued evolution of primates. In 2500 to 30 million years ago, the evolution of ape and Old World monkeys were divided (so we are not evolved from monkeys, they like our cousin). In addition, we are not evolved from chimpanzees, chimpanzees and our cousin, not his uncle. We humans did not evolve more advanced than the chimps, on the contrary, we and chimpanzees about 700 million years ago diverged from the common ancestor of chimpanzees and further differentiation in addition to a separate species - bonobo. We understand this common ancestor, they can explain common features with other primates we have. For example, we have a large brain, compared with our weight, our eyes are located on the front of the head, we start from the beginning of life in the forest, excellent depth perception so that we can distinguish that the distance twig far away from us etc .. primates also have a hierarchy, a social order, whether male or female leader, to decide who has privileged access to food, spouses and other benefits.
So, we are close relatives of chimpanzees, the evolutionary process, can explain some of the common behavior we have. On the one hand, in spite of all the primates we have hierarchy, with 98.4% of the same DNA of humans and chimpanzees are the species most likely to launch a revolution against the gathering together of male leaders. We are also easily assembled in groups, to guard our territory, similar attack unsuspecting outsiders, not for immediate survival needs. Human observed chimpanzees will look for other groups falling behind a single male, a variety of kick, beat, tear pull each other's body, the helpless wounded remain in place, let them die. Humble human, natural and ultimately such behavior. Despite the fact that, step by step imperfect evolution really created our IQ (hey hey), but we still has too few prefrontal cortex to control impulses (ohh), manufactured impulse adrenal yet too big, aggressive and bloodthirsty desire, and certainly we have common ancestors.
Although 700 million years ago, we and chimps have a common ancestor more suitable for living in the forest to escape the danger by climbing trees. Climate change in eastern Africa, the environment becomes drier and colder, many forest into woodland and open grassland, means living in the grasslands of our ancestors to escape predators to rely on the run, instead of climbing trees. So evolutionary history of the human race with the bow legs of chimpanzees separated, we began to walk upright, legs straight forward use of mobile.
From the first Australopithecus about four million years ago, humanity had to walk upright. This is also the liberation of our hands, Australopithecus tall is not high, only a little more than 1 meter vertical height, his head just slightly larger than modern chimpanzees. Most are herbivores Australopithecus teeth for grinding hard fruits and leaves. Australopithecus possibly through body movements and communication with similar sounds primitive, but because of higher throat, they can not issue the required basic phonemes complex language.
230 million years ago, Homo habilis (yes that is the word), the stage of history. Its head is not much higher than Australopithecus, but they have significantly larger brains, even though many still small compared with the later species. Hotshots will stone smashed into sharp pieces to cut things, and now, a large number of species will use tools. A lot of these skills, not because the wisdom of independent individuals spontaneously generated, but to spread this knowledge through imitation. To some extent, this form of social learning culture. However, generation after generation of successful chimp did not put down the accumulation of knowledge, understanding constantly adjust and improve understanding. Similarly, the ability to use stones as though capable of cutting tools to make us shocked, but in thousands of years of existence of Homo habilis, we did not find a technical leap.
The same is true of Homo erectus period, Homo erectus appeared about 190 million years ago, they have larger brains and higher height, and even seems to have wisdom, very adaptable, able different in the old world environment to survive. Homo erectus may even be the first clumsy attempt to use fire species. But again, this period is still no technological leap. Tools can fix everything, just not broke, do not want to improve. Until 178 years ago, we did find, Kenya Homo erectus to create a wider use of a new teardrop-shaped hand axes;
150 million years ago, these teardrop-shaped father and son will soon become very common, quality becomes more advanced, with smooth corners can be used as a ho, Sha Zhudao other multi-functional tool. Archaeologists think of this as the first human to adjust and improve technology may symbolize. This technique may be spread through the Palace of social learning. A tiny trace of something new was born. Because the human mind is not super smart, but out of thin air to this point, but the accumulation of the past 25 years of continuous advance. This is called "collective learning", a species acquire more knowledge, by transfer from generation to generation and accumulation, which is just a few thousand years, the rapid progress of our forces. If there are no Homo erectus collective learning, this progress will be very slow, very fine, which may be due to communication, abstract thinking, just to limit population size or brain energy.
But in the next 200 years, things began to gradually develop, a pioneer who, Heidelberg and the Neanderthal produced the first fire can take over with the use of a blade of the first tool, the earliest wooden spears, the earliest composite tools, the stone tied to a stick used in combination, all of these tools appear before the birth of Homo sapiens.
About 25 million years ago, Neanderthals even move to a colder climate zones, where they had to invent clothes to cover themselves warm. They use sophisticated tools to create a sharp weapon, blade, ax and wooden handle, and over time, and constantly improve their own processes. Although natural selection evolution is a learning mechanism, making the species more generations can adapt to the environment, along with a lot of trial and error and death. Collective learning makes the adjustment, adaptation and progress made on a faster level, greatly accelerated the speed of evolution between species each generation and generations, rather than waiting for you to slowly gene mutation. Anatomically similar to humans and Homo sapiens existed for about 25 years, during this time, our daily lives has expanded from manufacturing stone to fishing, trade etc ..
To 40,000 years ago, we have art, including murals, decorative beads and other forms of jewelry, and even the world's oldest known musical instrument - with mammoth teeth and bones of birds carved into the flute. All of these products are the result of "collective learning". As long as there is a potential innovator in your population, to keep the property out of new ideas, and be able to share their opinions with other people, you will likely get a technical leap forward. And now, we are in such an era, there are 7 billion innovators on the planet, we can enjoy synchronization messages, Internet technology exchange of ideas, so the history of our civilization is growing at the fastest rate of development.
All in all, collective learning for our survival is very useful, but after 70,000 four thousand years ago, disaster struck. Today, Indonesia is located in the mountains of Toba on the island of Sumatra occurred super volcanic eruption, the sky was full of dust, the climate cooled down. Plants and animals, which is food, all died. Genetic research shows that the disaster that the number of the human population is reduced to a few thousands of people. Therefore, due to the disaster, mankind is not entirely inbreeding. But the two main populations of chimpanzees in Africa, the genetic diversity of human populations all have rich than others. So this little race heroically rise, widely distributed in Africa. 60,004 years ago, it occupied a variety of terrain, and continued in innovation.
From 138 million years from the date of birth of the universe, the complexity of the universe has been a strong trend ferocious increase. But in a short period of time thousands of years, collective learning, so that everything becomes beyond imagination ~