GCSE Biology · Edexcel 1BI0 · Topic 4B
Human evolution
Key points
- Humans and apes share a common ancestor. Hominid fossils show how our ancestors changed over millions of years.
- Ardi (about 4.4 million years old): long arms, a big toe that could grasp, but signs of walking upright. Lucy (about 3.2 million years old): walked upright, with a brain size similar to a chimpanzee's.
- Later fossils found by Leakey's team (about 1.6 million years old) show a taller, larger-brained hominid.
- Trends over time: larger brain size, more upright walking and shorter arms.
- Stone tools became more complex, from simple pebble tools to sharpened, shaped blades. They are dated by the age of the rock layer they are found in.
- Deeper rock layers are usually older, so the position of fossils and tools helps to date them.
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Humans did not evolve from chimpanzees; we share a common ancestor with them that lived several million years ago. This sub-topic looks at fossil hominids and stone tools, the evidence for how our ancestors changed.
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