Our journey as Homo sapiens started out roughly 200,000 years ago around Africa, but before that there were others who were like us but they differed anatomically.
In university I studied Biological Anthropology, which fed my need to understand the journey that our ancestors took so long ago, and how we reached our current point. Along this journey, which we are still continuing, we have had to adapt and change to a variety of environments, so as we begin to alter the course of our own modern world how will we journey into the future?
Here’s a look back at some of those who came before us … well not really, these are all casts of the original but you get my drift.
Specimen: AL 288-1, Australopithecus afarensis, 3.2 million years ago. Better known as "Lucy", here she is reconstructed.
Specimen: Taung child, Australopithecus africanus, 2.6 - 2.3 million years ago.
Specimen, KNM-WT 17000,Australopithecus (Paranthropus) aethiopicus, 2.5 million years ago.
Specimen: KNM-ER 1470, Homo habilis (Homo rudolfensis), 1.9 million years ago.
Specimen: KNM-ER 1813, Homo habilis, 1.9 million years ago.
Specimen: OH 5, Australopithecus (Paranthropus) boisei, 1.8 million years ago.
Specimen: KNM-ER 406, Australopithecus (Paranthropus) boisei, 1.7 million years ago.
Specimens: (left) Modern chimpanzee, (right) Modern human.
Interesting! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks! Thought I would never get to use those photos for something.
Biological Anthropology, I would love that. I have been dipping into the study by myself over the last decade or so. I find it endlessly fascinating to ponder our “journey.” from an unknown beginnings. It is great how you put it all together and got to find another use for those photos.
Thanks! I haven’t had much time for it since graduating university, but I still get thrills when I visit museums that have decent collections of skeletons or mummies!! It’s such a vast field of study, more than any one person can digest I think.