2. Hominization

Hominization ia a very long evolutionary process which results from hominids about six million years ago to 40,000 years old present modern human beings. After studying the fossil evidences, the scientists identified some highlights about the hominization evolutionary process probably begins from around six million years ago, which starts with an African ape like species named Australopithecines who were quite similar to chimpanzees but having two skeletal characteristic that set them apart from apes.

Australopithecus "Lucy & Lucien"

The first skeletal characteristics was their small canine teeth compared to the long canine teeth found in almost all other primates. And the second most important characteristics was bipedalism or walking on two legs as their primary mode of locomotion. They are the first ancestors of human beings appeared in African continent around six million years ago. The Australopithecine means 'Southern Ape' which refers to South Africa where the first known fossils were found.

The very early years of the transition from ape to human, from six million years ago to four million years ago, is barely documented in the fossil records that have been discovered the most primitive combinations of apes and human features. Fossils from different early australopith species that lived between four million years ago and two million years show a variety of adaptations that mark this transition much more clearly. The best known australopith specimen is "Lucy", a 3.5 million years old partial skeleton of a female hominin tribe under Homo genus discovered by a palaeoanthropologist named Donald Johanson in Ethiopia in 1974. Lucy belongs to a species "Australopithecus Afarensis", which thrived in eastern Africa.

The earliest species from the hominid tribe of the genus Homo were also first evolved in Africa during around 2.5 - 2.3 million years ago. The most significant difference between the members of this genus and australopiths, with which they overlapped was their significantly large brains of about 30% larger but still smaller compared to the modern humans. Scientists divided the evolution of the modern human genus into three rough periods and that was:

             > Early Homo

             > Middle Homo

             > Late Homo

Homo Habilis

During around between 2.5 - 1.6 million years ago,  a new human species under hominid tribe from the Early Homo genus period named Homo Habilis had appeared. They showed resemblance with australopiths in many distinct ways, but they had smaller teeth and jaws and also had more modern looking feet and hands. They were capable of making tools by using stones and they also lived on by hunting and gathering. Their fossils were found only in Africa as they were once lived only in Africa.

Homo Erectus

The Middle Homo species called Homo Erectus had appeared between 2 - 0.9 million years ago which evolved anatomically to be more similar to modern humans but their brains were relatively small but bigger than that of australopiths. Even though, they were showing overlapping similarities with the Homo Habilis, but Homo Erectus was a very successful species of the Middle Homo period. Because they had a greater technological development as they made more perfect tools and they also discovered and learned how to use fire. The remains of Homo Erectus have been found out in Africa, Europe and in Asia which indicates that Homo Erectus were the first human beings to migrate from Africa to Europe and Asia. But the archaeologists didn't find any remains of Homo Erectus in America and Australia. The only vestiges that archaeologists have found in America and Australia were belongs to the species called Homo Sapiens.

Homo Antecessor

But before moving to the Homo Sapiens, there is another species called Homo Antecessor which is an extinct human species discovered in Spain. It appeared around eight hundred thousand years ago which explains that it was a species from Middle Homo period. Homo Antecessor is a common ancestor of Homo Neanderthalensis and Homo Sapiens.

Homo Sapiens Neanderthalensis

Homo Sapiens Sapiens

Then about two hundred thousand years ago, Late Homo species which included Homo Sapiens Neanderthalensis and Homo Sapiens Sapiens were evolved with large and complex brains which eventually have the capability to create their own languages and developing their own cultures and revolutionary technologies. Scientists believed that Homo Sapiens evolved in Africa had moved apart and started began spreading to the other parts of the world around ninety thousand years ago. Homo Sapiens Neanderthalensis or otherwise called Neanderthal men were looked almost alike us but he was more robust and sturdy. They also buried their dead ones. But this species has become extinct. At last we, the modern humans, were originally belongs to Homo Sapiens Sapiens species which was evolved almost around forty thousand years ago. Since that time, human evolution has been primarily cultural as opposed to biological because of their special characteristics that different from other similar species. And they are :-

   >> They can walk biped so they can work with their hands.

   >> They have an opposable thumb which allow them to make tools and write and finally the fact that learning is possible because the human beings developed a symbolic language to help them to cooperate and communicate with each other.

   >> They left some evidences from their cave paintings which explains that they gathered food by hunting animals and they had cooked food by using fire before consumption, they used animals skin as their clothing after stitching it that indicates their invention of sewing methods and its equipments like sewing needles etc...

   >> They invented tools which shows the evolution of their intellect.