for hominids. First, it is the group of African apes that are most closely related to hominids. Second, the earliest hominid fossils, which belong to the genus Australopithecus, have been found in East Africa and date back to about . mya.
In contrast, fossils found outside Africa are no older than . million years. Primates are a subgroup of a larger group of mammals. They include monkeys, apes and humans.
They have body hair, a relatively long gestation period following birth, mammary glands, different types of teeth, and the ability to maintain a constant body temperature. A B C D THE EVOLUTION OF THE HAND A shows the precision grip of the chimpanzee. B shows the power grip of the human hand. C shows the precision grip of the hominid.
The development of the power grip probably preceded the precision grip. Compare the precision grip of the chimpanzee with that of the human hand. Make a list of the things you do using a precision grip. What are the things you do using a power grip?
Hominids belong to a family known as Hominidae, which includes all forms of human beings. The distinctive characteristics of hominids include a large brain size, upright posture, bipedal locomotion and specialisation of the hand. Hominids are further subdivided into branches, known as genus, of which Australopithecus and Homo are important. Each of these in turn includes several species.
The major differences between Australopithecus and Homo relate to brain size, jaws and teeth. The former has a smaller brain size, heavier jaws and larger teeth than the latter. Virtually all the names given by scientists to species are derived from Latin and Greek words. For instance, the name Australopithecus comes from a Latin word, ‘austral’, meaning ‘southern’ and a Greek word, ‘pithekos’, meaning ‘ape.’ The name was given because this earliest form of humans still retained many features of an ape, such as a relatively small brain size in comparison to Homo, large back teeth and limited dexterity of the hands.
Upright walking was also restricted, as they still spent a lot of time