Question

1. Name and justify the importance of the five most significant Australopithecine features that contribute to our understanding of human evolution.

Answer 1

Ans. The five most significant Australopithecine features are:-

1) Australopithecus were similar to modern humans in that they were bipedal ( i.e. they walked on two legs).

2) Like apes, the Australopithecus had small brains.

3) Most species of Australopithecus were diminutive and gracile, usually standing 1.2 to 1.4 m.

4) In Australopithecus, there is a considerable degree of sexual dimorphism, males being larger than females. Modern humans do not display the same degree of sexual dimorphism as Australopithecus appears to have.

5) Australopithecus were fully hair covered, more like chimpanzees and bonobos, and unlike humans.

According to the fossil records, the Australopithecus is the common ancestor of the distinct group of hominids now called Paranthropus, and most likely the genus Homo, which includes modern humans.

Although the intelligence of these early hominids was likely no more sophisticated than in modern apes, the bipedal stature is the key element that distinguishes the group from previous primates, which were quadrupeds.