Question

Prompt: Here are two depictions of human evolution. A very common artistic representation and a phylogenetic representation. How are the two different and how does a phylogenetic approach more accurately reflect human evolution?

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Human_evolution.svg

http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/images/evograms/hominid_evo.jpg

Answer 1

First depiction show the evolution of man from walking on four legs to the hominids and humans. Hominids and human were first to walk on two legs and this phenomenon is known as bipedalism. It is assumed that bipedalism have evolved around 4 million and 8 million years ago. This depiction does not show the evolutionary relationship between different organisms. For example, how close is human with the chimpanzees, orang-utans or any other human is not showing in this depiction. It is showing only one character at a time.

Second depiction show the phylogenetic relation during the history of the evolution of man. This depiction is known as “Evograms” are the diagrams which give the evidence about how a different type of organisms and their particular features evolved. In this depiction we can say that, A. africanus, is more closely related to humans than A. afarensis and others because they share more features. A. africanus and humans both are bipedal, both have enlarged cheeks, teeth and jaws.

Phylogenetic approach more accurately depict human evolution because it include the information about how the modern man have evolved from a tree-living animals. “ what characters “ are evolved that led to the evolution of modern day humans. This approach is able to give the idea of events of speciation. This approach is more useful in understanding the evolution , biodiversity of human on Earth.