HumanEvolutionaryHistory

Major events in Human Evolutionary History

13,700,000,000 ya

The BigBang - Origin of Universe.

4,567,000,000 ya

Earth forms.

3,700,000,000 ya

First life emerges.

1,200,000,000 ya

SexualReproduction evolves.

500,000,000 ~ 450,000,000 ya

First vertebrates.

365,000,000 ya

Fish evolve lungs and walk on land.

248,000,000 ~ 208,000,000 ya

First small mammals and dinosaurs evolved.

208,000,000 ~ 65,000,000 ya

Large dinosaurs flourished.

114,000,000 ya

Placental(태생) mammals evolve.

85,000,000 ya

First primates evolve.

65,000,000 ya

Dinosaurs go extinct, mammals then increase in size and diversity.

35,000,000 ya

First apes evolve.

10,000,000 ~ 7,000,000 ya

Africa's major tectonic event that led to the FormationOfTheGreatRiftValley. (p386)

8,000,000 ~ 6,000,000 ya

The divergence of our hominid ancestors from the Great Apes. (p383, BookEvolutionaryPsychology)

4,400,000 ya

Emergence of Bipedalism to avoid competition with monkeys(AustralopithecusAnamensis, AustralopithecusAfarensis - aka Lucy). (p385~386, BookEvolutionaryPsychology)
- Upright posture and full eye contact provided room for the emergence of the first gestural signals.
- The forearms can then be used to hold tools and weapons.
- The move to Bipedalism opened up major cognitive challenges in terms of the control of the hands. (p387)

4,000,000 ya

Major reorganization of ParietalCortex.
- Reduction of primary visual striate cortex
- The enlargement of ExtrastriateParietalCortex, AngularGyrus, and SupramarginalGyrus
Such changes in the ParietalCortex support three basic cognitive functions (p389)
- Processing in the dorsal stream of the visual field is important for representing actions of the other in terms of one's own body image.
- The association area of parietal maintain a map of the environment for navigation in the new bipedal mode.
- The SupramarginalGyrus is involved in FacePerception. Expansion of this area would facilitate the development of social patterns and memory for social relations. -> It played a large role during the next period of evolution(social cohesion).

3,500,000 ya

The hominids in East Africa went through an expansion of their range and a proliferation of species(종의 확산). (p390)
- Tight competition with range contraction leads a set of targeted neural-behavioral adaptations. - the subordination(예속) of vocal system to cortical control.
- Side-effect of the cortical control over vocalization: local forms of communication like those of song-birds.
How about the Great apes in West Africa?
- The different requirements on group size in their arboreal habitat
- No bipedal gait and its resultant improvements in face-to-face communication.

3,000,000 ya

The Australopithecus evolve in savannas of Africa (BookEvolutionaryPsychology)
A gradual tripling of brain size. (p384)
- massive changes in the interconnectedness of the FrontalLobes.
- changes in the linkage of vocal production to motor and emotional areas.
- linkages of the visual areas to motor areas.
- expansion of many older areas, including the Cerebellum, BasalGanglion, and Thalamus.
- (these changes are basis for an ability to produce actions through movement and sounds throught vocalization)

2,500,000 ya

Earliest stone tools - Oldowan (found in Ethiopia and Kenya, Africa); used to butcher carcasses for meat and to extract marrow from bones; linked with HomoHabilis. (BookEvolutionaryPsychology)

2,000,000 ya

The remarkable expansion of habitat(거주지) to all of Africa and Eurasia by HomoErectus. (p385)
Brain expansion ran up against the Bipedalism, forcing a series of adaptations in female anatomy, parturition(분만), and child rearing(육아?). (p387)
New forms of symbolic communication system - the spontaneous interaction of vocalizations, postures, and gestures in specific social and pragmatic contexts. (p393)
- Vocalizations had not yet been systematized. Gestural and postural patterns probably played a more central role.
- But their iconic and situated nature may have seved as a barrier to abstract systematization.

1,800,000 ya (the end of the PlioceneEpoch, and the beginning of the Ealry PleistoceneEpoch)

HomoErectus had achieved dominance over its hominid competitors. (p397)
The onset(진행) of the glaciations(빙하작용) of the PleistoceneEpoch.
HomoErectus spread beyond African HomoErectus. The first migration from Africa. (BookEvolutionaryPsychology)

1,600,000 ya

First evidence; likely hearths(화로); linked with African HomoErectus. (BookEvolutionaryPsychology)

1,500,000 ya

Invention of Acheulean hand axe; linked with HomoErgaster - tall stature, long limbs. (BookEvolutionaryPsychology)

1,200,000 ya

Brain expansion in homo line begins. (BookEvolutionaryPsychology)

1,000,000 ya

Hominids spread to Europe. (BookEvolutionaryPsychology)

800,000 ya

Crude stone tool kit - found in Spain, linked with HomoAntecessor. (BookEvolutionaryPsychology)

780,000 ya

Middle PleistoceneEpoch begins.

600,000 ya ~ 400,000 ya

Long crafted wooden spears and early hearths; linked with HomoHeidelbergensis found in Germany. (BookEvolutionaryPsychology)

500,000 ya ~ 100,000 ya

Period of most rapid brain expansion in Homo line. (BookEvolutionaryPsychology)

300,000 ~ 50,000 ya

Gradual evolution of new system that supports a set of phonological(See Phonology) contrasts. (p397)
- A major expansion of the parts of the vertebrae(척추골) that carry nerves for the intercostal(늑간의) muscles. (p384)
- Loss of the canines(송곳니).
- Adaptation of the arytenoids(피열 - arytenoids allow the vocal cords to be tensed, relaxed, or approximated).
- Bending of the vocal tract.
- shaping of the musculature of the tongue.

200,000 ya (150,000 ~ 120,000 ya in BookEvolutionaryPsychology)

The emergence of HomoSapiens and MitochondrialMother. (p397)

200,000 ya ~ 30,000 ya

Neanderthals flourish in Europe and western Asia. (BookEvolutionaryPsychology)

126,000 ya

Late PleistoceneEpoch begins.

100,000 ~ 50,000 ya

Exodus from Africa - second major migration. See also OutOfAfricaTheory

70,000 ya

Near extinction that brought the number of our direct ancestors down to only 10,000 individuals worldwide.

40,000 ya

Explosion of diverse stone tools, bone tools, blade tools, well-designed fireplaces, elaborate art; found only among HomoSapiens, not among Neanderthals (BookEvolutionaryPsychology, p383)

40,000 ya ~ 35,000 ya

HomoSapiens (CroMagnons) arrive in Europe. (BookEvolutionaryPsychology)

30,000 ya

27,000 ya

HomoSapiens colonize entire planet; all other hominid species are now extinct. (BookEvolutionaryPsychology)

10,000 ya

HoloceneEpoch begins.

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