Development of Human Life

The popular culture is full of controversy regarding divisions between modern man (as denoted in the professional literature) and extinct precursor species of it. Notwithstanding the sociocultural controversy surrounding Darwin's theory of evolution, scientific investigation of the origins of human beings has evolution at its core.

In the first quarter of the twentieth century, the generally accepted model of explanation for the emergence of the species Homo sapiens, distinguished by a greater cranial capacity than its morphological ancestors, revolved around classification of Pleistocene primate hominid fossils found in various parts of the world. A strict theory of the fully evolved Homo sapiens is based on strict anatomical criteria such as brain size and cranial capacity (1,350 cubic centimeters), rounded forehead, and fully upright posture capacity (Clark, 1955, passim). As more fossils have been uncovered, however, various, competing theories have arisen regarding human origins.

The term modern man is identified as the most paleontologically an

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plainly diverse from Homo. Other analysts assert that the Australopithecus fossils demonstrate that bone structures are closer to hominid than ape morphology (Kimbel, Johanson & Rak, 1994, pp. 449-50). Still others declare that Australopithecus afarensis is dimorphic, resembling hominids in bipedal locomotion and resembling apes in adaptation to "arboreality" (Aiello, 1994, p. 400). Such discoveries have also led some experts (e.g., Gould, 1994) to conclude that Homo and Australopithecus were not merely successive or related but also distinct species that shared a common genetic (ape) ancestor, in part because of the decisively smaller brain cavity of the Australopithecus compared to the Homo (McDonald, 1994; McAuliffe & Willis, 1994; Shreeve, 1994, pp. 345; Begley, 1994, p. 84). Such specimens-as Lucy from 1974 onward must be set beside such fossil discoveries as Java man (found in 1891) and Peking man (found in 1927). The latter two specimens are examples of the toolmaking group type initially classified as a genus, Pithecanthropus, but (based on anatomical observation) later as early examples of the bipedal Homo erectus, dated from 200,000 to 500,000 years ago, thus spanning the Early and Middle Quaternaries (Kennedy, 19
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Asia Europe, , Late Quaternary, Ethiopia Fischman, Day Neanderthal, McAuliffe Willis, Pleistocene Epoch, Hartwigscherer Martin, Homo Robinson, Steinheim Stone, homo sapiens, homo erectus, encyclopaedia britannica, human evolution, australopithecus afarensis, day 1981, robinson 1981, chicago encyclopaedia britannica, human life, genus homo, chicago encyclopaedia, human life 1981, encyclopaedia britannica vol, kappelman shapiro 1994, duncan kappelman shapiro,
Approximate Word count = 2689
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page)

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