The term "Australopithecus" consists of two words, Latin and Greek. Literally translated, it means "southern monkey." There is a possibility that these ancient extinct primates were the ancestors of humans, because in their anatomical structure they show some similarities with humans.
Groups
The Australopithecus family has rather vague borders. Many fossil primates, possessing signs of relatively high development, can be attributed to it. Evolutionary progress is determined on the basis of two simple criteria: the ability to walk upright and the presence of weak jaws. The brain volume of Australopithecus is of some interest, but is not one of the main signs of belonging to this family. These hominids are divided into three groups: early, graceful (slender, miniature) and massive. The last Australopithecus became extinct about a million years ago.
Research history
Scientists are forced to restore the appearance and main characteristics of fossil primates, relying only on fragmentary and few archaeological finds. Based on the fragments of skulls and bones, they determine how much brain Australopithecus had during life and what level of intelligence it possessed.
The discovery of this extinct species is associated with the name of the Australian scientist Raymond Darth. At the beginning of the 20th century, he conducted the first studies of the fossilized remains of an ancient primacy discovered in Africa. Information about this discovery was published in the journal Natural and became the cause of heated debate, because it did not correspond to the then ideas about the evolution process. Subsequently, a number of remains of extinct primates were discovered on the African continent.
Archaeological finds
The gracile group has a number of similarities with modern monkeys and humans. It was widespread in East and North Africa about three and a half million years ago. Scientists found some of the earliest evidence of bipedal hominids at excavations in Tanzania. Petrified footprints were found there, largely similar to the footprints of modern people. Their age is estimated at three million six hundred thousand years.
Scientists have concluded that these traces belong to Australopithecus, as this is the only known group of anthropoids that existed in this region in this era. The most famous find are parts of the skeleton of a female named "Lucy". Her age is three million two hundred thousand years. The skeleton was preserved by about 40 percent, which from the point of view of anthropologists is considered a great success.
Controversial Ancient Views
There are much older petrified remains, however, their classification causes disagreement among experts. Elements of the skull of an ancient hominid, who lived about seven million years ago, were discovered in Central Africa. Their characteristics allow this creature to be related to chimpanzees and humans. However, the lack of information does not allow scientists to come to an unambiguous conclusion.
"Baby from Taung"
Australopithecus africanus, whose brain volume was relatively large, was considered as a possible ancestor of Homo erectus (homo erectus). This species lived mainly in limestone caves. In 1924, in the Taung Quarry, located in the Republic of South Africa, archaeologists found a skull that belonged to a six-year-old child. Scientists at Johannesburg University primarily drew attention to the fact that this type of Australopithecus has a brain volume of 520 cubic centimeters, which is slightly more than modern chimpanzees. The structure of the skull and teeth was uncharacteristic for monkeys. Developed temporal, occipital and parietal lobes testified to the ability to complex behavior.
Predecessors
The remains of an ancient hominid, from which, in all likelihood, later anthropoid species originated, were discovered during archaeological excavations in Kenya, Ethiopia and Tanzania. In accordance with the geographical name of the area in which the researchers found the first specimens, he received the name "Australopithecus afar."
The brain volume of this hominid was relatively small, only 420 cubic centimeters. In this indicator, he almost did not differ from modern chimpanzees. Scientists believe that this species was upright, but spent most of the time on the trees, as evidenced by the anatomical structure of the arms and shoulders, well adapted to clutch the branches. The growth of this hominid was not more than one and a half meters. The brain volume of Australopithecus of this species does not suggest the ability to control speech and complex behavior. These creatures lived about four million years ago.
Anatomy
Thermoregulation model indicates that Australopithecus was completely covered with wool, which brings them closer to modern chimpanzees. These hominids resembled people with weak jaws, the absence of large fangs, developed thumbs and the structure of the pelvis and feet, which facilitated walking on two legs. Australopithecus brain volume was only about 35 percent of the human. This species is characterized by significant sexual dimorphism (a difference in the sizes of males and females). In fossil primates, males could be one and a half times larger than females. For comparison, in the average case, a modern man is only 15 percent taller and heavier than a woman. The reasons for such a strong difference between extinct hominids from humans remain unknown.
Supposed role in evolution
The Australopithecus brain volume was approximately the same as that of modern monkeys. Most researchers agree that the ancient primates did not exceed the level of intelligence of chimpanzees. It is not surprising that they knew how to use various objects as improvised tools. Many species of monkeys are also capable of such actions as cracking sea shells and nuts with stones.
An interesting fact is that in the absence of significant intellectual progress, Australopithecus was upright. Genetic studies suggest that this characteristic appeared in the earliest species that lived about six million years ago. Taking into account the fact that all modern monkeys move on four legs, it is worth recognizing that this feature of ancient primates seems a mystery. It is not yet possible to explain what served as the impetus for the emergence of upright posture in that distant era.
The ability of representatives of this extinct species to associative thinking was extremely limited. The brain volume of Australopithecus is almost three times less than that of a modern person. It is worth noting that the most ancient people practically did not differ from modern ones in the amount of gray matter. This fact confirms the existence of a serious gap in this indicator between a person and a fossil primate. Of course, the brain volume of Australopithecus cannot serve as a sufficient basis for judgments about its thought processes, but the difference from homosapiens is obvious.
To date, there is no clear archaeological evidence of a transitional form from these fossil primates to ancient people. It is possible that Australopithecus was a parallel, independent branch of evolution and was not the immediate ancestors of man. However, they possessed one unique attribute, indicating a close resemblance to people. This characteristic is not related to how much brain Australopithecus had in those distant times. A much clearer criterion is the structure of the thumb. In Australopithecus, it was opposed, as in man. This markedly distinguished the ancient primacy from modern monkeys.