- Introduction -

Since when did humans appear?

Where do we come from? 

Those questions have not been asked until now. Before the advancement of science and technology today, people often believed in legends about the origin of humans, fairy tales about the creation of the world.

According to Buddhism

When the monkey dies, the monkey's karma will reincarnate as a human. From "Ancient" people, they lived simply, relying on nature. Nature changes, so humans are forced to evolve gradually to protect their lives.

According to Christianity

All things in the world, from the earth to humans, are created by God. He fashioned a man from the earth's dust in his image, the image of a man named Adam. Then, he took Adam's rib to form a woman and named her Eve.

Today, Science and Technology have developed greatly, but scientists still cannot prove that there is absolutely a human from the perspective of ancient apes. Most scientists agree that humans evolved from apes. 

There are three basic types that humans have evolved into:

Homo habilis

(Ingenious man or archaic man)

Homo erectus 

(Upright man)

Homo sapiens 

(Humans or modern humans)

Homo Sapiens

Dryopithecus Africanus

Australopithecus

Human evolution has gone through four main stages:

Ancient Homo

The Evolutionary Process of Humans tells us about our evolution and the history of morphological development of the genus Homo.

Humans have adopted multidisciplinary connections such as anthropology, primatology, archaeology, linguistics, and genetics to the study of human evolution.

Dryopithecus 

Africanus

The oldest fossil hominid that is related to humans is Dryopithecus Africanus (also known as Proconsul).

This species lived about 18 million years ago and lived mainly in the trees.

Australopithecus

Height: 120-140 cm

Weight: 20-40 kg

Skull's volume: 450-750 cm³

Australopithecus was a hominid that lived in the late Tertiary period, about 2-8 million years ago.

- They changed from an arboreal lifestyle to living on the ground, walking on two legs, the body slightly stooped forward.

- They knew how to use branches, stones, animal bones to defend and attack.

ANCIENT 

HOMO

Homo Habilis

Skull's volume: 600-800 cm³

Height: 100-150 cm

Weight: 25-50 kg

- This is the first species to appear in the genus Homo that lived about 1.6 - 2 million years ago. 

- They lived in groups, walked upright, knew how to craft and use stone tools.

- The first fossils of Homo Habilis were found in Olduvai (Tanzania) in 1961-1964 by the Leakeys.

Homo Erectus

Height: 140-180 cm

Weight: 40-65 kg

Skull's volume: 900-1000 cm³

- They lived about 35 thousand – 1.6 million years ago.

- This species had learned to walk upright, knew how to make and use stone, bone, and fire.

Fossils of Homo Erectus have been found not only in Africa but also in Europe, Asia, and Oceania. 

Homo Neanderthalensis

Height: 155-166 cm

Weight: 63-83 kg

Skull's volume: 1400 cm³

The Homo Erectus disappeared about 200,000 - 35,000 years ago, giving way to the Homo Neanderthalensis. 

However, this is not a direct ancestor of modern humans, but rather an offshoot of the genus Homo that co-existed for a long time.

- They had jawbone that was close to humans, had protruding chin (may have had a voice).

- They mainly lived in herds of about 50 -100 people and lived in caves.

- Neanderthalensis's fossils were first discovered in 1856 in Germany. Later, they were also found throughout Europe, Asia, and Africa.

Homo Sapiens

Height: 160-180 cm

Weight: 62-78 kg

Skull's volume: 1700 cm³