The generally accepted path of human evolution begins with Homo habilis at 2.

1 million
years ago, one of the earliest members of the genus Homo (erectus, 2008). Then next in the chain
is Homo erectus dated to about 1.8 million years ago (habilis, 2008). The latest is the earliest
forms of Homo sapiens which is dated to somewhere between 180-170 thousand years ago
(sapiens, 2008). The line of evolution is not direct, but is a representation of the species that
gained dominance and most likely resulted in the evolution of the next series of species in the
genus Homo (refer to figure 1 to see a timeline of when species first evolved). In short, the
evolution of modern humans flows from Homo habilis, to Homo erectus, to Homo sapiens, each
evolving in ways that allow the species to gain dominance in their own right.
The story of Homo habilis begins about 2.1 million years ago on the African sub-
continent, in the area around what is today Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Kenya (habilis, 2008). This
species is a mix of many of unique traits and ones that are similar to its ancestors, species in the
genus Australopithecus. Significant development and differences between ancestors and
descendants of the genus Homo tend to be developments in the brain and habilis is no different.
In both measures of brain size, absolute and relative to body size, habilis has a significantly
larger brain than that of its ancestor, measuring about 680 cubic centimeters (habilis, 2008). That
change in brain size along with structure of the braincase allows habilis to have a wide range of
primitive and derived traits, such as the ability to make and use tools. Homo habilis evolving the
brain size to create tools proved essential in paving the way, through domination of the hominid
species of the time, for Homo erectus to appear.
Homo erectus evolved around 1.8 million years ago and its subsequent adaptions and
changes allowed erectus to have a long tenure as a prominent species of all the existing members
of the genus Homo and other hominid species (habilis, 2008). Once again, as in H. habilis, the
braincase went through extensive changes leading to an increase in absolute brain size and
changes in the structure of the skull. The brain size of H. erectus was on average 900 cubic
centimeters (habilis, 2008). However because the body of H. erectus is larger than that of H.
habilis the relative brain size is only negligibly different (habilis, 2008). The absolute size of the
brain caused the brain case to elongate and become far longer than its height, giving the skull a
football shape when viewed from the side, see figure one for an example (habilis, 2008). This
species is the first to actively control fire and H. erectus also developed invented a new
technology for making stone tools (habilis, 2008). The tools were worked bifacially, on two sides
and the innovation became so prominent in tool making that the tools became known as the
Acheulean industry (habilis, 2008). The tools and the mastery of fire were what enabled H.
erectus to spread outside of Africa and the tropical temperatures that pervaded the whole
continent. The spread of Homo erectus to other continents placed the species far above other
hominids in terms of population size and lead to the next evolutionary chapter of becoming
human.


Homo sapiens is the last part of the story of human evolution and the first fossil evidence
of H. sapiens was found in East Africa and dates to about 160 thousand years ago (sapiens,
2008). Similar to both H. habilis and H. erectus much of what makes Homo sapiens unique is
found in the skull. Its absolute brain size is larger than any previous member of the genus Homo
at 1300 cubic centimeters (sapiens, 2008). However, in comparison to Homo neanderthalensis,
which appeared at about the same time as H. sapiens, the absolute brain size is smaller, but it
does have a larger relative brain size (sapiens, 2008). The structure of the skull also changed
radically from the structure of H. erectus. It is much taller relative to the length of the skull than
before and the skull also lacks evidence of being strongly built (sapiens, 2008). Some of the most
unique traits of H. sapiens are behavioral differences. Unlike any other species of hominid H.
sapiens hunted a wide variety of animals and developed the tools to make it more efficient
(sapiens, 2008). H. sapiens was also the first species to develop technologies for making
weapons and tools composed of different parts (sapiens, 2008). Evidence strongly suggests that
H. sapiens was the first species to produce cave art, statues and other examples of symbolic
thinking (sapiens, 2008). The anatomy of the upper vertebral column suggests that H. sapiens
was the first species capable of spoken language (sapiens, 2008). All of these various evolutions
allowed Homo sapiens to gain dominance over Homo neanderthalensis and paved the way for all
modern humans.
In Homo habilis one of the major differences between its ancestors of the genus
Australopithecus and itself was its increase in both relative brain size and absolute brain size
(habilis, 2008). Again in Homo erectus brain size was a huge evolutionary difference and it gave
the species an advantage in the form of technological innovation (erectus, 2008). The very last
form of human evolution, Homo sapiens, also relied heavily on its vastly larger brain for its
advancement in technology and its subsistence nature (sapiens, 2008). All three species
continually evolved larger and larger brains and all three species gained dominance over the
other hominids of their time. In conclusion there is very strong evidence to support the idea that
the major evolution and changes in the brain is what allowed Homo sapiens to eventually gain
dominance and turn into the modern human of today.







Figure 1
1. "Homo erectus." Becoming Human. Institute of Human Origins, 2008. Web. 27 May 2014.
<http://www.becominghuman.org/node/homo-erectus-0>.

2. "Homo habilis." Becoming Human. Institute of Human Origins, 2008. Web. 04 June 2014.
<http://www.becominghuman.org/node/homo-habilis-essay>.

3. "Homo sapiens." Becoming Human. Institute of Human Origins, 2008. Web. 05 June 2014.
<http://www.becominghuman.org/node/homo-sapiens>.