Pre-Darwinian Theories and Hominids in Africa

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Three main concepts that guided western thought about humanity’s place in Nature, and the nature of the Earth itself, before Darwin. One of the theories existing in the 17th century was the one by James Ussher who claimed that all existing species remained the same as created by God; this theory was supported by Carolus Linnaeus who established a specific nomenclature to name all species. Other theories that existed before the evolutionary theory by Charles Darwin include two more prominent theories that appeared to be prominent for their time. One of them is the one of catastrophism established by the French scientist George Cuvier; this theory suggested the idea that all species that died in the result of some natural phenomena and catastrophes were replaced with other new species moving to that territory. However, Charles Lyell is the author of another theory – uniformitarianism – according to which all processes that killed ancient species can be observed in contemporary world as well as in the universe. The examples of Pre-Darwinian theories being incorrect include fossil record, recorded genetic changes that evidence the sequence of organisms, and anatomical and chemical similar features of related species.

Hominids in Africa

The first hominid that should be mentioned is the Australopithecus africanus that lived about 3.5-2 mya in Africa. It could live in various environments and eat mostly soft food such as fruit, insects, and small prey. Their brain equals the 1/3^rd of ours; they are taller than 3’8”; their jaw is not so sticking out.

The second hominid to address is the Australopithecus garhi that lived in Africa around 2.5 mya. It is difficult to say for sure but some worked up bones were found near this species which can evidence their use of those tools for various purposes.

The third hominid is the Robust Australopithecines that lived around 2.5-1 mya in Africa. The main difference from preceding species is that it has teeth of different shape thus of different functions assuming that they managed to eat some hard food. The jaw does not stick out; chewing muscles are increased compared to species that ate only soft food. It is known to have used sticks for digging. This species was a dead end in evolution.

The non-linear complex adaptive system concerning the exploration of hominids includes the research on the look of those species, way of eating, and some features that can be considered common for a few species to address those as an evolutionary chain.

Decoupling of Behavior from Anatomy

The concept of decoupling of behavior from anatomy stands for the explanation of behavior with the help of knowledge about the skeleton structure of the fossil species. For instance, it turns out to be obvious that Robust Australopithecines could eat hard food due to the peculiar features of their skeleton structure such as large molars, dished face, increased chewing muscles, and cheekbones with a wide flare angle. Thus, these features let us assume that Robust Australopithecines was able to eat hard food contrasted to previous species. It is really significant to the evolution of homo because scientists managed to explore various branches of the same family with the help of skeleton remains analysis. The width of cranial bones suggests that the brain could be larger or smaller, respectively affecting the behavior of hominids and their habits and abilities to make tools or dig out roots.

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Pre-Darwinian Theories and Hominids in Africa

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