Evolution

The history of human evolution is an intricate and amazing tale of adaptation and hardship . Dozens of manifestations of the hominid line have surfaced in recent years , each telling us more about the history of our ancestors and our species . From the very first primates , new evolutionary traits have been developing , traits which affect us even today in ways that are unexpected and tremendously different than the purpose for which the trait was originally evolved . Indeed , each new attribute developed from ancestor to ancestor down the hominid line has profoundly affected later

species and laid the groundwork for new and varied adaptation

One of the earliest instances of primate evolution , one which took place before hominids branched off from other primate lines , and which still affects us today is the development of sophisticated sensory organs useful for survival in an arboreal setting . The sense of smell which was so strong in other forms of mammalian life was much less useful living in treetops , while sight became very important . Swinging through the canopy of a forest and all that it entails requires a sophisticated sense of vision , in depth , direction and distance . In this environment primates developed stereoscopic color vision to adapt , but in time their sense of smell became less developed as a result (Haviland et al 57 This trait , namely a developed sense of sight and depth , has great implications on hominids as a whole and on us especially . Our art , our tool use and our technologies are all at least partially dependent on our sense of vision and depth perception . Precursors to language also likely developed due to primate 's sense of sight , and modern gestured body language would be nearly impossible without it , at least to the extent with which primates use it today . This is evidenced particularly well by modern apes and chimpanzees primary methods of communication through complex facial expressions and gestures in mating , displays of aggression , and social interaction

Another important hallmark in the development of our sensory organs is that of touch . It was also developed earlier than the hominid line developed , but remains important to us today , and to our later development . It is immediately evident how crucial a developed sense of touch would be to an arboreal species . Moving through the treacherous tangle of primordial forests would require a very sophisticated sensory apparatus in to properly feel , grasp , and maintain balance (Haviland et al 57 . Though it no longer serves the same purpose in modern homo-sapiens or even later forms of bipedal hominids , it has remained an invaluable trait for further cultural and biological development . It remains , along with sight and logical thought , one of the most invaluable precursors to the development of tool use and technology

Probably the most defining trait of hominids is bipedal locomotion , a trait which is first seen in the fossil record with the discovery of Orrorin Tugensis . Though there is a hominid species found earlier in the fossil record , the bones found are fragmentary...