Human Evolution

1.4  Human Evolution and emergence of Man:

• Hominization process – Biological and cultural factors in human evolution
• Theories of Organic Evolution
  • Pre Darwinian
  • Lamarcism
  • Darwinian
  • Neo-Darwinism
  • Natural selection in action
  • Post-Darwinian.
• Synthetic theory of evolution;
• Brief outline of terms and concepts of evolutionary biology
  • Doll’s rule
  • Cope’s rule
  • Gause’s rule
  • Parallelism
  • Convergence
  • Adaptive radiation
  • Mosaic evolution.
  • Speciation
  • Extinction
• Previous Years Questions

Extra Resource:

• Social Darwinism
• How is Darwinism different from Lamarckism?
• What is Organic evolution? Give evidences for human evolution. ?
• Macro Evolution
• Micro Evolution

1.5 Primatology

• Geological Time Scale
• Characteristics of Primates;
• Why is man a Primate ?
• Primate Taxonomy / Man Place in Animal Kingdom
• Evolutionary Trend
• Theories of primate origin
• Primate Distribution
• Primate Adaptations : Arboreal and Terrestrial
• Primate Locomotion
• Primate Behaviour
• Tertiary and Quaternary fossil primates
• Living Major Primates
• Biogenetic Basis of Phylogeny of Living Primates
• Comparative Anatomy of Man and Apes
• Skeletal changes due to erect posture and its implications.
• Walking the Walk: The Bipedal Adaptation and its mechanics
• Previous Years Questions

Extra Resource

• Narrate with reasons man’s place in primate order.
• Discuss primate locomotion with special reference to adaptations to arboreal life.
• Multi-disciplinary approach in the study of fossil types
• Archaeological Evidence of early dietary patterns

1.6  Phylogenetic status, characteristics and geographical distribution of the following:

• Palaeoanthropology – definitions , principles and scope
• Methods to Study Human Evolution
• Dryopithicus
  • Ramapithicus
  • Shivapithicus
  • Siwalik Hills
• Australopiths (4.2 1.2 mya)
• How homo genius differ than Australopithecine ?
• Homo Habilies (2.0+ – 1.4 mya)
• Homo Erectus:
  • Africa
    • The First Homo erectus: Homo ergaster
    • Earliest African Emigrants
  • Europe
    • Homo erectus heidelbergensis
  • Asia
    • Homo erectus javanicus
    • Homo erectus pekinensis
    • Narmada Man
    • Narmada Basin – Significance prehistory and human evolution
  • Cultural acheivement of Homo Erectus
  • Asian and African Homo erectus: A Comparison
  • Phylogenetic position
• Archaic Homo sapiens
• Neanderthal Man–
  • La-Chapelle-aux saints (Classical type)
  • Mt. Carmel (Progressive type).
  • Rhodesian man.
  • Phylogenetic status
  • Culture of Neanderthals
  • Extinction of Neanderthals
  • Surviving Neanderthal genes in modern humans
• Homo sapiens —
  • Approaches to study origins of modern humans
  • The Earliest Discoveries of Modern Humans
    • Africa – Evidence supporting African origin of modern humans
    • The Near East – Evidence of interbreeding Neanderthal and Sapiens
    • Asia – Evidence for inbreeding and African model origin
    • Australia – Through migration
    • Europe – Evidence for interbreeding
  • General characters and geographical distribution
  • Cromagnon
  • Grimaldi
  • Chancelede
  • Phylogenetic status
  • Upper Paleolithic technology and art
    • Southwest Asia and Europe
    • Africa
• Previous Years Questions

• Differences between Homo-erectus and Homo sapiens
• Differences between Neandertal man and Homo sapiens
• Multi disciplinary approach in the study of fossil types

Extra resources for knowledge enrichment

• The Origin and Dispersal of Modern Humans
• The Lower Paleolithic Period: Emergence of Human Culture
• The First Dispersal of the Genus Homo: Homo erectus and Contemporaries
• Premodern Humans
• Early Primate Evolution
• Pre-Australopiths (6.0+ – 4.4 mya)
• Australopithecines(4.2 -1.2 mya).
• Important Facts of Evolution
• Biological dimension of progressive evolution of man
• Chronological Implications of human evolution
• Reconstruction of Ancient Human Behavior and Social Organizations