Origins of Us Archives

Learning to Walk | Australopithecines | Changing our Anatomy

We take walking for granted, but it’s complex and beginning to walk has an impact on our anatomy.

Its obvious that the evolution of walking has had a profound impact on our bodies.

Toolmakers | The dexterous Ape | Homo habilis

Early humans evolved to manipulate objects with their hands, and become toolmakers aided by a powerful thumb.

With our hands we could make the tools and technology which allowed us to colonise every corner of the globe. But, they also enabled us to do much more than that. They gave us the means to transform the world around us.

Human Spine | Walking Upright | Dorsiflexion

A look at the implications on the spine of walking upright and how the dorsiflexion of the ankle has changed.

To climb efficiently on somthing vertical, you need to be able to bend your foot up much more than we can. When climbing chimps can dosiflex their ankles up to 45 degrees.

Colour Vision | Evolution of Sight

Very early in our evolution we developed colour vision which gave us a huge developmental advantage in choosing ripe fruit.

With our three types of colour receptors, our eyes can see up to a million different colours. Our colour vision is a sensory gift. There are relatively few other mammals that see all the rich and varied colours that we do.

Rift Valley | Crucible of Human Evolution

How a rapidly changing climate in the Rift Valley forced our ancestors to change their behaviour in the crucible of human evolution.

The way our ancestors might have behaved isn’t preserved in the fossil record, but clues can be found in the behaviour of our closest cousins.

Role of the Elderly | Important Childcare and Education | Hadza People

Grandparents caring for their grandchildren allows for larger families and increases reproduction. A vital role for the elderly.

Grandmothers and grandfathers would not only pass on important information to the younger generation, but by supporting their children and grandchildren, they would help the human population to expand, and eventually spread across the globe.

Neanderthal Man | Professor Svante Paabo | Clive Finlayson

Neanderthal Man shared Europe with Homo sapiens for centuries, but Homo sapiens prevailed. What became of the Homo neanderthalensis?

So, if they had brains as big as ours, and were just as clever as us, why did Neanderthals die out, while we went on to flourish? In the centuries before the Neanderthals’ demise, there was dramatic climate change across Europe.

Evolving Human Language | Communication by Speech

Language allows us to teach and learn. To share ideas and build on the knowledge of those who have gone before.

Using language to share ideas, we could build on the knowledge and culture on those who had gone before us. Over time, our brains evolved to be much larger than those of all our ancestors.

Homo erectus | the Endurance Runner | Dr Rick Potts

Homo erectus is possible the first of our ancestors to be recognisable as a human with the toolmaking ingenuity to succeed.

For over a million years, the hand-axe was the cutting edge of stone tool technology. A hand-axe together with the flakes that come off it, constitute an incredibly versatile tool kit.