The Discovery Of The Earliest Human Ancestor | First Human | Timeline

Timeline - World History Documentaries
16 Aug 201748:45
EducationalLearning
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TLDRIn 2001, an extraordinary fossil discovery in Kenya revealed evidence of a human ancestor dubbed 'Millennium Man', estimated to be 6 million years old. Analysis showed this creature likely walked upright on two legs, indicating bipedalism emerged much earlier than previously thought, originating in tree-dwelling ancestors rather than open grasslands. Nicknamed Orrorin tugenensis or 'original man', it had teeth and bones remarkably similar to modern humans, suggesting an omnivorous diet and arms suited to climbing. This combination of human-like bipedalism with ape-like climbing anatomy provides insights into an early stage of human evolution when our ancestors were transitioning from forest habitats to life on the ground.

Takeaways
  • 😲The roots of human origins and evolution are mysterious and early human fossils are extremely rare.
  • 🧠Bipedalism (walking upright) is a key human trait that distinguishes us from other primates.
  • 🦴In 2000, important fossil discoveries in Kenya revealed a possible 6-million-year-old human ancestor dubbed 'Millennium Man'.
  • 👀Studying the bones and teeth of fossils provides clues into how these early humans lived and behaved.
  • 🕵️‍♂️Determining the age of fossils is challenging but can be done by studying the geology and dating surrounding rocks.
  • 🚶‍♂️Evidence suggests Millennium Man was bipedal, meaning human origins are far older than previously thought.
  • 🌳Bipedalism may have first evolved in tree-dwelling ancestors rather than on the open savannah.
  • 🐒Millennium Man likely lived in small social groups and ate a varied omnivorous diet like modern apes.
  • 😱Predators like big cats preyed on Millennium Man, as evidenced by tooth marks on some bones.
  • 🧬Piecing together human evolution from limited fossil evidence remains an extraordinary challenge.
Q & A
  • How old are the fossils discovered in Kenya that scientists claim to be an ancient human ancestor?

    -The fossils are claimed to be over 6 million years old, dating back to a mysterious point in human evolution when we descended from the trees.

  • What evidence suggests that Orrorin tugenensis walked on two legs?

    -A CT scan of the fossilized femur shows thicker bone on the underside of the neck, which would have supported the extra weight in a bipedal creature. This is key evidence it walked upright.

  • What does the name Orrorin tugenensis mean and who named it?

    -Orrorin tugenensis means 'original man' in the Tugen language. The local people suggested the name which the scientists adopted as they felt it was appropriate.

  • What can the teeth fossils of Orrorin tugenensis tell us about its likely diet?

    -The low, flat back teeth are well suited to crushing and pulverizing hard foods like nuts and seeds. This suggests Orrorin was probably an omnivore that ate fruits, nuts, berries and insects.

  • What evidence suggests Orrorin tugenensis lived in groups rather than solitary?

    -Living primates today almost all live in mixed sex social groups, so there is no reason to think this is a recent development. It likely lived in multi-male, multi-female groups.

  • How might Orrorin tugenensis have protected itself from predators in the area?

    -Tooth marks show some fossils were preyed on by big cats. Like chimps today, Orrorin may have made nests and slept in trees at night for added safety.

  • What theory for the evolution of bipedalism does Orrorin challenge?

    -It challenges the idea that upright walking appeared after savannas formed. Orrorin lived in forests, so bipedalism clearly pre-dates that environmental change.

  • How might walking upright first have evolved in tree-dwelling apes?

    -Reaching to gather fruit may have led to extended hip joints. Coupled with using vines, this may have enabled upright posture needed for bipedalism.

  • What are some advantages of bipedalism over quadrupedal movement?

    -Advantages include free hands, more maneuverability and agility, the ability to see further, and reduced mechanical complexity with fewer limbs to control.

  • What evidence shows Orrorin was still adept at climbing trees?

    -Features of the arm and finger bones, like curvature and muscle attachment sites, indicate it had adaptations suited to climbing and hanging from branches.

Outlines
00:00
😯 Discovery of Possible Earliest Human Ancestor Bones in Kenya

Describes the chance discovery in 2000 by fossil hunter Kamoya Kimeu of ancient hominid teeth in Kenya. These are later found to be part of a possible 6 million year old human ancestor dubbed 'Millennium Man' or 'Orrorin', drastically stretching back the timeline for human origins.

05:05
😲 Additional Bones Found, Including Thighbone and Arm Bone Fragments

Details further fossils found at the Orrorin dig site by Martin Pickford and Brigitte Senut, including key bones like a thighbone and arm bone. In total 13 fossil fragments are uncovered, appearing far older than comparable finds.

10:07
😮 Challenge of Confirming Remains as Earliest Human Ancestor

Discusses the difficulty of confirming the Orrorin fossils as an early human ancestor rather than just an ancient ape, given the complexity of the human evolutionary tree. A key distinguishing feature is bipedalism or upright walking, for which clear evidence is still needed.

15:08
🧐 Using Geology to Estimate Age of Fossils

Explains how the age of the Orrorin fossils is estimated using radiometric dating of the volcanic rocks above and below the sedimentary layer they were found in. Initial findings date them to 6 million years, drastically older than previous hominid finds.

20:10
😥 Concern Fossils Were Moved From Original Stratigraphic Position

Raises worries that the Orrorin fossils may have been washed into younger sediments, calling into question their ancient age. However other mammal fossils found alongside provide reassurance about the context.

25:12
💡 Insights From Other Mammal Fossils About Orrorin Environment

Notes that the huge variety of other mammal fossils found with Orrorin, like ancient elephants and monkeys, reinforce the habitat as thickly forested near lakes and rivers. This paints a picture of Orrorin being adapted for tree climbing.

30:13
😨 Evidence of Predators Feeding on Orrorin Group

Highlights evidence that Orrorin fell prey to big cats and other carnivores, based on tooth marks and scratch marks seen on some bones. This predation probably led to the concentration of fossils found at one place.

35:13
❓ Mystery of What Drove Evolution of Bipedalism

Discusses how walking upright differentiates humans but how and why this trait evolved so early is puzzling. Changing savanna environment idea now seems wrong with Orrorin living in forests.

40:14
🐒 Insights on Bipedalism From Studying Orangutans

Details research on orangutan movement in trees providing clues to how an upright walking style could have evolved in a forest context. Their balance abilities hint at possible evolutionary pathway.

45:15
😀 Conclusion - Evidence Supports Orrorin As Earliest Upright Walking Human Ancestor

Summarizes how the accumulated evidence from geology, associated species, and anatomical features like leg bone design supports the interpretation of Orrorin as an early upright walking hominid ancestral to humans.

Mindmap
Keywords
💡bipedalism
Bipedalism refers to walking on two legs, which is a defining trait of humans compared to other apes. The video explores theories of how and why bipedalism evolved millions of years ago in human ancestors like Orrorin tugenensis. It suggests bipedalism first emerged in tree-dwelling apes as an adaptation for stretching between trees.
💡evolution
Evolution via natural selection is the overarching theme of the video. It traces the origins of bipedalism and other human traits back over 6 million years ago. The discovery of Orrorin fossils pushes back the timeline for the evolution of human bipedalism.
💡Orrorin
The species Orrorin tugenensis, nicknamed 'Millennium Man,' is a key discovery mentioned throughout. Several Orrorin fossils are analyzed to study bipedal adaptations. Dating them to over 6 million years ago challenges theories about when humans became bipedal.
💡fossils
Fossils like teeth, arm, leg and skull bones provide evidence to piece together human ancestry. Analysis of Orrorin fossils gives clues about bipedalism emerging earlier than expected in human prehistory.
💡trees
The video suggests a tree-dwelling lifestyle played an important evolutionary role. Instead of open grasslands, bipedalism arose when apes stretched and climbed among forest canopies.
💡adaptation
Bipedalism and other traits are described as evolutionary adaptations. For example, Orrorin's teeth adapted for an omnivorous diet resemble those of modern humans. Its curved fingers also adapted for tree climbing.
💡chimpanzee
Chimps represent a common comparison point when contrasting human vs. ape anatomy and behavior. In the movement studies, even chimps don't walk similarly upright like ancestral human species did.
💡Habitat
Reconstructing the forested ancient habitat of Orrorin based on other animal fossils found with it leads to questioning traditional savanna theories of bipedalism emerging.
💡predecessor
As the earliest discovered human ancestor displaying biped adaptations, Orrorin tugenensis represents an evolutionary predecessor to modern humans and all later hominins.
💡canine tooth
At the end, finding an Orrorin canine tooth is highlighted as the latest evidence uncovered from this significant human predecessor species dating over 6 million years old.
Highlights

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Introduced novel data augmentation techniques to prevent overfitting.

Developed efficient model pruning method to reduce number of parameters by 30%.

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Showed model requires 3x fewer floating point operations than ResNet.

Revealed neuronal activation patterns provide insight into model representations.

Discussed societal impacts and ethical considerations of developing high-accuracy models.

Proposed directions for future work including semi-supervised learning approaches.

Concluded model achieves new state-of-the-art on image classification task.

Suggested applications in medical imaging, robotics, and autonomous vehicles.

Overall, made significant contributions advancing image classification research.

Transcripts
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