Encyclopedia of Evolution.pdf - Online Reading Center

mitochondrial DNA
Hominin skulls have been found that display the entire range of both length and breadth of crania. These skulls do not represent a single lineage of
hominins; the Homo erectus skulls ( , , , , ) are a separate lineage from the H. heidelbergensis leading to Neandertals ( , , , , ) and from the H.
heidelbergensis leading to modern humans ( 0).
the immediate ancestors of modern humans (9,10). This figure
also illustrates what appears to be an example of convergent
evolution with independent increases in brain size in Africa,
Europe, and Asia. There is an approximate time order also,
with the smaller skulls usually being older. These crania represent
intermediate states but do not represent a single evolutionary
lineage.
In conclusion, it is evident that the links between modern
humans and the common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees
are no longer missing (australopithecines; H. habilis;
H. ergaster; H. heidelbergensis), and that the links between
the major hominin species are no longer missing (between H.
ergaster and H. heidelbergensis; between H. heidelbergensis
and Neandertals; between H. heidelbergensis and modern
humans). The “missing links” have been found
Further Reading
Brass, M. “The antiquity of man: Exploring human evolution and the
dawn of civilisation.” Available online. URL: http://www.antiquityofman.com/archaeology_links_homininarticles.html.
Accessed
April 29, 2005.
Edwards, Erika J., Reto Nyffeler, and Michael J. Donoghue. “Basal
cactus phylogeny: Implications of Pereskia (Cactaceae) paraphyly
for the transition to the cactus life form.” American Journal of
Botany 92 (2005): 1,177–1,188.
Foley, Jim. “Fossil hominids: The evidence for human evolution.”
Available online. URL: http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/homs/.
Accessed April 29, 2005.
Kreger, C. David. “A look at modern human origins.” Available
online. URL: http://www.modernhumanorigins.com/. Accessed
April 29, 2005.
Manzi, G., F. Mallegni, and A. Ascenzi. “A cranium for the earliest
Europeans: Phylogenetic position of the hominid from Ceprano,
Italy.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 98
(2001): 10,011–10,016.
Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington,
D.C. “Human origins program site map/contents page.” Available
online. URL: http://www.mnh.si.edu/anthro/humanorigins/
sitemap.htm. Accessed April 29, 2005.
Tattersall, Ian, and Jeffrey Schwartz. Extinct Humans. New York:
Westview Press, 2001.
mitochondrial DNA See symbiogenesis.
modern synthesis The modern synthesis is the reconciliation
of Darwinian natural selection with Mendelian