THE GREAT ASCENT: AN ANTHROPOGENIC CHRONICLE
Genus/Species Age of Brain/ Diet Anatomical & Behavioural traits
appearance Cranial
Capacity
(cm3)
1. Dryopithecus 15 mya - Soft fruits/leaves. Hairy and walked like gorillas and chimpanzees.
(Late Miocene) Considered more ape-like.
2. Ramapithecus 14-15 mya (Miocene) - Seeds and nuts. More man-like. Fossils discovered in Shivalik hills;
first step toward hominid line.
3. Australopithecus 2 mya 450-600 cc Essentially ate fruit. Lived in East African grasslands. Evidence shows they
africanus (Tuang hunted with stone weapons.
child)
4. Homo habilis 2 mya 650-800 cc Probably did not eat The first human-like being the hominid. Known as
meat. "Handy Man" for making tools.
5. Homo erectus 1.5 mya 900 cc Probably ate meat. Fossils discovered in Java in 1891. Had a large brain;
first to use fire.
6. Homo sapiens 100k–40k years ago 1400 cc Omnivorous. Lived in near east and central Asia. They used hides
neanderthalensis to protect their body and buried their dead.
(Neanderthal Man)
7. Homo sapiens 34k–10k years ago 1650 cc Skilled Hunters. Pre-historic cave art developed about 18,000 years
fossilis (Cro-Magnon ago. One such cave art is at Bhimbetka. (Direct
Man) ancestor of modern man)
8. Homo sapiens 75k–10k years ago 1350-1500 cc Omnivorous. Arose in Africa and moved across continents. During
sapiens (Modern Ice Age, Modern Homo sapiens arose.
Man)