List of human evolution fossils

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The following tables give an overview of notable finds of hominin fossils and remains relating to human evolution, beginning with the formation of the tribe Hominini (the divergence of the human and chimpanzee lineages) in the late Miocene, roughly 7 to 8 million years ago.

As there are thousands of fossils, mostly fragmentary, often consisting of single bones or isolated teeth with complete skulls and skeletons rare, this overview is not complete, but shows some of the most important findings. The fossils are arranged by approximate age as determined by radiometric dating and/or incremental dating and the species name represents current consensus; if there is no clear scientific consensus the other possible classifications are indicated.

The early fossils shown are not considered ancestors to Homo sapiens but are closely related to ancestors and are therefore important to the study of the lineage. After 1.5 million years ago (extinction of Paranthropus), all fossils shown are human (genus Homo). After 11,500 years ago (11.5 ka, beginning of the Holocene), all fossils shown are Homo sapiens (anatomically modern humans), illustrating recent divergence in the formation of modern human sub-populations.


Late Miocene (7.2–5.5 million years old)

Further information: Chimpanzee–human last common ancestor, Ardipithecus, Sahelanthropus, Homininae, and Hominini

The chimpanzee–human divergence likely took place around 10 to 7 million years ago. The list of fossils begins with Graecopithecus, dated some 7.2 million years ago, which may or may not still be ancestral to both the human and the chimpanzee lineage. For the earlier history of the human lineage, see Timeline of human evolution#Hominidae, Hominidae#Phylogeny.


Pliocene (5.3–2.58 million years old)

Further information: Kenyanthropus, Australopithecus, and Paranthropus

Pleistocene

Lower Paleolithic: 2.58–0.3 million years old

Further information: Australopithecus, Paranthropus, Homo, and Homo erectus

Middle Paleolithic: 300,000–50,000 years old

Further information: Middle Stone Age, Southern Dispersal, Archaic humans, and Anatomically modern humans

Upper Paleolithic: 50,000–11,500 years old

Further information: Archaic humans, Anatomically modern humans, Archaic admixture, Recent human evolution, and Epipalaeolithic
Further information: European early modern humans § Assemblages and fossils

Holocene (11,500–5,000 years old)

Further information: Recent human evolution, Late Stone Age, Mesolithic, and Neolithic


Abbreviations used in fossil catalog name

See also

Further reading

  • Gibbons, Ann. The First Human: The Race to Discover our Earliest Ancestor. Anchor Books (2007).ISBN 978-1-4000-7696-3
  • Hartwig, Walter Carl (2004) [2002]. Hartwig, Walter (ed.). The Primate Fossil Record. Cambridge University Press. Bibcode:2002prfr.book.....H. ISBN 978-0-521-08141-2..
  • Johanson, Donald & Wong, Kate. Lucy's Legacy: The Quest for Human Origins. Three Rivers Press (2009).ISBN 978-0-307-39640-2
  • Jones, Steve; Martin, Robert D.; Pilbeam, David R, eds. (1994). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Human evolution. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-46786-5. (Note: this book contains very useful, information dense chapters on primate evolution in general, and human evolution in particular, including fossil history).
  • Leakey, Richard & Lewin, Roger. Origins Reconsidered: In Search of What Makes us Human. Little, Brown and Company (1992).ISBN 0-316-90298-5
  • Lewin, Roger. Bones of Contention: Controversies in the Search for Human Origins. Penguin Books (1987).ISBN 0-14-022638-9
  • Morwood, Mike & van Oosterzee, Penny. A New Human: The Startling Discovery and Strange Story of the 'Hobbits' of Flores, Indonesia. Smithsonian Books (2007).ISBN 978-0-06-089908-0
  • Oppenheimer, Stephen. Out of Eden: The Peopling of the World. Constable (2003).ISBN 1-84119-697-5
  • Roberts, Alice. The Incredible Human Journey: The Story of how we Colonised the Planet. Bloomsbury (2009).ISBN 978-0-7475-9839-8
  • Shreeve, James. The Neanderthal Enigma: Solving the Mystery of Modern Human Origins. Viking (1996).ISBN 0-670-86638-5
  • Stringer, Chris. The Origin of Our Species. Allen Lane (2011).ISBN 978-1-84614-140-9
  • Stringer, Chris & Andrews, Peter. The Complete World of Human Evolution. Thames & Hudson (2005).ISBN 0-500-05132-1
  • Stringer, Chris & McKie, Robin. African Exodus: The Origins of Modern Humanity. Jonathan Cape (1996).ISBN 0-224-03771-4
  • van Oosterzee, Penny. The Story of Peking Man. Allen & Unwin (1999).ISBN 1-86508-632-0
  • Walker, Allan & Shipman, Pat. The Wisdom of the Bones: In Search of Human Origins. Weidenfeld & Nicolson (1996).ISBN 0-297-81670-5
  • Wade, Nicholas. Before the Dawn: Recovering the Lost History of our Ancestors. Penguin Press (2006).ISBN 978-0-7156-3658-9
  • Weiss, M.L.; Mann, A.E. (1985). 'Human Biology and Behaviour: An anthropological perspective (4th ed.). Boston: Little Brown. ISBN 978-0-673-39013-4. (Note: this book contains very accessible descriptions of human and non-human primates, their evolution, and fossil history).
  • Wells, Spencer (2004). The Journey of Man : A Genetic Odyssey. New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks. ISBN 978-0-8129-7146-0.

References

Bibliography

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