Essay On Evolution Of Multiple Subspecies

Human beings, their evolution and their place in the planet have been the topic of much discussion and speculation over the ages. Men seek to find answers through religion, science and folklore. Most religion say that God created men in his form, folklore tell tale of how man was created millions of year ago but science tell us otherwise. The presence of fossils of our ancestors and scientific data collected over the years prove that the Homo sapiens found today was not created at one go but was a result of year of evolutionary process. The Evolutionary process also suggest that the humans we are now and that we see now are not the end product but rather a continuation and part of the evolutionary process. The evolution of an organism and its survival depends to a large extent on how well they can exploit nature and their surroundings in multiple ways. As some specie evolve, some are constrained and limited by their surroundings. The fossil remain that can be found today are testament to the fact that different species evolve at different rates and those that fail to evolve or adapt become extinct over time. Scientific evidence proves that Homo sapiens has been the result of continual evolution of the hominid species. The fossil evidence is not complete and the hominid history could be fragmented but the available evidence suggests that a long evolutionary process was at work before men came into being as they are now. An analysis of three hominid specie that was relatively closer ancestors of the Homo sapiens add weight to the evolutionary theory. Homo habilis, Homo georgicus and Homo erectus existed millions of years ago and evolved into the current man.
Homo habilis dates to about 2.1 and 1.5 million years ago. Homo habilis is named after the Latin term habilis which can mean handy, skillful or able. It is also the earliest specimen of the homo genus. The fossils of Homo habilis have been predominantly found in the African regions of Tanzania, South Africa, Ethiopia and Kenya. Environmental reconstructions by scientists have shown that Homo habilis lived in woodland areas and that they had access to water from lakes and streams. Although it is the earliest specimen of the homo genus, there are also indications that it is closely related to the genus Australopithecus. Perhaps the small structure of the brain found in both the species lead to this conclusion. The change in climate and weather conditions about 2.5 million years ago in Africa may have changed the hominin habitats from a wet and closed atmosphere into an open and arid climatic region. This say scientists may have prompted the species to evolve into the genre homo and be slightly distinct from the Australopithecus. The climate changes about 2 million years ago again to return to warm and humid weather conditions. Homo habilis shares a lot of traits with the Australophits species, especially the cranial and post-cranial structure but also has a lot of similar traits to the homo genus. The body size, shape and loco motor functions along with the small brain points it more to the Australopithecus genus and hence this species remains quite controversial when it comes to classifications. Taking into account body size and masticatory system has prompted some scientists to label it with the Australopithecus but currently it is placed under the genus Homo as it shares some derived traits with members from this genus (Homo habilis, 2008).
The foils of Homo georgicus were found in Dmanisi in the Republic of Georgia. They are believed to have roamed the planet some 1.8 million years ago. Some of the fossils that included leg bones suggest that Homo georgicus was bipedal and had an upright posture compared to the Homo habilis. They were similar to the Australophits as they had collar bones and shoulders that were similar to them. They were also a little different from the modern humans as they lacked a full set of loco motor traits. The Homo georgicus were the first in the genus to start working with tools. The tools were quite primitive and resembles the early African stone tools and made using the same techniques known as the Oldowan. These tools did not have a standardized pattern but were sharpened pebbles that were used for almost everything from cutting to chopping. The use of tools by the Homo georgicus show that they had adapted to the surrounding. It could have been that they no longer could hunt prey the same as before because of their erect status and changing surroundings. The Homo georgicus is also believed to have perceptible social skills as one skull that was found has almost all of its teeth missing. The presence of one tooth and the absence of many teeth for a long period of time indicates that it must have been helped by other members of the group for survival. Although scientists and paleontologists for a long time believed that it was the Homo erectus that moved out of Africa, the fossil remains suggest that it was indeed the Homo georgicus that moved first. The use of tools and migratory capability suggests that the brain although small was functioning at a larger level than the Homo habilis. It is however also possible as suggested by some scientists that Homo georgicus could have evolved from Homo habilis like ancestors who had left Africa (Gibbons, 2007).
Homo erectus or otherwise called the upright man was an ancient and the closest ancestor of the modern human. Homo erectus or the ancient man lived between 2 million and 100,000 years ago. It is one of the groups that lived for a particularly long time. Homo erectus is also the first in the genus to have limbs and torso that are similar to Homo sapiens or the modern humans. There was also a lack of adaptation to swinging from tress suggesting that they had evolved from ape-like to a more man-like posture. The changes also suggest that that Homo erectus had adjusted to walking with two legs in open grasslands and no longer lived in forested areas. Homo erectus was also taller than the previous human ancestors and one of the skeletons found measured 5 feet 3 inches compared to the 3 feet 7 inches Australopithecus. Scientist suggest that the species also had members of varying height among their group suggesting that they were much closer to the modern human. The brain structure was different as well as bigger compared to earlier species and teeth found in the fossils suggest that Homo erectus had a varied diet and consumed more animal protein than its predecessors. The large size of the brain can explain some of the characteristics of Homo erectus. They used more sophisticated tools and also used fire to cook food. The use of tool that were more defined suggest that they became full blown hunters. They also moved more than the earlier species and were able to adapt to different environmental conditions. Perhaps this explain their longevity compared to other species in the genus. Homo erectus' larger brain may explain why it displays so many distinctly human behaviors. For instance, ancient tools reveal the human ancestor was butchering animals by at least 1.75 million years ago, and may have harnessed fire to cook food as early as 1.9 million years ago. The species' increased smarts may have also enabled it to expand into so many different environments. The fossils of Homo erectus were found in the South East Asian countries, China and India. The presence of these fossils indicate extensive migration of this group.
The presence of fossils and the wealth of scientific data that support the evolutionary theory definitely has a bearing on my religious belief. Religion is something that is largely based on faith and fear of the unknown. Science on the other hand is based on things that can be seen and explained. Religion definitely falls short when it comes to explaining how human beings came into this planet. It would be easier to believe what religion says if one were to live solely on faith and not think about science and what it can prove. If not for years of conscious and subconscious inculcation of religious beliefs, the overwhelming scientific data on evolution can easily turn me into an atheist. An overdose and information overload of scientific facts and religious theories have only succeeded in keeping man at a confused state unable to fully comprehend and believe either streams. Science lets man understand that there is another explanation other than religious theories for the existence of man. It is based on testable hypothesis unlike religion which depends a lot on faith. Although some religions do accept the evolutionary cycle, it is still a long way to admitting that religion is just make believe. The fact that evolutionary biologist and scientists can be religious people also makes the confusion much bigger. Evolution also suggests that we are not the final product of the human species but we are rather a part of a larger specie. It is a rather humbling experience to know that modern humans are not at their height of their intelligence and that evolution is capable of producing more capable and intelligent beings. Some authors and researchers have also suggested that autism is not a handicap but rather an adaptation of the human kind. The increased number of autistic people they say could be an indication that humans are evolving to a higher degree with intelligence that is specific and narrowed down.
If the earth could support millions of animals then there is always the possibility that there are more evolved creatures out there in the universe. It would be a bit too much to think that man is the only completely evolved creature out here. Cognitive skills are also a product of the long evolutionary process and since evolution happens at different rates, there is always the possibility that there could be more cognitively evolved species elsewhere. Just as it took years for the modern man to come up with evolutionary theory and explain the origin of man, it could take a couple of hundred years more or lesser to find that there indeed exit life on other planets. Till there is substantial proof one way or the other it would be difficult to come to any conclusion about the prevalence of life on other planets.

References

Gibbons, A. (2007): A new body of evidence fleshes out Homo erectus. Science. 317:1664.
Ghose, Tia. 2013. Homo Erectus: Facts About the 'Upright Man'. In Live Science. Retrieved from http://www.livescience.com/41048-facts-about-homo-erectus.html
Hominid Species. 2010. In talkorigins.org. Retrieved from http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/homs/species.html
Homo habilis. 2008. In becominghuman.org. Retrieved from: http://www.becominghuman.org/node/homo-habilis-essay