Discussion Of The Article About The Australopithecus Essay

Discussion Of The Article About The Australopithecus - Essay Example The essay "Discussion Of The Article About The Australopithecus" discusses the meaning of the term Australopithecus mean and the different historian aspects regarding the australopithecines. Australopithecus africanus seems to be the closest ancestor or relative to the Homo genus. It had unique features that were less primitive than A. Afarensis. It had a flat face, evidence of stronger chewing force, a bigger jaw, and great sexual dimorphism, which meant the males and females looked very different and had different sizes and weights. Their skeletal architecture suggests shifts related to environmental and dietary forces. The main differences between the anatomy of Australopithecines and Paranthropus were their jaws and chewing apparatus. Their diet meant they needed stronger jaws and bigger chewing and grinding teeth, which affected their cranial size and shape. They had cheekbones that jutted forward. They also had a relatively smaller body. Paranthropus robustus, found at the South African cave site of Kromdraai, in Swartkrans, and also the limestone cave of Drimolen, in South Africa, is about 1.8 - 1.5 mya; Paranthropus Boisei, excavated at the Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania and thought to be 2. - 1.3 mya; and Paranthropus aethiopicus, discovered in the Omo River valley in southern Ethiopia, and on the western shore of Lake Turkana in northern Kenya, estimated to be about 2.5 mya. There is also a jaw fragment from Baá ¸ ¥r el-GhazÄ l in Chad, and a Homo erectus specimen called ‘Turkana Boy’.