What Does hominization Mean
The concept of hominization refers to the various stages that make up the evolutionary development of our species. This process involves various changes in the genus Homo from its first exponents to the current human being . Each phase of it is characterized by the acquisition of a certain condition in the species, which would differentiate it from the rest of living beings, including primates.
Hominization studies, which include notions of anthropology , genetics , archeology , paleontology, and other sciences, can be traced back to other genera as well, such as Australopithecus and Ardipithecus .
The idea of hominization refers to the evolutionary process of our species.
The evolutionary line
Scientists believe that human and chimpanzee evolution lines diverged between five and seven million years ago. This separation did not stop as the human species continued to drift into new branches and other species, of which the only one that exists today is the aforementioned Homo sapiens .
There is a consensus that the members of the genus Homo are those species of hominids that have the ability to create tools with rocks. In recent years, however, a current holds that Australopithecus ghari also developed simple tools.
The oldest fossils found of Homo sapiens are close to two hundred thousand years old. These fossils were found in Ethiopian territory , on the African continent, in a region that is often called the cradle of humanity.
Stages of the hominization process
The particular conditions that differentiate humans from primates are their upright position, bipedalism (primates walk on all fours), a larger brain and smaller jaws and teeth, and the ability to express ideas and feelings through sounds or body expressions . These characteristics were gradually acquired through natural selection, that is, those who knew how to adapt to changes were the ones who did not perish.
It is known that the first hominids existed in Africa and from that point on they conquered the rest of the world. At first they were vegetarians, but soon they included meat in their diet because of the shortage of plant foods; it is believed that the inclusion of this element in the diet allowed the enlargement of his brain.
Humans share a trunk with chimpanzees, however their DNA is 1% different. As various studies have revealed, it has been around 5 million that the two species separated; It was then that the first hominids appeared , which had the characteristics that would definitely define our species: upright posture and bipedalism .
Hominization is associated with the evolution of the human being.
Types of hominids
This was just the origin of an evolution that would take millions of years, until we are today. Throughout their different evolutionary phases, hominids received various names, among the main ones are:
* Ardipithecus Ramidus: They lived in Ethiopia, they were bipedal and they ate vegetables. They were not very aggressive and had small brains and jaws.
* Australopithecus: They resided in Africa. They had a small brain, they were bipedal and small in size. They ate vegetables and did not make tools;
* Homo Habilis : It is the first representative of the HOMO classification and they were found in South Africa. They were the first omnivores. They had a brain bigger than their ancestors and they were the first to make tools using stones; it is believed that they also communicated through a rudimentary language.
* Homo Erectus : They lived almost 2 million years ago in East Asia. They had an omnivorous diet, they made tools, a little more sophisticated than their ancestors, and they learned to use fire to warm themselves and illuminate themselves. It was one of the species that best adapted to its environment and became extinct approximately 100,000 years ago.
* Homo Sapiens Neanderthalensis: Habitaron en Neanderthal y otras regiones de Europa hace 200.000 años. Eran más grandes que los seres humanos actuales y poseían una cavidad craneal superior. Contaban con un alto nivel tecnológico que le permitía fabricar herramientas sofisticadas, realizaban rituales, curaban enfermedades y fabricaban adornos. También contaban con un lenguaje para comunicarse entre ellos.
* Homo Sapiens Sapiens: Los restos más antiguos fueron hallados en Etiopía y se estima que son de unos 160.000 años atrás. Fueron los homínidos que mejor supieron diversificarse, dispersándose por toda África, Europa, Asia e incluso América y Oceanía y suplantando a otros homínidos.
La hominización no se detiene
Eso es todo lo que se conoce hasta el momento, sin embargo a medida que pasan los años y se descubren nuevos fósiles el panorama cambia y deben replantearse nuevamente ciertas teorías que parecían totalmente veraces respecto del proceso de hominización.
Para terminar podemos afirmar que los parientes vivos más próximos al ser humano son el chimpancé, el gorila, el orangután y el bonobo. El genoma del Homo sapiens demuestra que nuestra especie comparte cerca del 99% con el bonobo y el chimpancé, por ejemplo.
La especie humana, de todas maneras, no ha dejado de evolucionar. La movilidad a nivel mundial y la mayor expectativa de vida son, para algunos expertos, síntomas de esta evolución continua.