ABSTRACT
Archaeologists (including paleontologists studying human skeletal remains), human biologists, ecologists, and geneticists have developed a relatively detailed and coherent narrative of human evolution. It begins, about seven million years ago, with the origin of the first hominids in eastern and southern Africa, and the biological separation of these species from the other great apes. Then it traces the gradual succession of new hominid species and their slowly changing lifestyles. This story results from combined and interdisciplinary work of a wide range of scholars, and it has been clarified by considerable debate. Studies of skeletal structure, technology, living patterns, and genetic composition have been crucial in explaining the development of hominid populations.
