ABSTRACT

Early hominid evolution is African evolution, from the first potential biped through the reorganization of the entire hominid body for effective and habitual bipedalism, and from the first australopithecine through the first species in the genus Homo. In contrast, later hominid evolution spread beyond Africa to the Middle East, Asia, and Europe. Early hominids are characterized by the bipedal lifestyle, but later hominids are characterized by encephalization (the reorganization and enlargement of the brain). From the neck down, other than modernization of limb proportions, relatively little changed in later hominids; but the cranium, face, and mandible have undergone considerable evolution during the last 2 myr.