ABSTRACT
Homo sapiens is a relative newcomer to planet earth. Set against the entire time span over which the planet has existed our species has occupied only 0.01% of that time, see Table 3.1 Critical Events in the History of Planet Earth. https://www.niso.org/standards/z39-96/ns/oasis-exchange/table">
Event
Date Before Present
Start of Solar System
4.6 × 109
First Traces of Free Water
4.4 × 109
Self-Replicating Molecules Appear
4.1 × 109
First Signs of Fossil Cells
3.6 × 109
Free Oxygen Appears in the Atmosphere
2.0 × 109
Complex Cells with Distinct Nuclei
1.5 × 109
Formation of Atmospheric Ozone Layer
1.4 × 109
Appearance of ‘Modern’ Flora and Fauna
45 × 106
Appearance of Proto-Man
45 × 104
Development of Agriculture
9 × 103
It is impossible to provide absolute answers as to when and where mankind first appeared. Nor can we ascertain with complete certainty the origin of our ancestors. All that can be said is that man’s early history appears to have begun sooner than most anthropologists originally thought possible. Current evidence suggests our ancestors first appeared in the continent we now call Africa (Pfeiffer, 1972). Several sites, see Fig 3.1, for example the famous Olduvai Gorge (Leaky, et al, 1964), in Tanzania along with sites at Taung, Sterkfontein and Swartkrans in South Africa (Pilbeam, 1972) have revealed the remains of Australopithecus, an ape-like creature which walked erect, had a small brain box but whose jaw movement was very non-hominoid in that the chewing action was rotary and not up and down. Australopithecus probably had little ecological impact upon his environment. He was a herbivore with little or no technical skill. Main Locations of Australopithecus in South and East Africa from <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref349">Tobias</xref> (1967) https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780367815660/7b3d7d39-e1b9-4e54-9ffd-fcbc39728efc/content/fig3_1_B.tif" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/> More recent interpretations from archaeological research at Swartkrans in the northern Transvaal of South Africa (Brain, 1967) has suggested that by about 450,000 years ago Australopithecus had disappeared and that two distinct forms of hominoid had emerged, both living alongside one another. One form had a massive jaw structure, large molars suitable for grinding food, large attachment points for muscles to work the jaws and a flattened cranium. It has been assumed on the basis of skull characteristics that this form of early man was a direct descendant from Australopithecus. It probably fed entirely on seeds, leaves and grasses.