Diversity of Early Human Species and Behaviors (IMAGE)

Smithsonian

Diversity of Early Human Species and Behaviors

Caption

This chart depicts hominin evolution from 3.0-1.5 million years ago and reflects the diversity of early human species and behaviors that were critical to how early Homo adapted to variable habitats, a trait that allows people today to occupy diverse habitats around the world. In July 2014, Smithsonian paleoanthropologist Richard Potts and a team of researchers analyzed new scientific data and concluded that the ability of early humans to adjust to changing conditions ultimately enabled the earliest species of Homo to vary, survive and begin spreading from Africa to Eurasia 1.85 million years ago.

Credit

Antón, Potts and Aiello (2014), <i>Science</i> 345(6192).

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