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For millions of years, our planet has been home to countless creatures, but it is only us humans who have gained the advantage of reason through the process of evolution. Our journey towards reason dates back to the Proconsuls, fruit-eating creatures that roamed African trees over twenty million years ago. With a primitive skull and a relatively small brain, they were far from human-like. However, they possessed non-aggressive features that eventually led to reason.
Ten million years ago, a drop in temperature caused the African jungle to become sparse, forcing the descendants of Proconsuls, the Ardipithecus, to move on two legs. Their feet were still prehensile, but they had special arches that allowed them to walk on two legs. The nearly complete skeleton of Ardipithecus named Ardi proves that these creatures were able to walk, albeit not as easily as we do. The arms of Ardipithecus were knee-length, and the hands were half human and half apelike.
As trees became sparse and Africa transformed into a boundless savanna, the gracile australopiths appeared about four million years ago. They were well-adapted to their new home and could walk on two legs with ease. They formed cohesive groups, were curious, and could walk miles on end. Their skull was still apelike, but the head was held on an upright neck, the canine teeth became smaller, and the brain became bigger.
Around three million years ago, Australopithecus afarensis of East Africa evolved into the first humans, and two and a half million years ago, our ancestors crossed the Rubicon of brain size with the first representative of our genus, Homo habilis. They were the first to make stone tools, and with these tools, they were able to carve meat, whittle wood, defend themselves from predators, and kill prey. The love for travel and exploration could date back to those times, where intelligence made it possible to overcome difficulties.
Around 1.5 million years ago, a new species appeared – Homo ergaster (‘working man’). They were armed with spears and stone tools, and even the fiercest animals weren’t safe from harm. Cut marks on animal bones are visible evidence of a new stage of our evolution. Their height and build were exactly like that of modern humans’, and they settled all over Africa, eventually moving beyond to colonize the planet.
Throughout the evolution of humans, nature was no bed of roses. Human remains with marks of predators’ teeth bear witness to that, but hardship engendered and fostered reason. The Homo heidelbergensis were the first prehistoric humans whose brain size was equal to what we have now. Although their faces were still savage, they built shelters, buried their dead, and created the first objects of art.Man has gone through a long and difficult path of evolution, and the future holds endless possibilities. Reason makes us responsible for ourselves, and everything depends on us.
