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In Search of Human Origins, Part II
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Program Overview
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Homo habilis, an early human, seems to have been the first user of
tools. At one time, anthropologists believed that the tools were
used for hunting. However, more recent fossil evidence suggests that
Homo habilis was a scavenger rather than a hunter, and that the
tools were used to slice meat and break the bones of carcasses that
they took from predators.
Evidence presented in this program indicates that the first hunter
may have been Homo erectus, a later hominid. Homo erectus had
physiological adaptations that provided an evolutionary advantage
over the australopithecines and enabled the species to be hunters
and predators. With a larger brain, Homo erectus had the
intelligence to hunt. In addition, a more developed spinal cord,
jaw, and tooth structure enabled the species to run faster and eat
meat.
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