Describe Dryopithecus, Ramapithecus, Australopithecus, Homo erectus and Homo sapiens giving brain size and function, skeletal structure, dietary preference, etc.
- Dryopithecus: Dryopithecus was about 4 feet (1.2 m) long and more closely resembled a monkey than a modern ape. The structure of its limbs and wrists show that it walked in a way similar to modern chimpanzees but that it used the flat of its hands, like a monkey, rather than knuckle-walking like modern apes. Its face exhibited klinorhynchy, i.e. it was tilted downwards in profile.
- Ramapithecus: Sivapithecus was about 1.5 meters (4.9 ft) in body length, similar in size to a modern orangutan. In most respects, it would have resembled a chimpanzee, but its face was closer to that of an orangutan. The shape of its wrists and general body proportions suggest that it spent a significant amount of its time on the ground, as well as in trees.[4] It had large canine teeth, and heavy molars, suggesting a diet of relatively tough food, such as seeds and savannah grasses.
- Australopithecus: Members of this species had apelike face proportions (a flat nose, a strongly projecting lower jaw) and braincase (with a small brain, usually less than 500 cubic centimetres -- about 1/3 the size of a modern human brain), and long, strong arms with curved fingers.
- Homo erectus: Ranging from 4 foot 9 inches to 6 foot 1 inch and from 88 to 150 pounds, Homo erectus was the first ancestor to approximate modern humans in size. In fact, except for the brow ridges and a smaller brain, Homo erectus was perhaps the first species that we might consider to be essentially human.
- Homo sapiens: Homo sapiens skulls have a distinctive shape that differentiates them from earlier human species. Their body shape tends to vary, however, due to adaptation to a wide range of environments. the earliest Homo sapiens had bodies with short, slender trunks and long limbs. They have the most developed brain compared to all other species.