DER Documentary
Hominid Evolution 2: The Genus Homo
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From the Primates series
by Anne Zeller
color, 50 min, 2001
Pricing information and conditions
This video picks up the account of human evolution with Homo Habilis, the earliest currently accepted member of our genus and describes the similarities and differences between this form and the Australopithecines. It then continues with a discussion and demonstration of the features of the African Homo Erectus and the Asian forms including the material from Java and from China. In terms of hominid development in Europe, maps and slides are used to discuss the possible new very early hominids from Spain at Orche and the material from Atapuerca.
Several different theoretical positions about what to call the European material are presented and the casts of several are discussed in detail. As we move on to the Neandertals, the Out-of-African and Multi-regional theories are presented with supporting data and criticisms of each. A cast of the new Solo skull from Polowayo in Java is discussed. The Near Eastern material on Neandertals and early modern Homo sapiens is covered, in addition to the spread of early moderns across Europe and Asia. The video ends, not with conclusions, but with questions about the interpretation of fossils and the differing theories about the development of modern forms.
Other films in the series:
Chimpanzees Today
Five Species
Hominid Evolution I: The Early Stages
Images From The Field: Baboons
Introduction to the Primates
Lemurs of Madagascar
Macaques
New World Monkeys
Primate / Human Interaction
Primate Patterns II
Sifakas of Madagascar
What Do Primatologists Do?
