Bipedalism and increase in brain size are some of the key factors in Homo sapiens

evolution, there were many exciting changes that came together to form the amazing
organisms we see today. With the amazing changes leading to these modern organisms there
may be some question as to which features evolved first. Although this may seem a difficult
task, using fossil evidence of direct and closely related ancestors we can determine the order
that these features evolved.
Sahelanthropus tchadensis was a fossil record we have discovered cranial pieces for
that date back to nearly 6 mya, the features we find are a vertical face with a foramen magnum
that is intermediate between bipedal and quadrupedal species showing that an exciting change
is beginning. Evidence of bipedalism has been deduced by the position of the foramen
magnum in S. tchadensis The hypothesis that TM 266-01-60-1 is an ape (46) has been once
again refuted by the recent virtual reconstruction (2), which confirms the presence of many
hominid features in S. tchadensis and indicates that it was likely some kind of biped (Pilbeam
& others 2005). There was not a great increase in size in the brain seen in S. tchadensis.
Orrorin tugenensis 6 mya was a species that was another step seen in evolution after S.
tchadensis. In O tugenensis we see features such as opposable big toes and a bipedal femur,
more signs pointing to bipedalism. The discovery of BAR 100200 was thrilling for
understanding the evolution of human bipedalism Orrorin appears intermediate between
Miocene apes and australopiths in shape space. This evidence is consistent with femoral
shape similarities in extant great apes being derived and homoplastic and has profound
implications for understanding the origins of human bipedalism (Almcija & others). We find
O. tugenensis showing another bipedal trait another sign that bipedalism was rising.
Ardipithecus ramidus about 5 mya still showed an opposable big toe, the ilium was short and
broad and showed signs of propulsion walking. There was a fascinating discovery of a
preserved foot belonging to A. ramidus species which included a bone called os peroneum.
This bone, which is embedded within a tendon, facilitates the mechanical action of the

fibularis longus, the primary muscle that draws in the big toe when the foot is grasping (C.O.
Lovejoy & others). This discovery of this fossil gave signs of propulsion walking.
Australopithecus afarensis 3.5 mya had a chimp sized brain, and an inline big toe this
indicating more traits towards bipedalism. Seeing a big toe that is no longer opposable is a
clear sign that evolution was favoring bipedalism, which we can see in many studies reduces
energy required to cover longer distances. Discussing the brain size we can see that A
afarensis still had a smaller brain size compared to later evolutions A. afarensis value though
similar to the values for the female gorilla and chimpanzee samples, is lower than those for A.
africanus and H. habilis (Kimbel and others 89). A afarensis brain size was approximately 420
Cm cubed, slightly larger than a modern Chimpanzees average brain size of 400 cm cubed.
Paranthropus aethiopicus 2.5 mya had several distinguishing features bigger teeth, bigger jaw,
sagittal crest for the extra muscles to attach to. The cranial fossil retrieved of P aethiopicus is
often referred to as the Black Skull due to the material the fossil is formed out of being black.
Paranthropus boisei 2 mya had similar features to P aethiopicus bigger teeth, and a bigger jaw.
Paranthropus robustus 1.5 mya started to change and had smaller teeth, fossils were found in
South Africa. Australopithecus africanus 2.5 mya also found in South Africa was a little different
from others found at the time. A africanus had small teeth compared to Paranthropus, and no
sagittal crest. Australopithecus sediba 2 mya had smaller teeth as well found in South Africa
some distinguishing features are a lesser postorbital constriction. Homo habilis 2.4 mya had a
much larger brain size than others before them We also reconstructed the parietal bones of
OH 7 and estimated its endocranial volume. At between 729 and 824 ml it is larger than any
previously published value, and emphasizes the near-complete overlap in brain size among
species of early Homo (Spoor, Gunz and others). The size of the brain indicated by these
fossils is 20% greater than previous species seen before with an average of 630 Cm cubed. H
habilis is the first fossils we find evidence of tool use named oldowan tool kit included things
such as a chopper or a scraper. This increase in brain size is seen past the timeline that many
other bipedal traits were already formed such as bipedal femur and a big toe that is no longer

opposable but in line with the rest of the toes. Homo rudolfensis 1.8 mya had some similar
traits a bigger braincase however they had another differing feature bigger teeth. Homo
erectus 2 mya is a direct ancestor of Homo sapiens. With the discovery of some H. erectus
fossils we saw an increase in body size, some adults weighing over 100 lbs, average height
56 and many of the fossils showed signs of sexual dimorphism. H. erectus had arms that
were shorter than their legs, they had an increase in brain size the average size was 900 CM
cubed a very noticeable increase from previous species. Homo heidelbergensis .85 mya had a
mixture of H. erectus traits and modern human traits. The average brain size of H
heidelbergensis was 1250 CM cubed, a great increase over other organisms. With Homo
heidelbergensis we saw many new acheulian tools buried with other fossil records. Homo
neanderthalensis .15 mya has a greatly increased brain size 1520 CM cubed, large robust
bodies, long bulging skulls, arched brow ridges and no forehead. Some interesting fossil
records found in Kebara Western Asia dated to 60,000 ya have evidence of a hyoid bone the
bone that gives humans their ability to have such a wide range of tones. Homo sapiens .20
mya developed from Homo erectus and is currently the only living species within the genus
Homo. It is thought that with the coming of Homo sapiens no other species could compete and
were replaced by Homo sapiens. With all of these fossil records the task of identifying certain
traits and the order they came is made vastly easier.
Bipedalism or brain size which came first? Previously unlocking this mystery may have
been difficult, however by analysing fossil records we can now point to which traits came first.
Using fossil records discussed in this paper, we can looked back from Homo sapiens and we
saw that traits indicating bipedalism came far before an increase in brain size in direct and
closely related species. From these fossil records we can conclude that bipedalism was
formed long before there was an increase in brain size in Homo sapiens as well as other
closely related species, unlocking the mystery of brain size vs bipedalism.

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