A combination of fossil, DNA and biochemical evidence
suggesfs that human lines of evolution separated from those
of our closest living relatives, the chimpanzees, sometime
around 6-8 million years ago. Early fossil finds of the
human family, hominids, indicate that through time they
gradually became taller, more upright and larger-brained.
However, newer finds show that a mix of species came
and went over the past few million years. Some of the
earlier ones were more like recent humans, while some of
the.later ones 'reverted' to being more ape-like. The
australopithecines included several species that lived from
about 4 to 1 million years ago, all in Africa. They ranged I
from large and powerful, or robust, types with massive jaws
and teeth, to smaller and more slender, or gracile, types, ,
such as the famous 'Lucy'. She was once thought to be
female, but in fact 'she' could have been a male, 'Lucifer'.
Australopithecus afarensis is a relatively well-known species
of early human, with fossilized remains coming from more
than 300 different individuals. The remains exhibit many
ape-like features and an average brain size equivalent to that
of a modern chimpanzee.