Download About 3 million year ago, the earth was populated with deer, giraffes

Australopithecus
About 3.5 million years ago, the earth
was populated with deer, giraffes,
hyenas, cattle, sheep, goats, antelope,
gazelles, horses, elephants,
rhinoceroses, camels, ground squirrels,
beavers, cave lions, ants, termites,
porpoises, whales, dogs with huge
teeth, and saber-toothed tigers! Giant
sharks, about 42 feet long, were
plentiful. There were all kinds of
birds and plants and fish, similar to
birds, plants and fish today.
(Dinosaurs died out about 65 million
years ago. They were long gone.) About
this same time in history, around 3
million years ago, the higher primates,
including apes and early man, first
appeared.
Australopithecus is one of the longest-lived and best-known
early human species—paleoanthropologists have uncovered
remains from more than 300 individuals! This species
survived for more than 900,000 years, which is over four
times as long as our own species (Homo sapiens) has been
around.
Australopithecus had an apelike face with a low forehead, a
bony ridge over the eyes, a flat nose, and no chin. They
had protruding jaws (they stuck out) with large back teeth.
Brain size varied from about 375 to 500 cc. This is a
little larger than chimp brains (despite a similar body
size), but still not advanced in the areas necessary for
speech. The skull is similar to that of a chimpanzee,
except for the more humanlike teeth.
Their bones show that they were physically very strong.
Females were substantially smaller than males, a condition
known as sexual dimorphism. Females were on average 3 feet
tall while males were 4.5-5 feet tall. They weighted in
between 50-75 lbs. The finger and toe bones are curved and
longer than in humans, but the hands are similar to humans
in most other details. They were completely bipedal (used
legs to walk).
The climate of much of Southern Africa, where they lived,
was drying out and hot during the period Australopithecus
lived, and forest areas were being replaced by bush and
veldt [grass land]. They took shelter in tall grass, under
rock overhangs but couldn’t take shelter in caves since
they didn’t have the tools to fight off the animals living
in the caves. They aren't known to use technology (tools).
Instead they would use items that they found, such as
sticks and rocks. Their hands were also used a tools.
Australopithecus had mainly a plant-based diet, including
leaves, fruit, seeds, roots, nuts, and insects… and
probably the occasional small vertebrates, like lizards.
Paleoanthropologists can tell what Australopithecus ate
from looking at the remains of their teeth. Dental
microwear studies indicate they ate soft, sugar-rich
fruits, but their tooth size and shape suggest that they
could have also eaten hard, brittle foods too – probably as
‘fallback’ foods during seasons when fruits were not
available. Australopithecus would also scavenge when they
could, they would eat animals, which were already dead,
You might wonder how we know anything about hominids that
lived over 3 million years ago! How do we know they even
existed? Lucy told us!
In 1974, a skeleton was found in Africa by archaeologist
Don Johansen. The bones were those of young female,
approximately 20 years old when she died. Johansen named
this "young lady" Lucy because he was listening to a song
“Lucy in the Sky of Diamonds” when he found her.
About 3 million years ago, when Lucy was alive, she was
rather short, about 4 feet tall, and probably weighed about
50 pounds. Her brain was about the size of an orange. Her
bones showed she probably walked erect, although she still
had the ability to climb trees easily. There were no signs
of broken bones or teeth marks that might show why she
died. Scientists suspect that she probably fell into a lake
or river and drowned.