[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":142},["ShallowReactive",2],{"article-australopithecus-afarensis-en":3},{"id":4,"name":5,"keywords":4,"slug":6,"author":7,"status":4,"defaultLang":4,"ogImage":8,"ogType":9,"updateDate":10,"createDate":11,"isDeleted":4,"availableLangs":4,"i18nMeta":12,"relatedBlogs":23},null,"露西-\"人类的祖母\"","australopithecus-afarensis","卜可","https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.40/1770175627090_000124_1714358823400.jpg","article","2026-06-05T11:25:24","2023-11-24T12:21:36",{"name":13,"h1Title":14,"title":15,"subtitle":4,"keywords":16,"content":17,"overview":4,"description":18,"ogTitle":19,"ogDescription":20,"preface":4,"note":4,"langCode":21,"updateDate":10,"createDate":11,"priority":22,"author":7},"Afa Australopithecus","The Australopithecus of Afa: Lucy and the Milestone of Human Upright Walking 3.6 million Years Ago","Lucy, Australopithecus, Afa | 3.9 million -2.9 million years ago Human Ancestor","Historyofhumanevolution,Lucy,AustralopithecusAfa,Leitolifootprints,Homoerectus","Australopithecus afarensis (Australopithecus Afarensis), also known as Australopithecus afarensis or Australopithecus afarensis, is a human species that lived 3.9 million -2.9 million years ago. Current (2023) studies suggest that Australopithecus afa is the direct ancestor of Australopithecus and Homo. In addition, the name of \"South\" is not accurate. This species is widely distributed. Fossils have been unearthed from East Africa, Central Africa Chad to South Africa.\n\n## Lucy's Clan\n\nThis long-extinct group is also known as the \"Lucy's tribe\" because their most famous specimen is called \"Lucy\" (Lucy), which is a female skeleton discovered in \u003Cspan class=\"marker\" enus=\"Hadar\" lon=\"40.6322\" lat=\"11.1661\" map=\"HB\" zoom=\"4\">Hadar\u003C/span> (Hadar) in \u003Cspan class=\"marker\" enus=\"Ethiopia\" lon=\"40.4989\" lat=\"9.14917\" map=\"HB\" zoom=\"3\">Ethiopia\u003C/span> in 1974. The whole is very complete and is affectionately called \"the grandmother of mankind\" by archaeologists.\n\n\u003Cdiv class=\"img-container-v1\">\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://image.big-history.online/s00016/000124_1714358667711.png\" alt=\"LUCY\" width=\"60%\"/>\n\u003Cspan>\nPhoto by \u003Ca href=\"https://milnepublishing.geneseo.edu/the-history-of-our-tribe-hominini/chapter/australopithecus-afarensis/\" target=\"_blank\">milnepublishing.geneseo\u003C/a>\n\u003C/span>\n\u003Cp class=\"description\">\"The Grandmother of Mankind\" Lucy, by Keenan Taylor. Under the artist's brush, this \"grandmother\" looks very kind.\u003C/p>\n\u003C/div>\n\nWe know that walking on two feet is an important feature that distinguishes humans from apes, and its degree of evolution marks major milestones in human history. So when Lucy was first discovered, the first thing the team had to do was assess whether she could walk on two feet. Using features such as her pelvis and lower limb bones, the scientists concluded that Lucy's bones were more human than chimpanzee-like, and there was no doubt that she could walk on two feet. Eventually, she was classified in the genus Australopithecus of the human lineage.\n\nAfter human ancestors broke up with the ancestors of chimpanzees about 6 million years ago, the strengthening of bipedal walking ability was not obtained in a short period of time, but a gradual and long process. The middle involves the phased evolution of the pelvis and upper and lower limb bones, which takes millions of years to complete. Compared with the earlier human ancestors, Australopithecus appeared nearly 3 million years later. Therefore, compared with the earlier Chadian Shah people, their walking posture is much more stable and elegant, but there is still a big gap between them and the later Homo erectus.\n\n\u003Cdiv class=\"img-container-v1\">\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://image.big-history.online/s00016/000124_1704333843594.jpeg\" alt=\"Lucy\" />\n\u003Cspan>\nSource: The Australian Museum\n\u003C/span>\n\u003Cp class=\"description\">is the famous skull of Lucy, discovered by Donald Johnson in 1974 in \u003Cspan class=\"marker\" enus=\"Hadar\" lon=\"40.6322\" lat=\"11.1661\" map=\"HB\" zoom=\"4\">Hadar\u003C/span>, \u003Cspan class=\"marker\" enus=\"Ethiopia\" lon=\"40.4989\" lat=\"9.14917\" map=\"HB\" zoom=\"3\">Ethiopia\u003C/span>. She belongs to the Afar Australopithecus and lived about 3.2 million years ago. As Johnson's team celebrated the exciting discovery, the Beatles hit song \"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds\" was playing next to it, so Johnson named the fossil bone \"Lucy\". Lucy's \u003Cspan class=\"marker\" enus=\"Ethiopia\" lon=\"40.4989\" lat=\"9.14917\" map=\"HB\" zoom=\"3\">Ethiopian\u003C/span> name is \"Dinknesh\", which means \"you are wonderful\".\u003C/p>\n\u003C/div>\n\nThe most famous individual of the species, Lucy was fully adult when she died 3.2 million years ago, despite being only about 112cm tall. She can walk on two legs and also spends a lot of time climbing trees in search of food or shelter. She is often mentioned because for a while, the Australopithecus Afa species to which she belonged was the only candidate for human ancestors, until more contemporaries were discovered. Lucy is still the best-preserved (2023) slender australopithecus, her discoverer Donald Johnson and colleagues also successfully found the fossils of 13 other individuals in the same area, and**they are called\" the first family \"**(First Family).\n\nThe \"first family\" has a large number of people, and the bones and fossils sorted out later came from at least 17 people, including 9 adults, 3 teenagers and 5 children. These members have large morphological differences, some have long hands, some have long legs, and some have large die teeth. Based on these scattered bones, paleoanthropologists have found that this subspecies has obvious * * male and female dimorphism * *, that is, the male is significantly larger than the female, and the proportion is close to the gorilla level. In addition, by inference from teeth, their recipes are also very miscellaneous.\n\nThere may be many sad stories behind the \"First Family. No one knows how these ancient humans lost their lives. It may be due to sudden geological disasters, such as mudslides or floods, or it may stem from a more unfortunate story, that is, they were eaten by beasts. The place is just a dining table for the beasts. In any case, the survival challenges of ancient humans are far worse than we think. A recent study shows that the famous Lucy may have fallen from a tree and died.\n\n\u003Cdiv class=\"img-container-v1\">\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://image.big-history.online/s00016/000124_1704333989808.jpg\" alt=\"LUCY\" />\n\u003Cspan>\nPhoto by: Smithsonian NMNH\n\u003C/span>\nOn the left side of the \u003Cp class=\"description\">is a recovered skeleton of Lucy's remains, with some standard features only found in humans, especially walking upright. The middle illustration shows the actual excavated fossil remains. The illustration on the far right shows a comparison between \"Lucy\" and the skeleton of a modern human female. She is only about 112cm tall. The male of Australopithecus afar is significantly taller and stronger (I. e. gender dimorphism); this is also the main basis for paleontologists to judge Lucy's gender. Judging from the wear and tear on her teeth, Lucy is a woman who has just come of age. No one knows how she died 3.2 million years ago, but the possibility of predation can be basically ruled out because her bones are very well preserved.\u003C/p>\n\u003C/div>\n\nAustralopithecus afar is one of the longest-lasting and most well-known early human species. Its type specimen, LH4, is an adult mandible originally found in \u003Cspan class=\"marker\" enus=\"Laetoli\" lon=\"35.3123\" lat=\"-2.9123\" map=\"HB\" zoom=\"4\">Letoli\u003C/span> (Laetoli), \u003Cspan class=\"marker\" enus=\"Tanzania\" lon=\"35\" lat=\"-8\" map=\"HB\" zoom=\"4\">Tanzania\u003C/span>. At present (2023) paleoanthropologists have found fossil remains from more than 300 different individuals. Fossils are only found in East Africa. In addition to the model origin of \u003Cspan class=\"marker\" enus=\"Laetoli\" lon=\"35.3123\" lat=\"-2.9123\" map=\"HB\" zoom=\"4\">Leitoli\u003C/span>, a large number of fossils have been found in \u003Cspan class=\"marker\" enus=\"Hadar\" lon=\"40.6322\" lat=\"11.1661\" map=\"HB\" zoom=\"4\">Hadar\u003C/span> in \u003Cspan class=\"marker\" enus=\"Ethiopia\" lon=\"40.4989\" lat=\"9.14917\" map=\"HB\" zoom=\"3\">Ethiopia\u003C/span>, including \"Lucy\" and the \"first family\" found at AL333 site \".\n\nThis species, like the younger Australopithecus africanus, is slender and has very thick hair. Compared with the extinct apes today, the canines and molars of Australopithecus afarensis are smaller. The height of Australopithecus afarensis is about 1.2~1.4 meters, and its brain is also smaller, only about 380-430 cubic centimeters, with prominent snout. Many scientists believe that Australopithecus Afar still had arboreal mobility because the species' finger and toe bones were more curved and long, exceeding the length of modern human fingers and toe bones. In addition, they also had stronger upper bodies than modern humans, with arms and legs of similar length, which also indicates that the species has the characteristics of climbing trees.**In general, the ape characteristics they retain are more pronounced, while the human characteristics are relatively less prominent**.\n\n\u003Cdiv class=\"img-container-v1\">\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://image.big-history.online/s00016/000124_1709607907787.jpg\" alt=\"Austrolopithecus Afarensis\" />\n\u003Cspan>\nImage source: Current Anthropology\n\u003C/span>\nThe rib structure of \u003Cp class=\"description\">Australopithecus species is closer to that of apes than to the barrel shape of modern humans. On the left is the skeleton of a modern chimpanzee, in the middle is H. erectus (a species of the genus human about 2 million years ago), and on the right is the skeleton of Lucy. The rib cage of the Lucy species indicates that the intestines of Australopithecus are larger, which is also a characteristic of the plant species, that is, a larger intestine is required to complete digestion. At the hominis stage, when more meat is added to the main diet of our ancient ancestors, our intestines will gradually become smaller, and correspondingly, our rib frame will evolve into a smaller barrel shape.\u003C/p>\n\u003C/div>\n\nThe tiny brain and primitive face of Australopithecus afa, coupled with the discovery of bipedal walking, changed the thinking of paleoanthropology at that time. Because it was originally thought that the earliest and most significant change in humans was the enlargement of the brain. Before the discovery of Australopithecus afa in the 1970 s, it was generally believed that the enlarged brain appeared earlier than the biped walking feature. Because the brains of the oldest known old people at that time were relatively large, the Rudolphs discovered a few years earlier than Lucy had a brain capacity of about 800 cubic centimeters.\n\n## Lucy's baby\n\nIn 2000, an archaeologist named Zelasenai Alemse found a very complete fossil of an afar Australopithecus named Salam (Selam) in northeastern \u003Cspan class=\"marker\" enus=\"Ethiopia\" lon=\"40.4989\" lat=\"9.14917\" map=\"HB\" zoom=\"3\">Ethiopia\u003C/span>. Since Salem was a three-year-old girl, she was affectionately known as \"Lucy's Baby,\" even though the fossil predates the famous Lucy by about 120000 years. In addition, compared with many later human fossils, this baby has more human characteristics, so it is affectionately called \"the oldest child in the world\".Salem's skeleton is very well preserved, with 60% of the body bones and a complete head, and even the hyoid bone, cranial cavity model, scapula, and nearly complete spine, so it has great reference research value. Through the study of her hyoid bone, scientists have confirmed that the voice of Afar is close to that of chimpanzees, so she certainly does not have complex language ability. Her spine is completely different from chimpanzees, but very similar to modern people, so this species must have good upright walking ability. At the same time, her arms can be turned 360 degrees on the top of her head, showing her outstanding climbing ability, it also suggests that this early human subspecies must have been land-tree amphibious. Through Salem, scholars no longer have any doubts about these characteristics of Afar Australopithecus.\n\n\u003Cdiv class=\"img-container-v1\">\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://image.big-history.online/s00016/000124_1714358823400.png\" alt=\"Lucy's Baby\" />\n\u003Cspan>\nImage source: \u003Ca href=\"https://terraeantiqvae.com/profiles/blogs/los-bebes-australopithecus-nacian-con-el-cerebro-inmaduro\" target=\"_blank\">terraeantiqvae\u003C/a>\n\u003C/span>\n\u003Cp class=\"description\">Lucy's Baby and Lucy. This metaphor comes from the emotions of modern people. In fact, the \"baby\" was born about 120000 years earlier than the \"mother.\u003C/p>\n\u003C/div>\n\nBecause Salem was very young, she unexpectedly provided the scientists with additional clues, and probably the most valuable.\n\nHuman children are not completely stereotyped after birth, whether physically or intellectually, so they need more time to learn. Other species other than humans do not have such a mechanism. Antelope or wildebeest can stand and run quickly as soon as they are born. Almost all their habits are innate, so there is no additional possibility. But human beings are different. Our body, especially the brain, needs a long development time. Therefore, in addition to the nature brought by genes, we have more skills to acquire through the day after tomorrow, which objectively causes our experience and culture to need intergenerational inheritance at the social level, thus making human beings have great plasticity and unlimited possibilities.\n\nSalem's model of brain development, on the other hand, clearly shows these characteristics of humans and is far from the brains of apes. Human individuals mature very late. For example, it takes about 18 years after birth for modern human bodies to fully mature, while chimpanzees only need 12 years. Modern human children need to grow to 6 years old before the brain can reach 90% development, while chimpanzees only need 3 years old. Although Salem is 3 years old, her brain development is obviously less than 90%. Therefore, from the most important indicator of brain development, the Afar Australopithecus represented by Salem is closer to modern humans. It is undoubtedly a member of the human family.\n\n## Mysterious two-and-a-half footprints in volcanic ash\n\nOne day 3.6 million years ago, in \u003Cspan class=\"marker\" enus=\"Laetoli\" lon=\"35.3123\" lat=\"-2.9123\" map=\"HB\" zoom=\"4\">Leitoli\u003C/span> (Laetoli), \u003Cspan class=\"marker\" enus=\"Tanzania\" lon=\"35\" lat=\"-8\" map=\"HB\" zoom=\"4\">Tanzania\u003C/span>, Africa, a volcano spewed a large amount of volcanic ash, and then a heavy rain turned the ground into mud. At least two adults and one young, perhaps to escape a sudden disaster, walked across the mud and left about 70 footprints. Later, the volcano erupted again, burying these solidified footprints.\n\n3.6 million years later, paleontologist Mary Leakey (Mary Leakey) accidentally discovered these footprints and excavated them all in 1978, cleaning them up and making models. This is the famous \u003Cspan class=\"marker\" enus=\"Laetoli\" lon=\"35.3123\" lat=\"-2.9123\" map=\"HB\" zoom=\"4\">Letoli\u003C/span> footprints. These footprints prove beyond doubt that the ancient people who left them 3.6 million years ago were able to walk on two feet. Through extensive research on footprints (more than 30 years after their discovery, there have been more than 50 related papers), it can be confirmed that the race that left footprints has a walking posture similar to that of modern people, but not exactly the same-their legs are shorter, their walking speed is not as fast as modern people, and they may not have the ability to run long distances. A 2016 study also showed that there have been some important changes in the evolution of human bipedal walking in the past 3.6 million years: there are several different ways of bipedal walking, and there is no unified standard. Different Australopithecus species may have evolved slightly different limb structures, resulting in slightly different walking postures.\n\n\u003Cdiv class=\"img-container-v1\">\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://image.big-history.online/s00016/1760319482641_image.png\" alt=\"Laetoli\" width=\"60%\" />\n\u003Cspan>\n\u003Ca href=\"https://milnepublishing.geneseo.edu/the-history-of-our-tribe-hominini/chapter/australopithecus-afarensis/\" target=\"_blank\">milnepublishing geneseo\u003C/a>: The Story of the Ancestors\nThe footprints left by \u003Cp class=\"description\">of these human ancestors are located in \u003Cspan class=\"marker\" enus=\"Laetoli\" lon=\"35.3123\" lat=\"-2.9123\" map=\"HB\" zoom=\"4\">Letoli\u003C/span>, \u003Cspan class=\"marker\" enus=\"Tanzania\" lon=\"35\" lat=\"-8\" map=\"HB\" zoom=\"4\">Tanzania\u003C/span>, about 3.6 million years ago, and were accidentally discovered by Mary Leakey in 1976. The footprints are located in the new volcanic ash, which extends forward for about 27 meters and later becomes fossilized. The owner of the footprints is probably the Australopithecus Afar species. The sudden volcano must have frightened them. Did they pull their hands? Did they escape the disaster?\u003C/p>\n\u003C/div>\n\nIn any case, the footprints left by Afar Australopithecus, like Armstrong's on the moon, represent a big step forward for mankind.\n\n\u003Cdiv class=\"img-container-v1\">\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://image.big-history.online/s00016/000124_1714442024450.png\" alt=\"footprint on the moon\" />\n\u003Cspan>\nImage source: \u003Ca href=\"https://blogography.com/archives/2012/08/bullet_sunday_2_102.html\" target=\"_blank\">blogography\u003C/a>\n\u003C/span>\n\u003Cp class=\"description\">3.6 million years later, the descendants of Afar's Australopithecus also left their footprints on the moon. Will these footprints take us further?\u003C/p>\n\u003C/div>\n\n\u003Cbr>\n\n\u003Cdiv class=\"img-container-v1\">\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://image.big-history.online/s00016/000124_1704334082447.png\" alt=\"阿法南方古猿\" />\n\u003Cspan>\nPhoto by: Smithsonian NMNH\n\u003C/span>\n\u003Cp class=\"description\">Imagination of Australopithecus of Afa\u003C/p>\n\u003C/div>\n\n### Extended reading\n\n\u003Ca href=\"/summary/earth-timeline\" target=\"_blank\">Earth Timeline\u003C/a>\n\n\u003Ca href=\"/summary/evolution-of-humans\" target=\"_blank\">human evolution\u003C/a>\n\n\u003Cbr>\n\n## References\n\n\n\n《给智人的极简人类进化史》 [法] 希尔瓦娜·孔戴米 / [法] 弗朗索瓦·萨瓦提埃；李鹏程[译]；海峡书局 2021-07\n\n《人类起源和迁徙之谜》李辉；上海科技教育出版社 2020\n\n《硬核原始人》何叶紫；浙江文艺出版社 2020-11\n\n\u003Cbr>\n\n[The origin of our species](https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/the-origin-of-our-species.html)\n\n\u003Ca href=\"https://www.archaeology.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Archaeology\u003C/a>\n\n\u003Ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahelanthropus\" target=\"_blank\">Sahelanthropus\u003C/a>\n\n\u003Ca href=\"https://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/species/sahelanthropus-tchadensis\" target=\"_blank\">What does it mean to be human?\u003C/a>\n\n\u003Cbr>\n\n---","Australopithecus Afa is a vital species in the history of early human evolution. It lived in Africa more than 300 million years ago. The most famous representative is the fossil skeleton called \"Lucy\". She is also jokingly called \"The grandmother of mankind\", behind her is the \"first family\" of mankind \".","Australopithecus Affa: \"Human Grandmother Lucy\" and the \"First Family\"","The Australopithecus Afa species lived in Africa more than 300 million years ago. The most famous representative is Lucy, who is jokingly called the \"human grandmother\". Behind her is the \"first family\" of mankind. Let's learn about this interesting story.","en",0.7,[24,32,39,47,53,60,67,74,81,88,96,104,112,119,126,134],{"id":25,"name":26,"keywords":4,"slug":27,"author":7,"ogImage":28,"isBlog":4,"createDate":29,"updateDate":30,"description":31},"47281d4cfe6e440e97e2ca10729e61f6","Homo erectus","homo-eractus","https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.40/1770175824343_000124_1709605257579.jpg","2023-11-23T15:48:07","2026-03-12T10:23:51","Homo erectus, which existed about 1.8 million to 200000 years ago, is a critical and successful species in the history of human evolution. Their body proportions are close to those of modern people. They can systematically use fire and make complex tools. They not only created the Acheri culture, but also made human beings walk out of Africa for the first time, which can be called a milestone in the evolution of the human genus.",{"id":33,"name":34,"keywords":4,"slug":35,"author":7,"ogImage":36,"isBlog":4,"createDate":37,"updateDate":30,"description":38},"78c2c5b3365e4a22a305d08771815f1c","Genus","homo","https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.40/1770175703118_1764295418266_Homo_ergaster_American_Museum_of_Natural_History.jpg","2024-01-04T09:47:05","\"Human\" is only a term in the traditional sense, and from a genealogical point of view, it is very imprecise. In a narrow sense, human beings refer to all the people who have existed in history so far. However, human beings in biological taxonomy refer to \"human genus\", or \"true genus\". There are 17 known species, and modern people are only one of them.",{"id":40,"name":41,"keywords":4,"slug":42,"author":7,"ogImage":43,"isBlog":4,"createDate":44,"updateDate":45,"description":46},"f57e163efcf24ea8b230b0c200911ef8","The oldest known human member—Orrorin tugenensis","orrorin-tugenensis","https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.40/1770170182584_1760324824811_the-origin-of-our-species2.jpg","2026-02-25T14:47:25","2026-06-05T11:35:17","Orrorin tugenensis, also known as the “Millennium Man,” lived in Africa 6 million years ago and is one of the earliest known hominins to have walked upright. This paper presents the fossil discoveries, morphological characteristics, and evolutionary significance of this taxon.",{"id":48,"name":4,"keywords":4,"slug":49,"author":7,"ogImage":50,"isBlog":4,"createDate":51,"updateDate":51,"description":52},"b03a4da682ff469189c55b7db325a9cc","australopithecus-garhi","https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.40/1770175774943_000124_1704333478298.jpg","2026-02-25T16:47:20","The amazing species of Australopithecus lived in Ethiopia about 3.3 million years ago. It was in the same period or even partially overlapped with the famous Afar species of Australopithecus (such as \"Lucy\"), which proved the diversity of human evolution and completely changed the previous The simple view of \"straight line evolution\" of human origin",{"id":54,"name":55,"keywords":4,"slug":56,"author":7,"ogImage":57,"isBlog":4,"createDate":58,"updateDate":30,"description":59},"23d76e12c94e41c1859cb32f2488d014","The Evolution of Modern Man","divergence-neanderthals-denisovans-homo-sapiens","https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.40/1770276305930_720_000124_1704330139624.jpg","2023-11-23T15:49:40","770000 to 550000 years ago, the ancestors of modern humans diverged from those of Neanderthals and Denisovans, but there was no complete \"reproductive isolation\" between the three subspecies \". In fact, from a genetic point of view, they are just a \"weaker\" ancestor of modern people tens of thousands of years ago. Every modern person has more or less their genes in his body.",{"id":61,"name":62,"keywords":4,"slug":63,"author":7,"ogImage":64,"isBlog":4,"createDate":65,"updateDate":65,"description":66},"ac264b8d3e66438da6607447071ee4c2","Peking Man","homo-erectus-pekinensis","https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.40/1779777251042_peking-man5.jpg","2026-05-26T15:40:49","Homo erectus (Homo erectus pekinensis) is one of the most important ancient human fossils in China. This article provides a systematic overview of the history of the discovery of Peking Man, its lithic tools, lifestyle, and the issue of fire use, as well as its position in debates surrounding human evolution and the origins of modern East Asians.",{"id":68,"name":69,"keywords":4,"slug":70,"author":7,"ogImage":71,"isBlog":4,"createDate":72,"updateDate":72,"description":73},"3e4128c6ce5045ea9a7832a51bc328a2","Mousterian culture","mousterian-culture","https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.40/1779776644371_mousterian52.jpg","2026-05-26T16:50:41","The Moster culture (Mousterian) was one of the most important stone industries of the Middle Paleolithic, closely related to Neanderthals. This article provides a systematic overview of the origins of the Mousterian culture, Levallois technology, tool assemblage characteristics, major archaeological sites, and its pivotal role in the history of human evolution.",{"id":75,"name":76,"keywords":4,"slug":77,"author":7,"ogImage":78,"isBlog":4,"createDate":79,"updateDate":79,"description":80},"26b859c8750d4187a9b2bc105417dc69","Acheulean culture","acheulean-culture","https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.40/1779440045036_acheulean52.jpg","2026-05-22T21:28:44","The Acheulean culture represents a major leap in prehistoric human technological development. This article offers a comprehensive exploration of the Mode 2 lithic industry, spanning from 1.7 million to 200,000 years ago, guiding you through the “prehistoric Swiss Army knife”—the hand axe—characterized by bifacial flaking and symmetrical aesthetics, as well as the survival strategies that enabled Homo erectus to colonize regions beyond Africa and Eurasia.",{"id":82,"name":83,"keywords":4,"slug":84,"author":7,"ogImage":85,"isBlog":4,"createDate":86,"updateDate":30,"description":87},"dc3c57ca41ee45f8858842605c3045e6","The Hobbit Extinction","extinction-of-hobbits","https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.40/1770276601930_720_1761974884022_Homo_floresiensis_cave.jpg","2023-11-23T16:27:59","Who were the Flores (Hobbits)? Why were they short? When did they become extinct? This article describes the fossils, evolution and extinction of this mysterious dwarf human.\n",{"id":89,"name":90,"keywords":4,"slug":91,"author":7,"ogImage":92,"isBlog":4,"createDate":93,"updateDate":94,"description":95},"c8b43140a14a4375842288822a8e9d23","Aldi ape","ardipithecus-ramidus","https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.40/1770177236835_000124_1704334273316.jpg","2026-02-25T15:38:47","2026-02-26T19:35:14","The Aldi ape is a common name for the species of the ancient human fossil \"Aldi. It is one of the earliest known members of the hominid family and occupies a vital position in the history of human evolution.",{"id":97,"name":98,"keywords":4,"slug":99,"author":7,"ogImage":100,"isBlog":4,"createDate":101,"updateDate":102,"description":103},"44683e95121b4f4c8bb80251e97882d6","The first human out of Africa","first-time-humans-left-africa","https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.40/1770176027541_beijingren2.jpg","2026-02-25T17:38:15","2026-02-26T19:08:56","The ancient fossils unearthed from various places can prove that the expansion of the genus of Man began as early as 2 million years ago. At the latest, 1.8 million years ago, the first time that the man's subordinate, the erectus, came out of Africa. It can be said that this is one of the largest geological and historical events in the history of the earth.",{"id":105,"name":106,"keywords":4,"slug":107,"author":7,"ogImage":108,"isBlog":4,"createDate":109,"updateDate":110,"description":111},"2213d15d70ed4f76aea04bbf54e16b74","Cardabadi Ape","ardipithecus-ramidus-kadabba","https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.40/1770172192815_000124_1704334390413.jpg","2026-02-25T15:29:17","2026-02-26T19:07:30","The meaning of kadaba is \"the oldest ancestor\", so they are also called \"the ancestor of the ape\", of course, refers to the ancestor of human beings. The ancestral apes can walk upright. Their most famous feature is their teeth. It is speculated that their diet is richer and they have stronger environmental adaptability. This is also one of the starting points for the separation of human ancestors and chimpanzee ancestors.",{"id":113,"name":114,"keywords":4,"slug":115,"author":7,"ogImage":116,"isBlog":4,"createDate":117,"updateDate":117,"description":118},"f7684aff24744766b9849f56b04617f2","Longshan Culture","longshan-culture","https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.40/1780474978266_longshan-culture8.jpg","2026-06-05T15:10:49","The Longshan Culture is one of the most important archaeological cultures of the Late Neolithic period in China, dating from approximately 4,500 to 4,000 years ago. This article systematically examines the origins and geographical distribution of the Longshan Culture, its black‑ware pottery techniques, social stratification, the emergence of proto‑writing, prehistoric urban sites, and its relationship with the Erlitou Culture of the Xia Dynasty, thereby illuminating a crucial phase in the formation of Chinese civilization.",{"id":120,"name":121,"keywords":4,"slug":122,"author":7,"ogImage":123,"isBlog":4,"createDate":124,"updateDate":124,"description":125},"a5e600c3d725475595abfd581b704176","Hongshan Culture","hongshan-culture","https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.40/1780389885606_hongshan-culture62.jpg","2026-06-02T20:46:01","Hongshan Culture is one of the most important late Neolithic archaeological cultures in northern China, renowned for the Niuheliang site, the Goddess Temple, the cairn tombs, and its exquisite jade artifacts. This article provides a systematic overview of the Hongshan Culture, covering its chronological framework, geographical distribution, agricultural practices, jade-crafting traditions, and its pivotal significance for research on the origins of Chinese civilization.",{"id":127,"name":128,"keywords":4,"slug":129,"author":7,"ogImage":130,"isBlog":4,"createDate":131,"updateDate":132,"description":133},"d90a829e9d7e4138af470f7451aa5107","Tutankhamun","tutankhamen","https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.40/1770278680370_720_000176_1762998682805_000176_1710122449266.jpg","2026-03-04T12:42:48","2026-03-04T16:54:16","Tutankhamun is the most famous pharaoh in ancient Egypt. It is not because of his achievements, but because of his unstolen KV62 tomb and gold mask that shocked the world and solved many mysteries of the 18th dynasty of ancient Egypt.",{"id":135,"name":136,"keywords":4,"slug":137,"author":7,"ogImage":138,"isBlog":4,"createDate":139,"updateDate":140,"description":141},"8f6adef1f3eb4d62ad48ffd2897d9ba0","Y chromosome Adam","y-chromosomal-adam","https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.40/1770276518548_720_1763566058169_y-chromosomal-adam.jpg","2026-02-27T00:04:54","2026-03-04T22:24:49","What is Y chromosome Adam? This article explains the paternal inheritance of Y chromosome, molecular clock age, African origin of 120000 year, and the difference between it and mitochondrial Eve.",1780647324332]