Paleoanthropology is the multidisciplinary branch of science that contribute to understanding the evolution and history of human beings, Homo sapiens, their extinct relatives and closest living relatives, the other primates. It’s approach helps helps to reconstruct our evolutionary history from recovery and analysis of any relevant fossil evidence. It is a sub-discipline of anthropology, specifically physical anthropology.
Fossils supply the only direct evidence of our ancestors appearance and activities. It is fossils that have told us that human evolution has not been constant. Bursts of change have followed periods of relative stability. And The fact that human evolution has not been constant, bursts of change have followed periods of relative stability, has been found out through the study of fossils. Also fossils only have indicated the general sequence of our bodily evolution.
As paleoanthropologists interpret the fossil record, try to identify the forces that have effected the evolution of humans. In doing so, they look for both biological (interaction with physical environment) and cultural factors (interaction with social environment), both of which have influenced the changes in human body.
To adequately understand human bio-cultural evolution, Paleoanthropologists need a broad base of information. Evidence of hominid activity between 8 and 2.5 million years ago usually only consists of bone remains available for study. Because of this very incomplete picture of the time period from the fossil record, various aspects of physical anthropology (osteometry, functional anatomy, evolutionary framework) are essential to explain evolution during these first millions of years. Evolution during this time is considered as the result of natural forces only.
Paleoanthropologists need to be well-versed in other scientific disciplines and methods, including ecology, geology, biology, anatomy, genetics, and primatology. Through several million years of evolution, humans eventually became a unique species. This process is similar to the evolution of other animals that are adapted to specific environments or "ecological niches". Animals adapted to niches usually play a specialized part in their ecosystem and rely on a specialized diet. Humans are different in many ways from other animals. Since 2.5 million years ago, several breakthroughs have occurred in human evolution, including dietary habits, technological aptitude, and economic revolutions. Humans also showed signs of early migration to new ecological niches and developed new subsistence activities based on new stone tool technologies and the use of fire. Because of this, the concept of an ecological niche does not always apply to humans any more.
Paleoanthropology is useful in many ways.
People are interested to learn about past lives, cultures, and habits; which is evident from the fact that thousands of people visit museums throughout the World. Exhibiting fossil is an application of Paleoanthropology too.
Paleoanthropology has some economic applications also. It can be used to locate gold and other ore deposits because the knowledge of fossils help in finding sequence of rocks in Earth’s crust. Limestone and fine grained sandstone with well preserved fossils find use in beautiful interior wall surfaces. Uranium also has been discovered in fossil wood and bones of dinosaurs and other mammals.
Paleoanthropologists use their knowledge to find out about the climatic conditions in the geological past. They can reconstruct the paleoecology, paleoenvironment and community structure.
Having its roots in anthropology and archaeology, paleoanthropology attempts to reconstruct modern humans on evolutionary lines, by working on biological indicators, such as petrified skeletal remains, bone fragments, footprints and cultural information as stone tools, artifacts, settlement localities, etc. With such a broad scope, paleoanthropology serves as a valuable tool in illustrating our past.
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