Difference Between Early Man and Modern Man

Main Difference – Early Man vs Modern Man

Early man and modern man are two separate stages of the human evolution. Many scientific disciplines including biological anthropology, ethology, embryology, genetics, primatology, archaeology, evolutionary psychology, and linguistics can be used to characterize each evolutionary stage of human life. The major factor governing the difference between early man and modern man is environmental differences which changed the lifestyle of the humans. No notable changes are observed in the lifespan of humans during evolution. The main difference between early man and modern man is that early man refers to the early hominids, who are the precursors of the present form of the human race while modern man is a subspecies of Homo sapiens.

1. Who is an Early Man
      – Definition, Types, Features
2. Who is a Modern Man
      – Definition, Features
3. What are the Similarities Between Early Man and Modern Man
      – Outline of Common Features
4. What is the Difference Between Early Man and Modern Man
      – Comparison of Key Differences

Key Terms: Apelike Ancestors, Archaeological Remains, Behavioral Modernity, Early Man, Fossils, Hominids, Homo Sapiens, Human Evolution, Human Species, Modern Man, Neanderthal

Who is Early Man

The evolution of humans is a lengthy process by which modern man has originated from apelike ancestors. Apelike ancestors are non-human primates such as chimpanzees, gorilla, and orangutan. They originated over six million years ago. Fossil evidence shows that the first human originated in Africa between six to two million years ago. The human trait of walking on two legs originated over four million years ago. Fifteen to twenty different early human species are identified all over the world. The early man migrated from Africa to Asia between two and 1.8 million years ago. Their entrance to Europe was between 1.5 and one billion years ago. Early human fossils and archeological remains such as bones, footprints, and tools provide clues about the ancient time. The evolution of early man occurred due to the natural changes that arose during their adaptation to the environment in order to survive. The human evolution scheme is shown in figure 1.

Figure 1: Human Evolution Scheme

Early man is a wanderer, who moved or walked from one place to another aimlessly and leisurely. He was either a hunter or gatherer, who obtained food from foraging rather than farming. The early man covered his body either by tree leaves or animal skin. He hunted animals for food and lived in caves. He discovered tools like sharp stones, spears, and sharpened bones in order to kill large animals for food. Then, the fire was discovered by sparks coming out from rubbing stones. Ultimately, the early man began agriculture, and their first civilization began about 12,000 years ago.

Figure 2: Early Man

Early Human Species by Age

• Sahelanthropus tchadensis
• Orrorin tugenensis
• Ardipithecus kadabba
• Ardipithecus ramidus
• Australopithecus anamensis
• Kenyanthropus platyops
• Australopithecus afarensis
• Australopithecus garhi
• Paranthropus aethiopicus
• Australopithecus africanus
• Homo rudolfensis
• Australopithecus sediba
• Homo habilis
• Paranthropus robustus
• Pranathropus boisei
• Homo heidelbergensis
• Homo erectus
• Homo floresiensis
• Homo neanderthalensis

The first bipedal originated from Ardipithecus. Australopithecus used earliest stone tools. Homo habilis was the earliest who migrated from Africa. The earliest fire user was Homo erectus and he was the earliest cook as well. The earliest clothes user was Homo neanderthalensis. The modern human is known as Homo sapiens.

Who is Modern Man

Modern human belongs to the human species, Homo sapiens. The behavioral modernity discriminates modern man from early man. The behavioral modernity of the modern man can be characterized by abstract thinking, planning depth, cultural diversity as well as symbolic expressions such as art and music. Homo sapiens originated 200,000 to 100,000 years ago in Africa and Southern Asia. The archaic ancestors of modern man are Neanderthal and Denisovan. The modern man still carries the archaic DNA of those ancestors. Neanderthal’s genes in the modern human are associated with disease conditions like type 2 diabetes, Crohn’s disease, and lupus. The modern man is a food producer and spends a settled lifestyle. He is aware of domestication. A modern man and a woman are shown in figure 3.

Figure 3: Modern man and woman

Similarities Between Early Man and Modern Man

• Both early man and modern man comprise physical and genetic similarities between them.

• Both early man and Homo sapiens originated in Africa.

Difference Between Early Man and Modern Man

Definition

Early Man: Early man refers to the early hominids, who are the precursors of the present form of human race.

Modern Man: Modern man is the subspecies of Homo sapiens, which include all living humans.

Origination

Early Man: The early man originated six million years ago.

Modern Man: The modern originated 200,000 to 100,000 years ago.

Ancestors

Early Man: The early man originated from apelike ancestors.

Modern Man: The modern man originated from Neanderthal and Denisovan.

Characteristics

Early Man: The early man was bipedal, capable of communicating with each other and could make and use tools.

Modern Man: Modern man has a large and complex brain, is capable of symbolic expressions (ex: art and music) and culturally diverse 

Residence

Early Man: Early man was a wanderer.

Modern Man: Modern man spends a settled life in a particular residence.

Feeding

Early Man: Early man was a hunter – gatherer.

Modern Man: Modern man is a food producer.

Sensation

Early Man: The early man’s sensation was limited to his immediate surroundings.

Modern Man: Technology has widened the sensation of the modern man.

Conclusion

Early man and modern man are two distinct ends identified in the process of human evolution. Early man originated in Africa six million years ago. Fifteen to twenty different early man species were identified all over the world. Evidence about the early man is gathered from fossils and archaeological remains. The difference between early man and modern man stems from various physical and behavioral characteristics Homo sapiens is considered as the modern man.

Reference:

1. “What does it mean to be human?” Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. N.p., 01 Mar. 2010. Web. Available here. 24 June 2017. 
2. “Early Transitional Humans.” Early Human Evolution: Early Transitional Humans. N.p., n.d. Web. Available here. 24 June 2017. 
3. “Evolution of modern humans.” The Public Engagement team at the Wellcome Genome Campus, 13 June 2016. Web. Available here. 24 June 2017. 
4. “Early Modern Homo sapiens.” Evolution of Modern Humans: Early Modern Homo sapiens. N.p., n.d. Web. Available here. 24 June 2017. 

Image Courtesy:

1. “Human evolution scheme” By M. Garde – Self work (Original by: José-Manuel Benitos) (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Early humans diorama” by Vince Smith (CC BY 2.0) via Flickr
3. “1267498” (Public Domain) via Pixabay