Question

Who is the direct ancestor of Homo sapiens?
A. Homo erectus
B. H.neanderthalensis
C. Ramapithecus
D. Australopithecus

Answer 1

Hint: Homo sapiens appear between 75,000 - 10,000 year ago (Holocene epoch). Homo sapiens has different characteristics such as they have slightly reduced cranial capacity, i.e., 1300 - 1600 cc, their backbone has four curves, pre-historic cave art culture.

Step by step answer:Homo erectus is also known as the erect man. He appeared about 1.5 million years ago, in the middle Pleistocene, hence, he is also known as the middle Pleistocene man. He used to have eaten meat. It is said that Homo erectus evolved from the Homo habilis.
Homo erectus had an erect posture. His skull was flat as compared to that of the modern man. He had protruding jaws, projecting brow ridges, small canines, and large molar teeth. Their cranial capacity was 900 cc. The cranium was dome-shaped to accommodate the large brain.

-Homo erectus had three fossils. These are as follows –
Java Ape-man – It was discovered by Eugene Dubois from the Pleistocene rocks in central Java. He was the first prehistoric man to make use of fire for hunting, cooking, and defense.
Peking man – It was discovered by W.C. Pei from the limestone caves in Peking, Beijing. Peking man resembles very closely to the Java man.
Heidelberg man – It was discovered in Heidelberg, Germany. The cranial capacity of the Heidelberg man was between H. erectus and H. sapiens neanderthalensis. We are said to have most likely evolved from Homo heidelbergensis, which is the common ancestor we share with Neanderthals, who are believed to be our closest extinct relatives.
-The fossils of the neanderthal man were first obtained from the Neander valley in Germany. The Neanderthals had a prognathous face. Even despite their closeness with Homo sapiens, it is believed that Homo sapiens neanderthalensis did not evolve into Homo sapiens.
-In the late Miocene epoch, Dryopithecus gave rise to the Ramapithecus, which is said to be one of the direct lines of human evolution. They were found from the Miocene to the Pliocene. Their fossils were discovered by Edward Lewis from Pliocene rocks of the Shivalik hills of India.

Australopithecus is said to be the connecting link between the apes and man. They were discovered by Raymond Dart from Pliocene rocks near Tuang in Africa. They gave rise to the Homo habilis.

Based on the above information we can see that the direct ancestors of the Homo sapiens were Homo erectus.
Hence option A is correct.

Note: Researchers believe that the H. sapiens evolved in Africa, and the human races evolved after that, and not independently from separate species ofH. erectus. However, some paleontologists also believe that the different races evolved from the H. erectus independently, and then adapted to the different places. But the scientists studying mitochondrial DNA have concluded that human races originated from one species of H. sapiens ancestor in Africa only.