The Who’s and What’s of the Australopithecine Family

What was the significance/what was the Australopithecine family?

“Humans first evolved in East Africa about 2.5 million years ago from an earlier genus of apes called Australopithecines, which means ‘Southern Ape’”(Sapiens). The family of Australopithecine is in the family of Hominina, a subtribe of the family Hominini. Hominini is an extinct species of man. Australopithecines are important because they were part of the evolutionary line from which future hominids came. Other hominids, such as the genuses homo and hominini emerged from Australopithecines.

One famous hominid from this family was named Lucy. She belonged to the species of Australopithecus afarensis. Lucy is widely famous to many because she was found to have been a bipedal creature, which means she could walk erect. Lucy lived way before the Stone Tool Era, which supports why humans walk upright. They are related to the Paranthropus genus which is directly descended from the group of hominids Australopithecines.

Another significance of the Australopithecus family was that fossils had been found in Africa, which means humankind originated from Africa. Africa played a big part in evolution. The environment formed humans and all other early hominids before us, consisting of all humans in the genus of homo as well as the members of hominini.