Man has a very ancient evolutionary lineage. At the very beginning of the animal world stand the first living beings, who are thus the starting point of development for man.

Based on the structure and location of its organs, humans belong to the class of mammals. The most significant features inherent in both humans and mammals are the mammary, sebaceous and sweat glands, body hair, specialized teeth (incisors, canines, premolars and molars), a four-chambered heart and the left aortic arch, pulmonary breathing, the presence of a diaphragm, highly developed brain, intrauterine development of the embryo, feeding the baby with milk.

Both humans and animals have common links in tissue metabolism, growth and individual development are carried out in a similar way, the principle of storage and implementation of the genetic code is common to the entire organic world, etc. The maximum similarity of humans is found with representatives of the family of great apes, or anthropoids: gorilla, chimpanzee, orangutan, gibbon. The commonality of the internal structure of humans and anthropoids is complemented by external similarities: they have a single structural plan of the upper and lower limbs, absence of a tail, very similar ears, presence of fingernails, etc.

Domestic biochemist A. N. Belozersky analyzed the results of molecular DNA hybridization to identify the degree of commonality of genetic information in the chromosomes of humans and some monkeys. It turned out that the number of similar nucleotide sequences in DNA in humans and chimpanzees was 91%, in humans and gibbons - 76, in humans and rhesus macaques - 66%, i.e. The closer animals are to humans in a systematic sense, the greater the similarity between them in the molecular structure of DNA.

At one time, Charles Darwin provided convincing evidence of the phylogenetic community of emotions and ways of expressing them, devoting a separate essay to them, closely related to The Descent of Man. In his essay “The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals,” published in 1872, Darwin successfully showed that in terms of the features of elementary mental activity and methods of expressing sensations, man is undoubtedly genetically related to monkeys. Another important conclusion is that there are no psychic differences among the human races.

However, man is distinguished from the animal world fundamental biological differences, such as an upright position of the body and movement on two legs, a high degree of development of the hands and the ability to perform a variety of delicate and high-precision operations, a large volume of the brain, which is 2.5 times larger than the brain of anthropoids and 3.5 times its surface area, and finally speech, which is characteristic only of man.

It is no coincidence that Charles Darwin at one time concluded that none of the modern apes is the direct ancestor of humans. The human ancestry consists of a long chain of his predecessors; it goes back into the depths of time for tens of millions of years, and the last link before the first people was the fossil ape. A fossil predecessor of man, unknown during Darwin's lifetime, was subsequently discovered, confirming the scientist's scientific foresight.

In this lesson you will learn about the relationship between humans and other animal species. Find out the systematic position of the species Homo sapiens in the modern classification of living beings, get acquainted with the features that unite us with other mammals. The structural features of our body will also be considered, which distinguish humans from other animals and make our biological species unique and inimitable among other unique species.

Man, as a living being, is part of the animal world. Our species belongs to the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrates, class Mammals, subclass Placental mammals, order Primates, family Hominids, genus Homo sapiens (Diagram 1).

Scheme 1. The place of man in the system of living organisms

The fact that our species belongs to the kingdom Animalia is convincingly proven by our morphology, cytology and physiology.

Belonging to the phylum Chordata is visible at the stage of intrauterine development. The human embryo has a notochord, a neural tube located above the notochord, and a heart located on the ventral side under the digestive tract.

Human belonging to the Vertebrate subtype is determined by the replacement of the notochord with a spine, a developed skull and jaw apparatus, as well as two pairs of limbs (Fig. 1) and a brain consisting of five sections.

Rice. 1. The skeletons of humans and frogs have similar features characteristic of all vertebrates

The presence of hair on the surface of the body, five sections of the spine, a four-chambered heart, a highly developed brain, sweat, sebaceous, and mammary glands, as well as warm-bloodedness, allows us to classify a person as a Mammal.

The development of the fetus inside the mother’s body in the uterus and its nutrition through the placenta belongs to the subclass of Placental mammals.

The presence of forelimbs of the grasping type, in which the first finger is placed opposite to the other fingers, nails, well-developed clavicles, as well as the change of milk teeth in the process of ontogenesis and bearing, mainly, one baby allows us to classify a person as a member of the order Primates. At the order level, the similarity between humans and other animals ends.

The characteristics that allow us to separate the Human family from other primates are unique to humans. In the family Humans there is only one genus, Homo, in which there is only one modern species, Homo sapiens.

Let's look at the characteristics that distinguish humans from other animals.

First of all, this is the highest nervous activity. A person has a developed second signaling system (see the 8th grade lesson Higher Nervous Activity), which is responsible for the perception of speech, and logical thinking, memory, and abstract thinking are also well developed. These abilities arise due to the developed cerebral cortex. Humans have the largest ratio of brain mass to body mass of all animals.

The second difference is the skeletal features responsible for true upright posture. Our spine has 4 curves that optimally transfer the weight of our vertical body to our legs (Fig. 2).

Rice. 2. The human spine is adapted to true upright posture

And the legs have arched feet that can withstand the load when running and jumping (see video).

A flexible hand, in principle, is characteristic of many primates, but only in humans has it achieved such flexibility that it allows you to easily manipulate both small and heavy objects.

Moreover, the movements can be both powerful and very subtle, allowing, for example, embroidery or writing (see video).

Upright posture, developed hands and a powerful brain allowed man to produce tools - from a pointed stick to a space satellite (Fig. 3).

Rice. 3. Artifacts of ancient (spears - on the left) and modern (space satellite - on the right) people

Some birds and other primates are able to use found tools, such as stones and sticks. But none of them is able to make a special weapon for themselves.

The second signaling system made it possible to create a very highly organized society. No pack of animals is capable of such subtle and effective interaction as human society (see video).

Thus, from a biological systematics point of view, man is an animal from the order Primates. It has all the tissues and organ systems characteristic of other primates.

The human genotype differs from the genotype of the closest apes, such as bonobo pygmy chimpanzees, by one percent. At the same time, man, unlike animals, has developed abstract thinking and is capable of producing and using tools. He exists in a society in which there is a division of labor and which is governed by speech.

Bibliography

1. A.A. Kamensky, E.A. Kriksunov, V.V. Beekeeper. General biology, grades 10-11. - M.: Bustard, 2005. Download the textbook from the link: ( )
2. D.K. Belyaev. Biology 10-11 grade. General biology. A basic level of. - 11th edition, stereotypical. - M.: Education, 2012. - 304 p. (

Aristotle was the first to include man in the animal kingdom, placing him on the highest rung in the “Ladder of Creatures.” The outstanding Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus expressed the idea of ​​the origin of man from ape-like ancestors. In his famous work, The System of Nature (1735), he placed humans in the same order as primates on the basis of morphological similarities. The same idea was later expressed by J-B. Lamarck (1809, “Philosophy of Zoology”) and the famous Russian evolutionist K.F. Roulier. Charles Darwin in his work “The Origin of Man and Sexual Selection” (1871), summarizing a huge amount of material from the field of systematics, comparative anatomy, embryology, physiology, paleontology, provided strong evidence about the common origin of humans and great apes. C. Darwin wrote: “If we do not deliberately close our eyes, then with the modern level of knowledge we will be able to approximately recognize our ancestors, and we have no need to be ashamed of them.”

The emergence of man as a biological species is the result of a long evolutionary process of development of the animal world. Man combines the fundamental features of structure and life activity that characterize animals. The anatomical and physiological characteristics of modern man distinguish him as a special biological species - Homo sapiens ( Homo sapiens) (Table 4).

Table 4

The position of man in the system of the organic world

The commonality of humans and vertebrates is confirmed by the commonality of their structure: skeleton, nervous system, circulatory, respiratory, digestive systems. The relationship between humans and animals is especially convincing when comparing their embryonic development (Figure 22).

Figure 22. Developmental stages of human and vertebrate embryos.

I – fish, II – newt, III – turtle, IV – bird, V – pig, VI – cow, VII – rabbit, VIII – man.

At the early stages of embryonic development, the human embryo is difficult to distinguish from the embryos of other vertebrates. In the embryonic period of development, the human embryo develops a two-chambered heart, six pairs of gill arches, and a caudal artery—signs of fish-like appendages. From amphibians, humans inherited the swimming membranes between the fingers, which are present in the embryo. Weak thermoregulation in newborns and children under 5 years of age indicates origin from animals with unstable body temperature. The fetal brain is smooth, without convolutions, like those of lower mammals of the Mesozoic era. A six-week-old embryo has several pairs of mammary glands. The caudal spine is also formed, which then turns into the coccyx. Thus, the main structural features and embryonic development confirm the animal origin of man. Specific (species) human characteristics arise only at the very latest stages of embryonic development.

Species features of humans that distinguish them from other animals (in particular other mammals):

Upright walking;

The legs are longer than the arms, the foot is arched, the toes are short, the first toe is often the longest and does not deviate;

Strongly developed muscles of the lower extremities;

Very mobile skeleton of the arm, especially the hand; a hand with a large finger that is independent in its movement;

A very mobile shoulder joint, allowing rotational movements with a range of almost 180 0;

Spine with four curves;

The location of the pelvis is at an angle of 60 0 to the horizontal plane;

The neck articulation is located in the middle part of the base of the skull;

The face is short, almost vertical under the frontal part of the skull;

The jaws are small, with a rounded jaw arch;

The canines are usually no longer than the premolars, and there are no gaps in front or behind them;

Large volume of the brain skull compared to the facial part of the skull;

Most of the body is hairless;

Limited fertility.

The listed features of the structure and physiology of man are the result of the evolution of his animal ancestors. Important evidence of the relationship between man and animals are rudiments and atavisms. There are about 90 rudiments in the human body: the coccygeal bone (the remnant of a reduced tail); fold in the corner of the eye (remnant of the nictitating membrane); Thin hair on the body (residue of fur); process of the cecum - appendix, etc. All these rudiments are useless for humans and are the heritage of animal ancestors (Figure 23).

Figure 23. Human rudiments: A – third eyelid: 1 – human; 2 – birds; B – auricle: 1 – six-month embryo; 2 – adult; 3 – monkeys; B – cecum with vermiform appendix: 1 – human; 2 – ungulate.

Figure 24. Human atavisms: “lion boy”, tailed boy.

Figure 25. Humans and apes: a – skeletons: 1 – human, 2 – gorilla, 3 – orangutan, 4 – gibbon; b – brain: 1 – human, 2 – chimpanzee, 3 – orangutan.

Biology lesson. 9th grade.

Subject : “The place of man in the system of the organic world. Man as a species, his similarities with animals and differences from them.”

Goals and objectives of the lesson:

1. To familiarize students with the main groups of evidence of the origin of humans from animals that modern biological science has.

2. Develop the ability to compare humans with other mammals and draw conclusions based on this comparison.

3. Convince students that the origin of man could be connected with the evolution of ancient apes.

Equipment :

1. Interactive tutorial " Evolutionary doctrine».

2. Models of human predecessors.

3. Handouts.

Lesson plan:

1. Origin of man, history of the issue.

2. Systematic position of man.

3. Evidence of the origin of man from animals.

4. Human evolution.

5. Consolidation of knowledge on the topic.

During the classes .

What is the origin of man, how did he appear on Earth? There are many opinions on this matter. (Students express versions of the origin of man known to them). Accumulation of scientific data, especially in last years, when the genomes of humans and many other organisms were deciphered, it made it possible to construct and substantiate the theory of the origin of humans from animals. Today we will look at the evidence for the origin of humans from animals that underlies this theory.

In his system of the animal world, C. Linnaeus placed man in the group of primates, along with prosimians and monkeys. J.B. Lamarck was the first to write that man descended from ape-like ancestors who moved from climbing trees to walking on the ground. New way movement led to straightening of the body, release of the arms and changes in the foot. The herd lifestyle contributed to the development of speech.

In the Books “The Origin of Man and Sexual Selection”, “On the Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals” Charles Darwin comes to the conclusion that man is an integral part of living nature and that his emergence is not an exception to the general patterns of development of the organic world. Having extended the basic principles to a person evolutionary theory, Charles Darwin introduced the problem of human origins into the mainstream of natural science research. First of all, he proved the origin of man “from a lower animal form.” In the book “The Descent of Man (1871), Charles Darwin convincingly proved that man represents the last, highly organized link in the chain of development of living beings and has common distant ancestors with apes. Thus, man was included in the general chain of evolutionary changes in living nature that took place on Earth for hundreds of millions of years. However, Charles Darwin did not stop there. Based on comparative anatomical and embryological data indicating the enormous similarity between humans and apes, he substantiated the idea of ​​their kinship, and, consequently, the commonality of their origin from an ancient original ancestor. This is how the “monkey” theory of anthropogenesis was born.

According to this theory, humans and modern apes descended from a common ancestor who lived in the Neogene era and, according to Charles Darwin, are a fossil ape-like creature. The German scientist E. Haeckel called the missing transitional form Pithecanthropus. In 1891, the Dutch anthropologist E. Dubois discovered parts of the skeleton of a humanoid creature on the island of Java, which he called Pithecanthropus erectus. Over the past century, outstanding discoveries have been made, resulting in the discovery of numerous bone remains of fossil creatures intermediate between the ape ancestor and modern man. Thus, the validity of Charles Darwin’s simial theory of anthropogenesis was confirmed by direct evidence.

The main groups of evidence of the origin of man from animals:

1. Paleontological.

2. Embryological.

Having left the animal kingdom, Homo sapiens remains one of its members, although he is in a special position (entry in notebooks):

This is our position in the system of the organic world.

Man is a representative of the class of mammals; he is a vertebrate and is therefore related to fish, amphibians, reptiles and birds.

Working with handouts.

Work with interactive textbook “Evolutionary Teaching”.

The similarity of many anatomical and physiological features testifies to the relationship between apes and humans. This was first established by Charles Darwin’s comrade, T. Huxley. After conducting comparative anatomical studies, he proved that the anatomical differences between humans and higher apes are less significant than between higher and lower apes.

Let us recall the concepts of “rudiments” and “atavisms” (recording in notebooks).

Rudiments - these are organs that once actively functioned in our ancestors, but have now lost their importance.

Atavisms - These are signs characteristic of animals and appeared in humans.

Similarities between humans and animals(write in notebooks).

(man descended from a common ancestor with apes)

1. General plan of the structure of organ systems and skeletal parts;

2. Similarity of embryos;

3. The presence of rudiments (coccyx, appendix, third eyelid);

4. The presence of atavisms (multiple nipples, hairiness, appearance of a tail);

5. Blood composition;

6. Chromosome set in a cell (human - 46, chimpanzee - 48)

7. Presence of fingernails;

However, there are also significant differences between humans and apes, largely due to human adaptation to upright walking.

Difference between humans and animals(write in notebooks).

1. Vertical position of the body;

2. Ability to move on two limbs;

3. The forelimbs are adapted for grasping;

4. Large brain volume;

5. Double arched foot;

6. Ability to make and use tools.

The body of Homo sapiens is built from the same basic chemical elements, as the organism of any other living being, i.e. from carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and phosphorus. We differ from other mammals only in the structure and functioning of cells, tissues and organ systems.

The human body has four important features, the combination of which is unique to it: an erect skeleton, movable arms capable of manipulating objects, three-dimensional color vision and a uniquely complex brain.

The erect skeleton allows us, unlike other animals, to move on two legs. Without feeling the need to lean on our forelimbs, we use our flexible and sensitive fingers to explore the surface of objects.

Forward-looking eyes provide binocular vision and allow us to accurately focus images, determine distance, and distinguish not only color, but also shape. We can follow the movement of an object without turning our heads - using only eye movements.

Compared to other animals, the human brain is very large relative to body size. Thanks to the brain, a person has excellent abilities for learning, logical thinking, and speech control; coordination of vision and hand movements.

View models of human ancestors.

Consolidating knowledge on the topic. Carrying out test tasks from the interactive tool in notebooks teaching aid"Evolutionary Doctrine". Checking answers with the teacher.

Frontal conversation.

1. Name the characteristics of a person that allow him to be classified as a subtype of vertebrates.

2. Indicate the characteristics that determine the position of a person in the class of mammals.

3. What characteristics are common to humans and apes?

5. List the structural features inherent only to humans.

Conclusion.

Discussion.

Together with the whole class, the question is discussed: “Who has doubts about our origin from animals?”

Nature! Man is your creation

And this honor will not be taken away from you,

But he brought me to my feet on all fours

And labor made the ancestor a man.

S. Shchipachev

Homework. § 44, answer questions 1-3, p. 165 – 166. § 45, answer questions 1 – 3 p. 170 (question No. 3 – in writing).

The place of man in the system of the animal world can be represented as follows: man belongs to the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrates, class Mammals, order Primates, family Hominids, genus Man, species Homo sapiens.

There is one type of people on Earth, which is divided into races. Usually there are either three large races or five. In the first case, this is the equatorial race (Negro-Australoid), Eurasian (Caucasian), Asian
American (Mongoloid). In the second case, Negroid, Australoid, Caucasoid, Mongoloid and American races are distinguished.

Within each race there are subraces. For example, within the Caucasoid race there are Atlanto-Baltic, Central European and other subraces. The differences between the races are purely morphological. Human races began to form approximately 30–40 thousand years ago during the process of human settlement of the Earth. Many morphological racial characteristics had adaptive significance, that is, they arose as an adaptation to the conditions of existence. Races are open genetic systems.

One nation can include different races, on the other hand, the same races can be part of different nations.

All human races are characterized by species-wide characteristics (the structure of the skull, brain, foot, the same blood groups, Rh factor, the same number and type of chromosomes), all races are equivalent in biological, mental and social terms.

Anthropology studies the origin and evolution of man. The development of Homo sapiens was influenced by the same factors of biological evolution as the evolution of other species. However, biological laws alone are not enough for anthropogenesis. The origins of Homo sapiens depended equally on biological and social processes.

The social factors of anthropogenesis include work activity, social lifestyle, speech, and thinking. Information is transmitted using a second signaling system that animals do not have. The second signaling system, discovered by the great Russian physiologist, is associated with the function of speech, the visible and audible word. wrote that a word is a signal from the signals of the first signaling system, common to humans and animals (the first signaling system is associated with the perception of direct signals from the outside world). It was the word that made us human.

The biosocial nature of man is expressed in the fact that the human genotype provides the possibility of not only the biological existence of man as one of the species of the animal kingdom, but also the possibility of implementing a social program. Human development is impossible outside of human society - society. Scientists are well aware of the so-called Mowgli phenomenon, when small children grew up among animals. Such children, as a rule, were never able to subsequently learn human speech or master the norms of human communication.

Thus, human development is influenced by both biological and social factors - the environment in which he is raised and lives.

The role of man in the biosphere is extremely great. There is an intergovernmental program “Man and the Biosphere”. This program includes 14 projects devoted to the study of human influences on the biosphere. This includes influences that arise as a consequence of a wide variety of human activities: land use, engineering work, use different types energy, space exploration, etc.

Human impact on the environment is called anthropogenic impact. Air pollution caused by industrial emissions affects forest areas; irrigation systems significantly change the condition of the entire environment; urbanization (i.e. the expansion of urban areas, the construction of new cities) is absorbing hundreds of thousands of hectares of agricultural land. According to some data, approximately 50% of the land surface is now under strong human economic influence. This leads to the fact that primary biogeocenoses, with great species diversity, are replaced by secondary, simplified ones: for example, instead of coniferous tracts, low-value species of small-leaved trees and shrubs grow. As a result of human activity, entire species of animals and plants are disappearing. The threat of a decrease in species diversity associated with the destruction of tropical forests, which are also the “lungs” of our planet, is especially great. Significant harm is caused by human use of natural resources without taking into account the patterns that exist in the biosphere. The powerful human pressure on the biosphere in our time is comparable to geological processes.

In order to protect the biosphere from the negative influence of anthropogenic influences, a person must comply with the basic principles of nature conservation in his activities. One of the most important principles is the need to conserve species diversity and recognize the potential benefits of each species. It is also necessary to take into account the principle of universal connection in living nature: disruption of the functions of any one link will ultimately affect the state of the biosphere as a whole. Of great importance is the creation of biosphere reserves - specially protected areas for the preservation of flora, fauna, diversity of ecosystems, studying the patterns of their existence, monitoring changes in the biosphere (monitoring).

2. Exit of plants to land. Higher spore plants (mosses and ferns), their complexity compared to algae

About 2600 million years ago, in the Proterozoic era, green and red algae dominated our planet. Algae are lower plants, the body of which is not divided into sections and does not have special tissues (such a body is called a thallus). Algae continued to dominate in the Paleozoic (approximately 570 million years ago), but in the Silurian period of the Paleozoic, the most ancient higher plants appeared - rhinophytes (or psilophytes). These plants already had shoots, but they did not yet have leaves and roots. They reproduced by spores and led a terrestrial or semi-aquatic lifestyle.

In the Devonian period of the Paleozoic, bryophytes and pteridophytes (moss mosses, horsetails, ferns) appear, and rhinophytes and algae dominate the Earth. Bryophytes and pteridophytes are higher spore plants. Mosses develop stems and leaves (outgrowths of the stem), but there are no roots yet; The function of roots is performed by rhizoids - root-like processes of the stem. The development cycle of mosses is dominated by the haploid generation (gametophyte) - the moss plant itself. The diploid generation (sporophyte) is not capable of independent existence and feeds on the gametophyte. Ferns develop roots; in their development cycle, the sporophyte (the plant itself) predominates, and the gametophyte is represented by a prothallus - a small heart-shaped plate in ferns or a nodule in mosses and horsetails. In ancient times these were huge tree-like plants. Reproduction of higher spores is impossible without water, since fertilization occurs with mobile male gametes - sperm, which move to the eggs in droplets of water. That is why water is a limiting factor for higher spore plants: if there is no drip water, the reproduction of these plants will become impossible.

In the Carboniferous (Carboniferous) seed ferns appeared, from which later, as scientists believe, gymnosperms originated. Giant tree-like ferns dominate the planet (it is they who gave the deposits coal), and rhinophytes completely die out in this period.

Thus, the main difference between higher spore plants and algae is the appearance of vegetative organs - stems, leaves, roots (in pteridophytes). These plants now have different tissues. In their development cycle, they alternate sexual and asexual generations; In bryophytes, the gametophyte predominates in the life cycle, and in pteridophytes, the sporophyte predominates. Representatives of bryophytes are anthocerotic mosses (for example, anthocerotic moss is a moss that does not yet have division into stem and leaves; its body is a rosette-shaped thallus); liver mosses (for example, marchantia; their gametophyte can be thallous, but there are also leafy plants); leafy mosses (these include green mosses, sphagnum mosses). It is believed that in the process of evolution, bryophytes descended from ancient green algae.

Representatives of pteridophytes are mosses, horsetails and ferns. Ferns are the richest in species (about 10 thousand species, while horsetails have only about 30 species). It is believed that ferns descended from ancient rhyniophytes.

3. Show on the skeleton the bones of the shoulder and forearm, thigh and lower leg.