3 - Emergence of Genus Homo Flashcards
Early homo distinguished by
increase in size of brain ~630 cc (600-800 cc)
rounded cranial vault, low sloping forehead
smaller brow-ridges (superorbital taurus)
lower face juts forward but not as much
parabolic dental arcade
smaller molars and premolars
has chin
low, sloping forehead
genus homo around..
2.4-1.4 mya
homo habilis
been found in o. gorge, koobi fora, itaclan ethipoia, gap in knowledge when homo habilis was first discovered (much more was known about australopithecus), found by j leakey, brain size distringuished it from australopithecus, tolls were recovered with/at same level (habilis = handyman), limb proportions similar to australopiethcines, endocast showed slightly enlarged broca’s area, no evidence of symbolism (no art, religion, etc)
homo rudolphensis
contemporary h. habilis, cheekbones wider, midface larger, bigger and thicker enameled teeth than h habilis
oldowan stone tools
unifacial core and flake, created through percisiion flaking, crude but huge advancement, shows forethought, planning, and imagination, sometimes the rocks were transported from a distance to their site and manufactured into stone tools, used primarily to break bones and remove meat from bones, did they hunt or scavenge, how heavily did they depend on meat?
home base model
glynn issac, hypothesized that their meat/tools were brought to central place, food sharing was key to development of hominids, scientists downplay the importance of meat now, potts and shipman analyzed tooth and tool marks on bones and recognized that they were primarily scavengers
homo erectus
first presents movement of ominids outside of africa, 1.8 mya (with recent fossils 100 000 yrs old), successful specieies with wide geo spread and existed for long time, 800-1200 cc, angular cranial vault with sagital peel and occipital taurus, low sloping forehead, has chin (perhaps to strengthen jaw), lots of changes in post-cranial skeleton (pretty close to humans byt has thicker femoral cortex than most humans)
homo ergaster
homo erectus from Africa and Georgia classified as Homo ergaster (possible regional variation of erectus?)
acheulian toll
characterized by large oval/teardrop shaped hand axes, appeared shortly after first homo erectus appeared, appeared shortly after first homo erectus appeared, named after the site that first found (St. Acheul france), more sophisticated, bifacially flaked, found in Africa and Europe but rarely in Asia
movius line
acheulian tolls are usually found only west of the line, maybe because homo erectus migrated to Asia before the African populations developed tools
controlled use of fire
earliest evidence of controllled use of first deates to period of homo erectus, leads to changes in diet, more hours of useable daylight, provides protection from predators, warmth allows for migration to colder places, lends to socializing, sharing ideas/knowledge, etc, cooking meat means healthier diet, began about 1.4 mya in Chesowanja Kenya (debatable evidence) or 800 000 ya in Gesher Benot Ta’aqou, Isreal (better evidence like burnt seeds, flint, etc in concentrated ares ie hearth)
homo erectus in africa
oldest specimen dates to 1.8 mya in koobi fora kenya, mature female 850 cc,
west turkana boy
aka nariokotome boy, about 8-10 yrs old, would’ve been about 6” when full grown, very complete skeleton
homo erectus in eastern europe
earliest well dated archaeological site outside of africa in dmanisi, georgia, 1.7+ mya, associated with oldowan tools, so far, 4 craniums have been found, similar to earliest homo erectus and homo haibilis; small stature, smaller brain like homo habilis but high cranial vault, shape of molars and pre molars like homo erectus
java, indonesia
java man, earliest homo erectus fossil in ice age, recovered by E dubois in 1891, initially classified as Pithecanthropus erectus, as old as 1.6-1.5 mya, almost 40 remains have been found in Java, no tools have been found with, volcanic sediment means dating can be done accurately, endocasts show possible hemispherical specialization
china
most important site is west of bejing, date 800 000 ya to 200 000 ya, most recent discoveries uncover 1.36 to 1.1 mya, dragon bones used in medicine but actually fossils of extinct animals, davidson black (canadian) found hominid teeth, originally classified as sinathropus pekinensis, during WWII, fossils were lost, “peking man”, similar to humans below the neck byt have large brow ridges, thick skulls, receding chin, etc, about 3/4 cranial capacity of humans
homo floresiensis
would’ve had to transverse water to get to island of Flores, must have floated over on debris like other animals, didn’t make boats; 3” tall, 40 lbs, 420 cc, 35 000-14 000 ya (modern humans were around), evidence of tool use, hunting, fire, dentition, skull thickness etc is similar to homo erectus, small size is due to the small, isolated nature of the island (island dwarfism, smaller animals are at an advantage) aka hobit people, some people argue that this isn’t a separate speicies and they have a pathological problem like microphaly, but it clear from lookingcomparing fossils with homo erectus that florensis is a different species
initial occupation of western europe
earliest fossils have been classified as Homo erectus, antecessor, and heidelbergensis
migration paths
- through lebanon and israel (fossils support)
2. through tunisia to italy or 3. through morroco to spain (probbaly not because they would’ve had to cross water
homo antecessor
found in spain, 1.2 mya - 800 000 ya, could be erectus? cc 120 cc, low forehead, no chin, occipital bun/taurus, very robust, used stone tools (similar to ergaster/erectus, but have unique characteristics)
homo heidelbergensis
thought to be between erectus and more modern beings like sapiens and neandertals; transitional speicies, archais, 600 000 - 400 000 ya, 1100 - 1400 cc
sima del elefante cave, gran dolian
spain, two sites at atapuenca in northen spain, limestone caves, uncovered by construction of trains in area, Gran dolina has oldest hominid remains in western europe (1.2 mya, usually classified as antecessor, evidence of eating meat of mammals and of canibalism)
schoningen germany
specimen 400 000 yrs old found, clear evidence of big game hunting, remarkable preservation of wooden artifacts, earlier hominds would’ve hunted big game too but evidence hasn’t been found yet
boxgrove
lots of tools found, perforated horse scapula shows hole that would’ve been made by spear
