Archaic Homo

Question 1

What is Homo heidelbergensis?

Answer 1

• Appears in Africa and western Eurasia (500k - 800k)
• Derived: large brain (1200 - 1300 cc), higher foreheads, more rounded cranium
• Primitive: low skull, more prognathic, browridges, no chin

Question 2

What are features of the middle Pleistocene?

Answer 2

• Wide climate variation
• Affects migration patterns
• Glacial: cold
• Interglacial: warm
  The ice sheets will affect hominin migration (could have pushed hominin to invent technology to combat this climate)

Question 3

What type of hunters were Homo heidelbergensis?

Answer 3

Big game hunters.
- Stone tools and large mammal remains on Jersey island (driving them off a cliff)
- Spears and stone tools found with wild horse carcasses in Germany

Question 4

What type of tools did Homo heidelbergensis use?

Answer 4

Early heidelbergensis used Acheulean tools. Around 300k, handaxes become more rare, Mode 3 tools are used.

Question 5

What are Mode 3 tools?

Answer 5

Levallois.
- Flake preparation (flake is pre-shaped on a core)
- Different tools produced by different pre-shaping
- Evidence of hafting (mounting stone tool on another to make something like a spear)

Question 6

What is the distribution of Neanderthals?

Answer 6

• Europe, Middle East, Western Asia (not found in Africa yet)
• 40k - 300k (middle and upper Pleistocene

Question 7

What are the origins of Neanderthals?

Answer 7

• ## Likely evolved from the european branch of Homo heidelbergensis

Question 8

What are the physical characteristics of Neaderthals?

Answer 8

• Primitive: Big (double) brow ridge, no chin, large orbits
• Derived: Rounder braincase with occipital bun, big nose and face, taurodont teeth, large heavily worn incisors, larger brains (1520 cc)

Question 9

What are the postcranium features of Neaderthals?

Answer 9

• Stockier build
• Robust bones and larger muscles
• Short distal limbs, barrel chested
• Heaver than humans of the same height

Question 10

What type of tools did Neanderthals use?

Answer 10

Mode 3 tools: the Mousterian industry
- Points, scrapers, awls, spear points, handaxes (occasionally)

Question 11

How did Neanderthals hunt?

Answer 11

• Herds of big game (don’t really kill juvenile or sick, they kill prime individuals)
• Cooked meat was bulk of diet (some plant eating)

Question 12

What were Neanderthals’ life history?

Answer 12

• Lived hard, short lives
• Most died before age 40-45
• Disease, malnutrition, starvation, numerous heal wounds (from combat)

Question 13

What were Neanderthals’ lifestyle?

Answer 13

• Burials were common
• Survival of sick and wounded to “old age”, insinuating they have been taken care of (altruism?)
• Limited speech capacity, but still have reasonable language capacity
• Some symbolic behaviours (art)
• Jewelry, pigments
• Cave paintings

Question 14

What was the fate of neanderthals?

Answer 14

• Persisted until 40k (extinct)
• Could have died cause of diseases Homo sapiens brought
• Homo sapiens could have out competed them
• Inability to cope with climate change

Question 15

What is Homo floriensis?

Answer 15

• Dwarf species (3 ft tall)
• Brain size was 400 cc
• Primitive: long arms, wrist, tiny skull, long feet without arch
• Used mode 1 tools
• Dwarf descendant of Homo erectus
• 60k - 100k

Question 16

What is insular dwarfing?

Answer 16

• Limited resources
• Lack of predators
• Genetic drift

Question 17

What are the types of ancient DNA?

Answer 17

mtDNA: mitochondrial DNA (short strands)
nDNA: nuclear DNA (longer strands)
- Rarely preserved, very difficult to sequence
- We have ancient DNA from early Homo sapiens, Neanderthals, Homo heidelbergensis, the Denisovans

Question 18

What are the Denisovans?

Answer 18

• One finger bone, three molars
• Dated to 55k - 300k
• Most closely related to Neanderthals (LCA of them likely lived 450k)
• Denisovan and Neanderthal populations were small