Australopithecines Flashcards
1
Q
What were the traits of Australopithecus anamensis?
A
- Combination of traits found in apes + humans
- regular bipedalism
- tree climbing
- Possibly direct descendent of a species of Ardipithecus
- Eaten hard, abrasive plant foods (forest/woodland environments)
- sexual dimorphism
2
Q
What were the traits of Australopithecus afarensis?
A
- 1 of the longest-lived + best-known early human species
- Growth rates similar to chimpanzees – rapid growth after birth + reached adulthood early
- Sexually dimorphic: high degree of size variation
- Plant-based diet, insects, probably small vertebrates
- climbing adaptation
- Possibly able to use resources from woodlands, grasslands + other diverse environments
3
Q
What did the Laetoli footprints show?
A
- Laetoli footprints - Tanzania - 27m long footprint trail ~70 early hominin footprints
- Fossils of Australopitheus afarensis found nearby to footprints + in same sediment layer
4
Q
What were the traits of Australopithecus africanus?
A
- Anatomically similar to afarensis
- Round cranium with a larger brain + smaller teeth
- Long arms + strongly sloping face, pronounced jaw
- Pelvis, femur + foot bones -> bipedalism, shoulder + hand bones -> climbing adaptation
- Sexually dimorphic
- Ate tough foods but also a variable diet
- Suggestion of stone tools in association with butchered animal bone
5
Q
When and where was Australopithecus anamensis?
A
•4.2-3.9mya, Eastern Africa
6
Q
When and where was Australopithecus afarensis?
A
- 3.85-2.95mya, Eastern Africa
* May be ancestral to later species of Paranthropus, Australopithecus + Homo
7
Q
When and where was Australopithecus africanus?
A
•3.3-2.1mya, Southern Africa
