Ch 11- First Dispersal of the genus Homo

Question 1

Homo Erectus

- When, different features (Brain)

Answer 1

End of Pliocene 1.8-1.7 mya

• Larger brain 700-1250 cc
• 40% increase over early Homo
• But also had larger bodies so scaled increase not that much

Question 2

Homo Erectus

- Cranial Shape

Answer 2

Makes them easy to identify

• Thick bones
• Long-low vault
• Sloping forehead
• Large browridges
• Wide pentagonal shape to rear skull
• Sagittal keel
• Projecting face

Question 3

Homo Erectus

- Body Size and Height

Answer 3

Larger body size
•	52-63 kg, >100 lbs
Longer legs 
•	Means they were more efficiently able to cover longer distances
Taller 
•	148 to 185 cm, 5 feet 6 inches

Question 4

One Species or Two?

Asia vs. Africa

Answer 4

• African fossils have smaller cranial capacities, thinner cranial bones, smaller and less prognathic faces, less pronounced occipital tori
• African forms are called Homo ergaster
• Asian forms are called Homo erectus

Question 5

“Turkana or Nariokotome Boy”

Answer 5

• 1.6 mya
• ~8 years
• Quite tall – 160cm – 5 feet, 3 inches
• Long legs
• Rate of growth similar to great apes – more rapid rate of development

Question 6

Homo Erectus Fossils

- East Asia, SE Europe, Indonesia (When?)

Answer 6

• East Asia by 1.7 mya
• SE Europe 1.8 mya
• Indonesia by 1.6 mya

Question 7

Out of Africa

Biological and Ecological Factors

Answer 7

• Fully developed bipedalism
• Global cooling trend causes eastward migration of fauna
• Important to note that there used to be land bridges

Question 8

Missing Artifacts

- From where, when, how many

Answer 8

• Several Zhoukoudian fossils went missing at the outbreak of WWII – whereabouts unknown to this day
• > 100,000 artifacts
  • First evidence of controlled use of fire?
  • Once accepted, now unlikely
  • “Zhoukoudian cave was neither hearth nor home”

Question 9

Behavioural Adaptations

The Acheulian stone tool industry

Answer 9

~ 1.6 mya, Africa
• Bifacial- Mostly hand axe, cleavers and scrapers
• Raw materials come from father away – must be transported
• Suggests there was thought put into what type of tools they were making and what materials they were made of

Question 10

Behavioural Adaptations

Butchering?

Answer 10

• Much evidence for butchering
 Could be due to hunting, or, more likely, scavenging
 Importance of meat for increase in brain size

Question 11

Behavioural Adaptations

Fire? Could they make fire? Benefits of fire?

Answer 11

• No evidence they could make fire, but if they could find it they could use it
• Many benefits – light, heat, protection from predators, cooking of food = more digestible
• Good for killing bacteria in food