Chapter 1 Flashcards
30 November 1974, what happened?
A tape player played Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds…they had found Lucy
What were Lucy’s physical features?
She was about 25-30…she stood just over 1 meter and weighted about 25 kgs.
Where was Lucy’s fossil discovered
in Hadar, Ethiopia
What does analysis of Lucy’s bone show?
The earliest ancestors ofmodern human beings waled upright on two feet. Erect walking is crucial for them, because they did not have big brains
When did the earth come into existance?
About 4.5 million years ago
During the past century or so, archaeologists, evolutionary biologists and other cholars have
increased the understanding of human origins and the ives or distant ancesotrs led
What is the percet difference in DNA between chimps and humans
1.6
Human beings stand out as the most distinctive of the prmate species because of what
they have been able to have a lot of intelligance
Where does discovereis in East Africa have human species
Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia and other places have had many bones
Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania and Hadar in Ethiopia have yielded
rich remains of those ike Lucy
A serisesThe individuals represented several difference species belonging to the species
Austrolopithecus wich flourished in east Africa during the long period from 4-1 million years ago
What family did Austrolopithicus belong to
the family Hominidae whcih includes himan and humanlike species.
What is Homo
the genus which biologists place the modern human being
Compared to our species, austrolopithecius would seem
short, hairy and limited intelligence. They stood something over 1 meter and weighed 25-55
Compared with other ape and animla speicies, however austrolopithecines were sophisticated creatures..how?
They walked upright on thwo legs whihc enabled them to use their arms independently for
What was one of the most important features of the austrolopithicus?
They had opposale thumbs that allowed them to grasp tools and perform intriate operations. They almost certainly had some ability to communicate verbally although speech was not huge
The intelligence of austrolopithecines was sufficient to allowe them to
plan complex ventures. HTey could often travel deliberately over 15 km.
What does Chemical analyses show ?
That the stone for which the australopithecines made tools was discovered and avaliable in only other sdtes
What were the tools that Austrolopithecines used>
They used choppers, scrapers, and other implements for food
BY 1 million years ago, austropithecines had disappeared as a new species of
homindis appeared
What was teh new species of homonids
The Homo erectus..that had a larger brain..they had very sophisticated tools as well.
What tools did the homo erectus add to the early batch
htey added cleavers and hand axes which not only were useful in hunting and food prep but also provided protection against predators
What was one of the most important things that the Homo erectus also learned how to do?
Start and tend fires which furnished the speciies with a mean s of heat
Many sites associated with Homoerectus served as camps for communities of
hunters
Where did the omo erectus venture
To north Africa and to the Eurasian landmass.
Where did the Homo Erectus move 2 million years ago?
To southwest Asia beyond Europe, south asia, eas t Asia and southeast Asia
What was the most sucessful human species
Homo Sapiens…they evolved about 200,000 thousand years ago and have skillfully adapted to the natural envirnonment
What was teh anatomy of the brain like for Homo Sapiens
Possesed a large brain..one approaching the size of modern human brains. More important tha the size of the brain was the welll developed frontal regions wheere conscious reflective thought takes place
The physical features of the human brain
Intelligence, it enabed understanding of the world around them
What happened when the homo spaiens spread
They moved to the temperate lands of Africa,Europe and Asia where they encountered Homo erectus gorup that had inhabited htose regions for several hundred thousand years
What was the thing that Homo Sapiens did that established them successfully?
They went to colder regions, migrations that were possible because their intelligence allowed them to get warmer clothe
How Did homo sapiens isecure their presence
They spread throghout the eastern hemispere and populated the temperate ands of Africa, Europe an Asia where they encountered Homo Erectus groups that had inhabited those regions for several hundered thousand years.
Between sixty thousand and fifteen thousand ..Homo sapiens extended the range of Human opulation even
Further
How were Homo Sapiens able to move cross contients?
Because of the land bridges
Where else did Homo Sapiens travel?
They went to Australia, New Guinea, and Siberia
The intellectual abilities enabled members of the Homo Sapiens species to recognize
Problems and possibilities in their environment and then take action that fabored their survival
What weapons ddi Homo Sapiens use?
They had knives,spears, bows and arrows. Individuals made dwellings or themselves in caves and in hutlike shelters fabricated from wood, bones and animal skins.
How did the Homo Sapiens keep themselves warm>
With fire
What was a result of Homo Sapiens big hunting
They made some mammals go extinct
What is Paleolithic Era>
The old stone age/ The principal cha
What was the principal characteristic of the paleolithic era?
That human beins foraged for their food. They hunted wild animals or gathered edible products of natural growing plants
In the absense of written records, scholars have drawn infrences about paleolithic economy and socitey
from other kinds of references
What are ways that you can get information about the Paleolithic era?
They could look at modern societies and they could look at ancient artifacts
A hunting and gathering prevents what?
Individuals from accumulaitng private property and basicng social distinctions on wealth. To survive, most hunters and gathers must follow the animals that they stalk
How did social distinctions arise
They were bsed on age, strngth, courage, intelligence, fertility, force of personality of someo ther traite
What were relations between the sexes .
Men traveled on hunting expeditions in search of large animals while women and children gathered food.
The hunters and gatherers would live mostly in
Small bands. Larger groups cou,d not move efficently or find enough food to survive over a long period
During times of drought or famine, what did small bands do?
They had trouble providing for eachother
What does survival of hunting bands depend on?
The natural environment
Archaeological remains show that early peoples also went about hunting and gathering in a
purposeful and intelligent manner
Because they often had to hunt large animals, what did the Homos develop
They had knives, spears, bows and arrows and devised special tactics for hunting these animals
Why was it important that they could talk
Because then they could communicate better with eachother and hunt better
In regions where the food resources were rich, few people in the late paleolithic times abandoned the nomadic lifestlye..but what were soem examples?
- The Natufian society in the eastern Mediterrrnean (Israel and Lebanon)
- The Jomon society in central Japan
- Chinook society
Natufian
They collected wild wheat and took animals from abundant antelope heds.
Jomon
Harvested wild buckwheat and developed a productive fishing economy
Chinook society emerged after 300 BCE and had
berries, acornds nad massive salmon runs
What were the Paleolithic dwellings?
They were soemtimes in the form of long hosues that accomodated several hundred people but often in the form of smaller structures