Chapter 11 and 12 Flashcards
What are the physical characteristics of Homo Erectus?
Sagittal keel, but a crest
Occipital torus
Taurodontism
Lighter and thinner jaw, and less prognathic face than earlier hominids
895 –1040 cc
Prominent, projecting nose
Postcranial skeleton similar to modern human
Describe the Nariokotome boy
Discovered by Leakey team at Nariokotome, Lake Turkana - 1.6 mya
1.6 metrestall, 11-12 year old
Provides evidence of prolonged development in Homo erectus
Illeret footprints
Homo Erectus, Kenya
looks human. species moved essentially like we do.
feet are arched + big toe in line w/ other toes
Homo Erectus in Middle Pleistocene
Daka, Ethiopia, More Asian Morphology, Like Peking Man -one species
Bodo Ethiopia - cutmarks on skull (defleshing)
Describe Homo erectus in Dmanisi, Republic of Georgia
5 skulls, considerable variation = showing there may be less actual species than we say there are
500-600 cc
Range of habilis + erectus
Long leg
Fire!
Extends daylight, work on tools
Warmth + light, able to move to cold places
Keeps people together = social centre, dev. language, complex social relationships
Cooking food = more nutrients, bigger brains
Describe H Erectus in Asia
Zhoukoudian - Peking Man (H Erectus fossil).
Davidson Black, Canadian physician/paleontologist
Took over: Franz Weidenreich, German
40 individuals, proof that we lived in caves. - stone tools and controlled fire
Describe hand axes
Acheulian hand axes, Europe and Asia. Look like a pointy tear drop.
Describe Homo erectus Culture
Tool use ~1.5mya
Big Game Eating - evidence large scale fauna remains (e.g. Torralba + Abronan Spain)
Unclear hunt or scavenge sites
Evidence for control of fire in South Africa ~1.4 mya + China ~.5 mya
What are H. Erectus sites like?
Close to water sources + food resources
Some camp sites in caves, most are open-air sites (Terra Amata, France)
They may have been building things? (The hut?)
Language and H. Erectus
Endocasts suggest hemispheric specialization
Some suggest H erectus has ability to possess linguistic skills to the level of a modern 6 yo
Archaic H. Sapiens
transition ~500,000 yrs ago
Begins S. + East Africa
Homogeneity in H Erectus specimens geographically + temporally ~1 million years
Some reduction in teeth + face size, small increase in cc over this period
Early forms called H Heidelbergensis
What was found in the Petralona Cave in Greece?
Skeleton and a skull of a past hominin
Archaic H. Sapiens in Africa
Large face w/ browridge
Large, heavily worn front teeth
Near modern brain size
Bodo (Ethiopia), 600,000 yrs old, Brain 1,250 cc
Kabwe (Zambia), ~250,000 years old, 1,300 cc
Archaic H. Sapiens in East Asia
long + low braincases
brain size close to or within modern human range
Have massive browridges
Same kinds of morphology as African archaic H. sapien skulls
implies gene flow connecting these pop. across continents.
Indonesia, India, China
Describe Archaic H. Sapiens in West Asia
Shanidar, Iraq 45,000 yrs old Old male, 40-50 yrs Heavy wear on teeth Very large brain Eye injury, arm amputation, foot with arthritis - somebody cared for him, altruism
Neandertals
Occipital bun, evidence teeth are used as tools = neck muscles
One group of Archaic Homo sapiens
1856 discovery in Neander (New Man) Valley, poor reconstruction La Chapelle-aux-Saints (arthritis, missing teeth, very old) , Marcellin Boule 1900s
Who were the Neandertals?
Genetic evidence suggests Neandertals diverged from line leading to modern humans ~600,000 yrs ago, but interbred w/ AMHS
Recent DNA studies identify alleles modern humans share w/ Neandertals
Describe Middle Paleolithic Cultures (archaic H Sapiens)
Mousterian Tool tradition (resemble hand axes)
Smaller proportion of large core tools, Levallois flakes (retouched flakes) found in Mousterian toolkits (diff tools to do diff things)
Homesites - found in caves and rock shelters (allowed life in colder temps)
Describe Funeral Rituals
Neandertal rituals = burials Shanidar cave burials - flower pollen over top of body (covered w/ flowers?)
Drachenloch - caching of cave bear skulls (cultural activity, no clear point)
France - burials marked w/ mounds of earth (put into comfortable “sleeping position”
Describe Altruism in Neandertals
Concept of caring for + sustaining members of group who no longer contribute to group’s survival
La Chapelle-aux-Saints frequently cited as evidence of altruism
Better evidence remains of a blind + paralyzed individual from Shanidar Cave
Describe Language in Neandertals + Archaic H Sapiens
Basicranium of Archaic Homo sapiens appears modern
Some suggest though that Neandertal basicranium is not modern
Evidence from Neandertal hyoid also supports modern language capabilities
Describe Neandertal jewelry
Shells, teeth, carved bones
Believed only modern human trait, but it ain’t
Divje Babe, Slovenia - flute - MUSIC
Cave painting made by Neandertals ~60,000 Bp
What are the three Theories of modern Human Origin
Christopher Stringer, Single Origin Hypothesis
Milford Wolpoff, Multiregional Hypothesis
Fred Smith, Assimilation Hypothesis (mtDNA, nuclear DNA, Y-chromosome)
Describe the Single Origin hypothesis
Also Replacement or Eve hypothesis
All anatomically modern humans evolved from Archaic H sapiens in east + south Africa, all other archaic H sapiens pop. became extinct
1980s-90s supported by early studies mtDNA + fossils
Describe the multiregional hypothesis
AMHS evolved simultaneously in diff areas of world, descending from early hominid pop
Describe the Assimilation Model for Modern Human Variation
Archaic H Sapiens + AMHS interbred after H Erectus left Africa, move out + move back, interbred w/ neandertals
What does Fossil evidence tell us about AMHS divergence?
Fossils from Portugal are argued to be a Neandertal-modern transitional form
Fossil evidence from regional continuity in some areas (like Asia)
Cultural Evidence for AMHS
Artifacts founds in association w/ early modern sites more sophisticated than other assemblages from same period in Europe + Asia
Describe Early Modern Homo sapiens in Africa
Modern H. sapiens
Omo + Herto, Ethiopia
Klasies River Mouth Cave, S. Africa
Anatomies: High forehead + round skull w/ reduced face + teeth, Chin, Gracile postcranial skeleton
Describe Early Modern Homo sapiens in Asia
Skhul V, Israel
Cohabitation of modern H. sapiens + Neandertals
Zhoukoudian
On the Margin of Modernity in Southeast Asia: Homo floresiensis
Flores, Indonesia
Tiny brain and skull
400cc, Short stature, 1m
Dwarf or developmental abnormality?
Describe Early Modern Homo sapiens in Europe
Dolni Vestonice, Czech Republic
Cro-Magnon, France
Mladec, Croatia
