Chapter 34- human evolution Flashcards
Humans belong to a group of primates called ___ (aka ___). Modern humans are the only living ones.
hominins (hominids)
Hominins are (were) ___
bipeds
An ___ ___ posture freed up the hands to carry objects such as tools, food, and young. An ___ ___ also allowed for a better view of predators, important when hominins moved out of the forests and into the savannas.
upright bipedal
upright bipedal
Molecular and fossil evidence suggests that hominins diverged from the ancestors of the chimps around ___ to ___ million years ago.
5, 8
- The oldest know hominin, 6-7 million years old
- Relationship to later hominins is unknown
- Only known from a skull and some other fragments
Sahelanthropus tchadensis
Ardipithecus ramidus
- “___”
- ~4.4 million years old
- A biped with a ___ foot like an ___
- Probably spent much time in the ___
- Relationship to later hominins is uncertain
Ardi
grasping, ape
trees
Australopithecines
- “___ ___”
- There were several species of these early hominins
- Bipeds
- ___ sized brains and ___ skulls
- ___ legs, ___ arms
southern ape
Chimps
ape-like
short, long
Australopithecus afarensis
- “___”
- ~3.5 million years old
- size: ___
- Known from several fossilized skeletons and ___
- Possible ancestor of later hominins
Lucy
small
footprints
- 2-3 million years ago
- The first australopithecine discovered
- Probably not an ancestor of modern humans
Australopithecus africanus
- A Genus of robust, planting eating hominins
- At least 2 species
- Survived up to about 1 million years ago
- They are not ancestors of modern humans
Paranthropus
Homo habilis
- “handy man”
- Over 2 million years ago
- The first; or one of the first; member of Genus Homo, the first ___
- Had a larger ___ than any australopithecine
- ___ sized
- Had smaller ___ ___ and smaller ___ than australopithecines
- They made simple stone tools
- Relationship to later hominins is uncertain
human
brain
Small
brow ridge, teeth
- Discovered in 2013 in South Africa
- 15 individuals
- A strange mixture of advanced and primitive traits
- Age uncertain
- Relationship to other hominins is uncertain
Homo naledi
Homo erectus
- “___ ___”
- Appeared almost 2 million years ago
- The first hominin to spread out of Africa to Europe and Asia
- Fairly large ___
- ___ to ___ feet tall
- Probably good ___
upright man
brain
5, 6
runners
homo erectus
- Social, living in groups of 20-50
- Made ___ ___
- True big game hunters unlike earlier hominins
- Used fire by 500,000 years ago
- Probably should be considered a group of species, in fact many call the earliest African variety ___ ___
- Probable ancestor of later hominins
- May have survived in Java until 30-40,000 years ago
stone tools
Homo ergaster
Probable direct ancestor of modern humans and neanderthals
Homo heidelbergensis
Homo neanderthalensis
- Neanderthals
- Lived during the ___ ___ in Europe, the middle east, and central Asia
- Short, ___ built, would have been very strong and would have had long ___
- ___ brow ridge, ___ forehead, and a ___ brain case with a bun on the back of the skull
- Big ___ and big ___
ice ages
heavily, endurance
Heavy, low, long
brain, teeth
- Big game hunters who made stone tools
- Not the brutes they are often thought to have been
- Not ancestors of modern humans but there was some interbreeding, we have neanderthal DNA
- Died out as recently as 30,000 years ago
Homo neanderthalensis
Homo floresiensis
- “___”
- Tiny
- From the island of Flores, Indonesia
- Used ___ and hunted mini ___ and giant ___
- Survived up to 17,000 years ago
hobbits
fire, elephants, rats
- Known from a few fragments from Siberia
- ~40,000 years old
- Their DNA is found in modern humans
Denisovan
-Modern humans
-Originated in Africa
-Archaic H. sapiens appeared in Africa about 300-250,000 years ago
Fully modern humans (Homo sapiens sapiens) had evolved by 50-60,000 years ago (at least)
Homo sapiens
- Non-genetic evolution
- Includes passing on knowledge from generation to generation including language and history
Cultural Evolution
Language is unique to which species
modern humans
modern humans have inherited many useful features from our ancestors including ___ ___ ___ and ___ ___
color binocular vision, grasping hands
