Chapter 5 Flashcards
When did the first hominins appeared?
7-6 million years ago (Mya)
What does bipedal mean?
Hominoids that walk on two legs.
What are Australopithecus?
Earliest hominins are placed in this genus.
What are the 3 major developments of hominins?
Change in their dentition (teeth)
Expanded Brains
Reliance on tools and language (culture)
What is habitual bipedalism?
Hominins (living or extinct) walked on two legs and never used all four appendages.
What caused the first hominins to become omnivorous?
So they could adventure off
Why did bipedalism help hominins?
Expand their range and increased their food options beyond the shrinking forests
See predators in the open country
Carry infants, food, and tools in their hands
Reduce the exposure of the skin to the sun
What is some evidence the early hominins were bipedal?
The position of the foramen magnum (centered beneath the skull)
Basin-shaped pelvis
Femurs angled inward (“knock-kneed”)
Big toe in line with the other toes
What is Ardipithcus Ramidus?
A time when some early hominins lived in wooded environments rather than open Savanna.
Who was the most famous Australopithecus?
Lucy.
Named after Beetles song “Lucy in the sky with Diamonds”
Nearly 40% completed (1974)
Bipedal
Tree-climbing adaptations based on long arms and curved fingers and toes.
Smaller brain size
How did Australopithecus teeth differ from early hominins?
Smaller front teeth and larger back teeth.
What is phyletic gradualism?
Homo erected evolved slowly into Homo Sapiens
What is punctuated equilibria?
Little change of over time and then there is a quick change.
When did homo sapiens appear?
As early as 200,000 years ago.
When did Neanderthals appear?
From 130,000 and 35,0000 years ago.
