Chapter 8 Flashcards
Transition to Modern Homo sapiens
lumping vs splitting taxonomy of modern homo sapiens
Wood and Lonergan’s:
Lumpers:
homo sapiens
Splitters:
homo antecessor
H. cerparendis
H. nethandrathalists
H. sapiens
Anatomically Modern Humans (AMH)
Humans who you wouldn’t’ recognize as being different.
Behaviourally Modern Humans (BMH)
humans engaged in symbolic behaviour (e.g.
drawing, showing clear signs of belief in an afterlife, deliberate
burial of the dead, or taking part in other ‘typically human’ activities
Mosaic evolution
major evolutionary change in a species takes place in stages, with one aspect of the species changing independently of the others
Origin Theory 1:
Out of Africa
modern homo sapiens developed antigenically from and earlier species in Africa.
Non recombinant genes
genes passed down from only one parent
mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) 1
tracks evolutionary lines
(haplogroups) based on the fact that the mother is the sole provider of genetic content
What does mtDNA show?
Everyone who possesses a particular suite of mutations will be
related
mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) 2
mtDNA code is not
involved in construction; therefore, mutants will not die off because they cannot harm the physical form
mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) 3
track change over relatively shorter
periods of time because mtDNA mutates faster than nuclear DNA, only 16,500 base pairs
Mitochondrial Eve
hypothetical woman who first bore the mtDNA pattern that all currently living humans share, i.e. our most recent common ancestor (MRCA)
Mitochondrial Eve study methods and findings
initial study sampled people from five geographical areas
Two primary branches of descent emerged:
entirely African and one that had all five geographical groups
mutations occurred at different rates with different parts of the
mtDNA
common
ancestor date
171,500 ± 50,000
Y chromosomes
evidence for Out of Africa hypothesis, y chromosome found dating about 60,000 to 90,000 ya
2nd theory of origin: Multiregionalism
sees modern H. sapiens as having developed at roughly the same time in a number of different parts of the world, most notably Africa, China, and Indonesia
Evidence of Multiregionalism
traditional ‘stones and
bones’, and an emphasis on the continuity of features in different regions eg. shovel-
shaped incisors of H. erectus with the same feature found in East Asians and the Aboriginal peoples of the Americas.
3rd origin theory:
Clinal Replacement
geographically defined
populations with different gene frequencies (and physical traits) that
intergrade at the edge. Waves of cline movement over time.
Mode 1 tools
Oldowan tradition.
Mode 1: core tool
shaped through percussion by the use of a hammerstone;
little retouching is involved
Mode 1: Flake tool
struck off
Mode 2 tools:
Acheulean tradition. characterized by
symmetrical hand axes
pressure flaking
stone tool
is shaped with gentle pressure by wood and bone implements. The toolmaker now has greater control over the process.
Mode 4 tools 1
Aurignacian tools of the Upper Palaeolithic, associated with the Cro-Magnon version of
anatomically modern humans during the period 38,000 to 22,000 ya
Mode 3
produced using the Levallois technique; the core is prepared into a tortoiseshell shape and then struck to pop off the flake tools.
Mode 4 tools 2
the designated tool part is the blade that is struck off the core. Bone and ivory tools, artistic forms such as
statuettes, and jewellery.
Mousterian
Neandertal version of Levallois technique
homo heidelbergensis
fossils that used to be called simply archaic
Homo sapiens. mixture of derived H. sapiens and primitive H. erectus features.
what does the bipartite brow ridge suggest?
possible characteristic of anatomically modern specimens.
Heidelberg Jaw
mandible found in a sand pit in Germany, dates to
between 400,000 and 650,000 years ago. Jaw was chinless, broad and massive; the teeth were small like a regular human. The species Homo heidelbergensis was proposed as result
Steinheim Skull
found in a quarry in Germany in 1933, dates to
between 350,000 and 250,000 years ago.
features are a mixture of archaic and modern. cranial capacity 1,110–1,200 cc. presented as a localized version of Homo
heidelbergensis
Swanscombe Skull
cranial capacity of 1,325 cc, young female who lived between 200,000 and 400,000 ya, Acheulean hand axes are associated with the site, belonging to early Neanderthals or H. heidelbergensis species
Petralona Skull
discovered in 1960 in a cave in Greece, dated at 160,000 to 400,000
ya. Large brow ridge, massive face, and 1,220 cc cranial capacity
Arago XXI, or ‘Tautavel Man’
sloped, receding forehead, large brow ridges, and protruding
lower jaw, found in 1971 in Arago Cave in France
Sima de los Huesos (the Pit of Bones)
Gran Dolina cave in
Spain contained 32 individuals dating between 400,000 and 600,000
ya. H. heidelbergensis species, Acheulean hand axe found here. Suggests ecological crisis that could only have been survived by the strongest population.
Boxgrove Man
tools, faunal remains, and a tibia found between 1983 and 1994 at the Boxgrove site in England, dating 500,000 ya. The tibia belonging to a man 6 foot tall and 176 lbs in weight
Gran Dolina
dating between 780,000 and 850,000 ya, found in gran Dolina cave in spain, oldest fossils in Europe next to the Dmanisi finds. Cut marks on the bones = earliest evidence of cannibalism. only Mode 1 tools found.
Homo cepranensis
skullcap found in Italy, dating to between 800,000
and 900,000 ya. ‘morphological bridge’ between H.
erectus/ergaster and H. heidelbergensis
The Schöningen Spears
Four wooden spears associated with stone tools and horse bones,
found in Germany, dating between 380,000 and 400,000 ya. One spear was embedded in a horse skeleton, cut marks
were evidence that some animals were butchered.
spears were constructed like modern javelins, would have required a muscular thrower. preserved over time in a peat bog.
Cro Magnon
Five fossilized remains were found in a rock shelter in southwestern
France, dating at 40,000–10,000 ya. hominid. looked like us, with a slightly larger cranial capacity.
Cultural artifacts of the Aurignacian (Mode-4 tools)
found at site. (e.g. necklaces, bone needles, spears, cave art)
Ancient mtDNA
2008 mtDNA from an Italian Cro-Magnon was analyzed. mtDNA pattern was common and shared with the Cambridge Reference Sequence (CRS)
Cambridge Reference Sequence (CRS)
the first mtDNA pattern ever sequenced, at Cambridge University in
1981. European sample containing evidence of continuity over time from
Cro-Magnon until now
Klasies River
site in South Africa that consists of five caves dating from over 100,000
ya to around 70,000 ya. few human remains.
cut marks on cranial fragments suggesting
cannibalism. Progression of mode 3 to mode 4 tools seen here. Red ochre, an earth dye, may have been used to mark events (e.g. rites of passage) here. connected to the modern San or Bushmen
Border Cave
The cranium was traditionally considered anatomically modern, recent date of 74,500 ± 5,000, brow ridges are protruding and not bipartite therefore the stone tools show transition from MSA to LSA.
Eurocentrism
tendency to see things only from a European perspective,
or to generalize from European experience as though it were a universal
phenomenon
