Early and Archaic Homo Flashcards
Acheulean Tool Industry
- major lower Paleolithic stone tool culture
- large, symmetrical hand axes & cleavers
- 1.5 million - 150,000 years ago
- Africa, Europe, some Asian
- associated with Homo erectus & early Homo
- shows cognitive & motor schools, tools deliberate and symmetric, advancement
Butchering Sites
contains bones with cut marks
Cortex
- outer, weathered surface of rock/stone
- indicates early stages of tool production
- less cortex = later stage of shaping tools
- how tools were made and what stage flake came from
Denisovans
- extinct group of archaic humans closely relate to Neanderthals
- teeth, finger bone dna found in Denisova Cave, Siberia, Central & East Asia
- inbred w/ modern humans and Neandethals shows multiple hominin groups coexisted & inbred
Globular
- rounded, ball shape of the skill / cranium
- modern homo spaiens have more globular skull than earlier hominins = more advance cognitive abilities
- homo erectus and neanderthals longer, lower, less rounded skulls
H. erectus
- Adaptive shift about 1.8 million years ago
- Increase in diet quality
- Body and brain size increases - Tooth size decreases
- Left Africa early for unclear reasons
- Probably multiple migrations by small hominin groups
- associated with Acheluean tools
H. ergaster
- “african version” of H. erectus or seperate species
- thinner cranial bones, less brow ridges than asian h. erectus, modern body proportions
- shows how early humans adapted to diverse environments (like compared to asian H. erectus)
H. floresiensis
- “The Hobbit” cus its small size
- 3’6, small brain, big teeth, sloped forehead, primitive limb proportions
- small brain but used stone tools, hunted elephants, used fire
- small cus of island dwarfism
- challenges bigger brain = more advanced behavior
H. habilis
- “handy man” or “skilled human”
- larger brain, small teeth face, some primitive traits
- transition between Australopithecus & later homo, association w tools suggest major cognitive leap in early human evolution
H. naledi
🌟naledi means star
- south africa, rising star cave
- mysterious mix of traits: over 1550 fossils from atleast 15 indv, both sexes and range of ages
- small brain, but modern hands feet and legs
- primitive shoulders + curved fingers
- lived recently but had small brain & primitive, multiple hominin species coexisted? complex beahvior isnt just big brains only
H. neanderthalensis
- closest ancient cousins
- Europe, western Asia
- robust, muscular bodies - adapt to colder climates
- large brain, brow ridged, mid face projection, short limbs
- Mousterian tools, controlled fire, hunted, lived in shelters, rituals, symbolic behavior
- interbred w/ early homo sapiens
- highly intelligent and adaptable
H. rhodesiensis
African Archaic Homo, ethiopia & tanzania
- cranical capacity 1,100
- shared traits with H. erectus & H. sapeisn
- robust skull, large brow, large face
- Bodo skull shows cut marks on face, ritual defleshing or cannibalism?
- african variant of h. heidelbergensis
- direct ancestor of modern Homo spaiens?
- transitional species from H. erectus to modern humans in africa - maybe direct lineage to H. sapiens?
H. rudolfensis
- controversial early homo
- found near Lake Rudol, Kenya
- thought to be H. habilis at first (just larger) but other think its separate bc of face shape & brain size
- fossils could represent sexual dismorphism
H. sapiens
- modern humans
- emerged from africa (found morocco)
- globular skull, high forehead, chin, small teeth, brain size, advanced tools, art, burials, fire, expanded globally & adapted
- left africa ~60k years ago
- interbred w neanderthals & denisovans
- only surviving human species
haft
the handle of a weapon or tool
island dwarfism
- associated with H. florensiensi (the hobbit)
- evolution process where large animals evolve smaller bodies when isolated on islands w limited resources and no predators
- fewer predators = no need to be large, limited food = smaller bodied survive better, small habitats = favor small bodies
K-selected
- k selected species produce lower offspring but invest more care and resources in each
- maturity reaches at 15, higher diet quality = brain development, sexual dismorphism, longer lifespans, long-term population stability
- adaptation to climate regional differences all these are factors into ability to leave the continent
Levallois Technique
- middle Paleolithic flaking method, prepared stone cores shaped to uniform pre-planned flakes
- core shaped in advance, single strike removes flake w shrap edge
- used by neanderthals and some early modern humans
- more efficent and precise than earlier techniques, conserves raw material
- major advancement in tool technology
Lumpers
- scientists who group similar fossils together into fewer species
- variation within species > splitting them apart
- larger brained hominins (spaiens, neanderthals, erectus) are single evolving species of homo spaiens over time
- hybridization between sapiens and neanderthals shows interbreeding
Splitters
- argue recognizing neanderthals and denisovans seperate from homo sapiens
- neanderthals, denisovians, and modern humans didnt interbreed & arent gentically intertwined
Mousterian Tools
- neanderthal stone tool industry
- scrapers, lance points, knives, antler, horns, sticks,cordage
- multiple components and needed higher level of skill and specialization
- this industry reflects advanced cogitive abilities in neanderthals
Movius Line
- separates regions where Acheulean hand axes were made from regions where they werent
- east of the line did not use tools, developed more primitive tools like core and flake tools
Quarrying sites
- sites where early hominins gathered raw materials (like stone) to make tools
- intentional planning and knowledge
Wallace Line
separates species with Asian and Australian affinities
What are the defining characteristics of the genus Homo? What are some of the gradual changes we see as we go from early Homo to archaic Homo?
- larger, rounded braincase, less projecting face, smaller teeth, more bipedalism
- brain sizes gradually increase, cranial vault higher & more globular, face less prognathic
- longer legs, narrow pelvis
- tool use more complex
- hominins dispersed out of Africa
What are the differences between confrontational scavenging and passive scavenging? What are some of the arguments made as to why early Homo may have performed on or the other or hunting rather than scavenging?
🍖confrontational scavenging: early homo fought off predators to access fresh kills
- riskier but better meat access
- evidence: cut marks on bones over tooth marks, tool use after predator attack
🦴passive scavenging: early homo waited until predators left then took left overs
- less risky but lower quality remains
- evidence: cut marks under not near tooth marks
❓why?
- brain size needs high energy food like meat
- cut marks over tooth marks = homos came first
Which is the first species in the genus Homo that leaves Africa? How far does this species go around the world?
- Homo erectus
- first to leave, into west asia, southeast asia, Indonesia
What behavioral modification is often found in Neanderthal fossil remains? What cultural practice has been hypothesized for other hominins but is clearly expressed in Neanderthals?
- neanderthal children developed faster than modern humans
- ritualistic burials, cannibalism
How are Denisovans related to Homo sapiens? To Neanderthals? How were Denisovans identified?
- D & h.s share common ancestor, genetically distinct
- h. s have ~5% Denisovan DNA
- denisovans split from common ancestor with neanderthals, lived along side and interbred
- identified through dna analysis found in denisova cave
