Exam 4 Flashcards
The study of human evolution through the fossil record
Paleoanthropology
The study of shape and sizes of species
Morphology
What study do we use to date fossils?
Dating/geology
Study of the fossilization process
Taphonomy
Study of reconstructing the environment of fossils
Paleoecology
Study of previous behaviors of a fossil
Comparative primatology
What defines a hominin from a chimpanzee?
Bipedalism
The fundamental adaptation of our lineage
Bipedalism
What type of environment did the earliest humans live in?
Forest/woodlands
What reason did Darwin believe in about why humans are bipedal?
Freed up our hands to use weapons and tools
What is one problem about the bipedalism hypothesis about how humans need to see over the tall grass?
Early humans lived in forests not savannas
What is one issue about how bipedal humans developed in order to free their hands for tools?
Do not see first stone tools until 2.5 million years ago
What is one issue about how bipedal humans developed bipedalism to forage for food?
Doesn’t need anatomical alterations
What is the thermoregulation hypothesis?
Less surface area exposed to solar radiation, increased convective cooling
Why is there an issue with the thermoregulation hypothesis?
Earliest hominids did not live in the savanna
What is the most supported hypothesis for bipedalism?
Use fewer calories to walk and allow us to be endurance hunters
What are some skeletal adaptations to bipedalism?
Foramen magnum is horizontal and underneath the skull, spine is S-shaped and vertebra increase in size as you go down, longer legs than arms, human pelvis is bowl shaped, femur angled inward
What 2 muscles stabilize the hips and allow us to stand on one leg?
Gluteus minimus and medius
What is one factor of the pelvic bone that tells us it is bipedal?
Ilium is wide and low
Greater than ___ degrees of the carrying angle indicates bipedalism
90
