Final Flashcards
Sahelanthropus tchadensis
Dates
7.2-6.8 Ma
Sahelanthropus tchadensis
Location(s)
*tchad= from (t)Chad
-North and East Africa
Sahelanthropus tchadensis
Habitat(s)
Gallery forest along a river, surrounded by grasslands
Sahelanthropus tchadensis
Important traits
-“Toumai”
-Genus name meaning: ‘Man’ of the Sahel
-Species name meaning: From (t)Chad
-Small brain, super large brow-ridge
-Known mainly from skull remains
-Cranial capacity: 320-380 cc- small, smaller than average chimpanzee
-Anterior Foramen magnum
-Massive supra-orbital torus (brow-ridge)
-Less prognathic (from above can’t see eyes, can barely see nose hole, can mostly see teeth)
-Sagittal crest, post-orbital constriction, large nuchal crest
Orrorin tugenensis
Dates
5.9-5.7 Ma (used Argon-Argon dating)
Orrorin tugenensis
Location(s)
Eastern African Rift in Kenya- Tugen Hills
Orrorin tugenensis
Important traits
-“Original ‘man’ from Tugen (Hills)”
-Large bipedal femur
-Arms are arboreal (suspensory)
Ardipithecus
Location(s)
-Ethiopia- continental rifting
Ardipithecus
Dates
Ar. kadabba
5.8-5.2 Ma
Ardipithecus
Important traits
Ar. kadabba
-“Ground ape, oldest ancestor” (in Afar language)
-Largeish, more ape-like canines (relates to social behaviors/sexual dimorphism)
-Feet show it was capable of bipedalism
-Arms show it was arboreal
Ardipithecus
Dates
Ar. Ramidus
4.5-4.3 Ma
Ardipithecus
Habitat(s)
Ar. Ramidus
Forest to woodland environments in Eastern Africa, north part of the rift
Ardipithecus
Important traits
Ar. Ramidus
-“Ground ape, root” (in Afar language)
-small brain- 300-350cc
-Anterior Foramen magnum
-Arms and hands are ape-like
-Bipedal pelvis and femur
-Abducted hallux- handfoot, unique morphology they share with baboons- bone for the toe
-Dentition: relatively thin enamel for leaves, eating foods from more open areas
-Monomorphic canines (one size)- reduced sexual dimorphism
Australopithecus afarensis
Dates
3.8-2.9 Ma
Australopithecus afarensis
Location(s)
Eastern Africa
Australopithecus afarensis
Important traits
-“Lucy” “Salem” and “Kadanuumuu”
-Direct evidence of bipedality- Footprints found in Ash 3.5 Ma (Laetoli 1976)
-Evidence shows they walked with a striding gait
-380-550 cranial capacity
-Megadont (big teeth)
-Suspensory arms
-Short femur with large valgus angle
-Small, human-like foot
Australopithecus afarensis
Bipedal how? Bent-knee Bent-Hip? Striding?
-Evidence of a striding gait found in footprints
Earliest evidence of meat eating
Cut marks
-Earliest evidence of meat eating
-Dikika, Ethiopia
-3.4 Ma
Earliest evidence of meat eating
Stone tools
-Lomekwi, Kenya
-3.3 Ma
Australopithecus africanus
Dates
-3.3-2.1 Ma
Australopithecus africanus
Location(s)
South Africa cave sites
Australopithecus africanus
Important traits
-“Southern ape; of Africa”
-Similiar to Au. afarensis in primitive traits (arms), but exhibits more ‘advanced’ morphology- large brain, more human-like pelvis
Shared traits of The Hominini
-Bipedality
Bipedal walking in non-bipeds (facultative bipeds)- bent-knee and bent-hip
Bipedal walking in obligate bipeds- striding gait
-Encephalization
Foramen magnum is more anterior (the body is vertical, the head sits on top like a rod) is one of the first things to change
-Reduced nuchal (neck) musculature
-Very reduced canines (reduction in sexual dimorphism)
-Loss of honing molar
-Intermembral index shifts 90-70
-More sagittally-oriented and shortened iliac blades to stabilize balance (pelvis)
-Valgus knee (knock knee)
How did the australopithecine lineage leading to Homo adapt its diet to prevent extinction?
Developing a flexible and generalized diet
Australopithecus
-“Southern ape”
-2 well known species: Au. afarensis and Au. africanus
-Several other species
-First found in Taung in 1924 in a South African mining cave
-A juveline is Identified by Raymond Dart
-1930s: adult Au. africanus
-1930s: Paranthopus in South Africa
-1950s: Paranthopus in East Africa
-“Lucy” found in 1974 by Donald Johanson in Hadar, Ethiopia
Adaptive Radiation
-the earth is becoming cooler and dryer
-rapid diversification and spread of taxa
-often due to climate change (major climate change starting at ~2.8 Ma)
Modified Savannah Hypothesis
-the savanna hypothesis of human evolution suggests that the transition from a predominately arboreal lifestyle in forest to one in open habitats favoured an upright posture and selected for bipedalism along with a shift in diet that necessitated travel over greater distances across the landscape
-origin of HYPERmetadontia (Paranthropus)
-expansion of tool use (Homo)
Earliest specimen of Paranthropus
-Nyayanga, Kenya
-2.9 Ma
Paranthopus shared features
-“Near man”
-Three species
-Post-cranially very similiar to Au., but cranially very different
-Hypermegadont (huge teeth)
-Small incisors and small canines
-‘Dished’ face
-Sagittal crest
Paranthopus aethiopicus
Dates
2.7 – 2.3 Ma (earliest)
Paranthopus aethiopicus
Location(s)
Ethiopia & Kenya
Paranthopus aethiopicus
Important traits
-”Near ‘man’; of Ethiopia”
-HUGE posterior (back of the head) sagittal crest
-very prognathic
Paranthopus boisei
Dates
2.5 – 1.4 Ma