Final Flashcards
Continental Drift
barriers led to speciation (species geographically seperated)
continental positions led to change in ocean currents led to change in climate
climates create selective pressure
Reconstructing Global Temperature
cooling trend over the last 65 million years
more variable in last 5 million years
bones & teeth
fossilization
how moved, how big, what they ate, what mating and social structure may have been
plant & animal fossils
fossilization
reconstruct the environment
How fossils are created
burial - organic compounds replaced by minerals
soft tissues + behaviors rarely fossilize
issues with the fossil record
overestimate time of first appearance & underestimate time of extinction
oversimplifies relationships and underestimates divergence times
small animals are less likely to fossilize and some habitats are less likely to create fossils - bias
principle of superposition
stratigraphy
if rock has not been disturbed, bottom layers are older than those above
potassium-argon dating
dating techniques
date volcanic rocks around fossil
volcano erupts: potassium decays steadily into argon
biostratigraphy
dating techniques
as long as one side can be dated absolutely, infer dates of other (side by side)
primate origins
current: around equator
fossil: up to american SW, europe
characteristics of fossil primates
grasping hands + feet
nails instead of claws
forward facing eyes encased in bone
hind limb dominated locomotion
relatively large brain
generalized teeth
general overview of primate evolution
PELEOMM (party elves love epic outdoor music madness)
paleocene (65-54 mya): plesiadapiforms
eocene (40-50 mya): adaptids (early lemur) & omomyids (early lorises)
late eocene-olligogene (30-45mya) proteopithecus (early new world) & aegyptopithecus (early old world)
miocene (5-23mya): proconsul (early apes)
middle miocene (10-15mya): -pithecus (early apes)
plesiadapiforms
paleocene
maybe not primates
no binocular vision, eye on sides, no postorbital bar
small brain
some nails, some claws
grasping hands + feet in some
Eocene Primates
40-50mya
earth warm and wet
tropical forests spread into north america + europe
2 families: adaptids (like lemurs) & omomyids (like lorises)
Late Eocene-Oligogene
30-45 mya
find fossils in N America with full orbital closure: origin of Anthropoids
proteopithecus & aegyptopithecus
proteopithecus
late eocene-oligocene
fossil version of new world monkey - evolved in Africa and moved to south America
traveled by rafting: large land masses break + float
aegyptopithecus
late eocene-oligocene
fossil catarrhine (old world apes)
Miocene
5 to 23 mya
warm + wet –> cool + dry over time
10 genera + 15 species: proconsul,
not many monkes
apes v monkeys
tied to how they moved (under branches/on the ground)
apes have no tails
forelimb suspension (apes hang, monkeys walk)
short stiff lower back
mobile joints
long arms + fingers
proconsul
early miocene
africa 17-23 mya
frugivorous in forest environments
ape-like skull + teeth; monkey like body
oreopithecus (cookie monster)
7-8mya (late miocene)
N. italy in a coal mine
swamp habitat (diff from current apes)
folivore, teeth diff from other apes
sivapithecus
found in asia
some characteristics like orangutan: dish face + tall, narrow orbits
gigantopithecus
china, ate bamboo (like pandas)
5 mya
head could be oversized for body… may not actually be that big
apes in europe
disappear 8mya; move to Asia + Africa
evolution of bipedalism
6-8mya: first split from last common ancestor with chimpanzee
hominins
on branch from last common ancestor to humans
not to be confused with hominids (african apes)
human uniqueness
walk on 2 legs
small canines + large molars 2/ thick enamel
large brains
slow life histories + long juvenile period
overlapping offspring + cooperative breeding
language + culture
types of bipedalism
obligate, habitual, faculative
obligate bipedalism
must be bipedal - no other efficient choice
habitual bipedalism
can do it and makes it a habit
faculative bipedalism
can do it if they have to
Skulls & bipedalism
humans: spine from bottom of head
chimps: spine from back of head
foramen magnum
hole that connects head with spine
bideal spine characteristics
S shaped curve (lumbar lordosis): allowead head, neck, & pelvis to be aligned
bipedal pelvis characteristics
bipedal: short, stout pelvis & iliac blade (bones at top of pelvis) face to the side
chimps: iliac blade in back
abductor muscle stabilizes
bipedal femoral neck characteristics
uneven thickness prevents stress (under thicker than top)
longer neck is for adjustment
bipedal femur characteristics
longer femoral shafts - more distance per step
bipedal knees
bicondular angle - under and not to the side
helps with balance
bipedal feet
non grasping big toe & arches
push off with big toe - faces up and not to the side
why bipedalism
rainforests –> woodland
food bc seperated by vast open areas
bipedalism evolved to cross these areas (thermoregulation & energetics)
thermoregulation
less solar radiation when standing vs when on all fours
face to the wind - cool down
bipedalism energetics
bipedalism saves energy
Sahelanthropus Tchadensis
Chad, (central) Africa: forest
6-7mya
bipedal, chimp sized brain, femur - more human like & indicate bipedal
ulna: chimp like (climb in trees)
Orrorin tugenensis
Kenya (east) Africa
6mya
woodland + savannah
curved fingers: tree living
femur: bipedal
teeth are chimp like
ardipithecus kadabba
ethiopia (east) africa
5.2-5.8 mya
toe bone suggests bipedilaity
canine sharpens against lower premolar
ardipithecus ramidus
ethiopia (east) africa
4.4 mya
woodland
bipedal based on skull, pelvis, foot; climbing based on hand, foot, & pelvis
small brain, small canines, short arms
ardipithecus ramidus: teeth
incisors: smaller than frug. chimps
molars: thicker than apes, thinner than humans
canines: not sharpened, not dimorphic (could mean pair bonded, could mean that they have hands)
ardipithecus ramidus: postcranial anatomy
hand: not knucle walking
foot: grasping toe, stiff foot for bipedalism
pelvis: ivium adapted for bipedalism. lower part apelike
MASSIVE GRAIN OF SALT
Australopithecines
radiation: multiple species across Africa
small brains, skilled @ upright walking, retain tree-climbing,
chimpanzee sized, pronounced body size dimorphism,
reduced canine dimorphism, large molars
Australopithecus anamensis
kenya + ethiopia (east), Africa
3.9 - 4.2 million years ago
grassy woodland environments
bipedal: tibia
long arms + curved fingers
canines smaller than modern apes
australopithecus afarensis
ethiopia + tanzania
3-3.6 mya
woody grassland
smaller canines, larger molars than anamensis
slightly larger brain than chimp
bipedal
body size dimorphism (2x)
australopithecus afarensis: skull + teeth
more u shaped, smaller distema, some dimorphism
australopithecus afarensis: locomotion
some tree climbing based on scapula + fingers
bipedal based on pelvis
australopithecus afarensis: footprints
lactoli, tanzania: 3.6 mya
australopithecus afarensis: feet
big toes more like humans than chimps
australopithecus afarensis: dikika child
dikika ethiopia
3.3 million years ago
3yo female
bipedal, tree climbing
hyoid: no language
slower brain maturation (hallmark of humans)
australopithecus garhi
surprise!
east africa
2.5 mya
cranial features: small brain, saggital crest, large teeth
prostcrania: longer legs?
stone tools: several hundred meters away
(potential of not just homo tools)
australopithecus africanus
2.2-3mya
south africa
taung child: foramen magnum = bipedal
cave: leapard predation - bones in cave
woody grassland
cranially like afare
large size dimorphism
rapid tooth deelopment
australopithecus sebida
malapa cave, S Africa
1.98 mya
australopithecus sediba: cranial
small brain, teeth
reduced musculature for chewing
australopithecus sebida: diet
phytoliths: fruit, leaves, bark
australopithecus sebida: postcranial
human-like hand + pelvis
relatively long arms
apelike thorax
primitive foot: suggests unique form of bipedal
paranthropus aethipicus
kenya (east) Africa
2.5 mya
cranial adaptations: enormous back teeth, sagittal crests, deep zygomatic arch, flat face, post orbital confliction
bipedal
robust v gracile
pleistocine
earth drier, forest receding, large temperature fluctuations
early homo (origins)
2.3 mya
Africa
large brains, small teeth, australopithecus limb proportions, rapid dev
homo habilis (handyman)
first found w/ tools
1.4-2.3mya
east + s. africa
brains: 600cc
more rounded skull
less prognathic face
taxonomic or sex diff - homo rudolfensis: slightly larger brain (diff? same?)
Origin of Tool Use
apes use tools (sticks to extract insects, stone to crack open nuts); do not modify
Oldowan tool industry
as seen w/ homo habilus
mode 1: flakes, hammer stones; carcass butchering, digging sticks, termite extractive foraging, bone tools
earliest ev: dikika: cut marks
right handed bias
Oldowan: meat eating
concentration of butchered bones + tools
bovid concentrations outnumber all others
taphonomy
study of what happens to bone after death
Oldowan taphonomy
toothmarks diff from stone tools (parallel grooves)
see ev of stone tools on bone
Oldowan: olduvi
not water accumulated; some hyena dens
Oldowan: hunters or scavengers?
probably both
some have tooth then stone after; some opposite
Olduvai home life
1.9 mya
circle of stones = anchor??
unlikely - see a lot of bone… processing place?
Homo Ergaster
1.8mya-600kya in Africa
early Homo erectus (which is the asian variant)
Homo Ergaster: Skull
primitive: post orbital constriction, no chin, receding forehead
derived: less prognathic, larger brain (800-1200cc), smaller jaw + teeth
unique: brow ridge, occipital torus (tearing food?)
Homo Ergaster: Post Crania
long legs, narrow hips, barrel chest
modern human body propotions
reduced sexual dimorphism
limited language (no hyoid bone, but have the vertebrae ev)
terrestrial biped; runner?
Homo Ergaster: Tools
Archeulean industry
mode 2
1.5mya
bifacial tools
specifically designed (carcass processing)
unchanged for 1mya - no innovation, but teaching & learning indicated (big brain)
Homo Ergaster: Meat Eating
KNM-ER 1808 (Kenya) - vitamin A poisoning (eating livers of carnivores)
many hand axes
cut marks on animal bones
tooth anatomy
human specific tapeworms 0.8-1.7 mya - suggests meat eating in ergaster
Homo Ergaster; Dispersal
1.8mya - Dmanisi Georgia
5 skulls
post-crania homo0like
Oldowan stone tools
1st ev of humanity outside of Africa - Erectus
Homo Erectus
Indonesia - Java Man - 1.6mya
large brained (940 cc), bipedal
first fossil ev of trasnitional species
Erectus v Ergaster
thicker skull, larger face, more pronounced occipital torus & browridge, sagittal keel, bigger, stockier body (adaptation to cold)
Homo Florensiensis
the “hobbit”
Flores, Indonesia
16000-74000 ya
small body (3ft) small brained (400cc)
sophisticated stone tools (almost mode 5)
pelvis: sim to australopithicene
feet: almost as large as homo sapien
hands: primitive wrists
Homo Florensiensis: Hypotheses
Island Dwarfism (when on island, get small… doesn’t adjust w/ scale of erectus)
Disease (no disease known today that is sim)
Ancestral Early Homo (no intermediate fossils & sophisticated stone tools)
Homo heidelbergensis
evolved from ergaster in Africa & w. eurasia
larger brain (1200-1300cc)
larger brow ridge
no chin
1mya - 400kya
Africa & europe
ancestor to sapiens & neanderthal
Homo heidelbergensis: toolkit
large game hunting (butchered animal bones)
diversity of food
levallois prepared core techniques (mode 3)
European Heidelbergensis
500kya
24 indivs - Sima de los Huesos, Spain
proto neanderthal
genetically closer to Neanderthal than Denisovan
Denisovan
400kya
siberia, Russia
Heidelbergensis in Asia
200kya
Homoneanderthalensis
200-40kya
first homonim found - Neander valley E. of Dusseldorf
Neanderthal Env
fluctuating environment
cooling trend
Eurasia: frigid grassland w/ large mammals
Neanderthal Cranial Anatomy
large brain (11740cc) - oblong
oblong skulls, occipital bun, thin walled
unique teeth - heavily worn incisors
Neanderthal Postcrania
short + stocky
robust limbs
wide torso, short arms & legs
Neanderthal Intelligence
mousterian/mode 3 tools (finer flakes)
large game hunters
burial of dead
personal ornaments
Neanderthal Language
human like hyoid bone & foxp2 gene
maybe diff range of sounds than humans
tony monaco –> foxp2 gene
Neanderthal Life
short & difficult (disease + injuries)
living w/ injuries - social group?
same injuries as rodeo clowns
Homo Naledi
Homo Sapiens
rising star cave, South Africa
15 skeletons
small brains (465-560cc)
primitive & human-like features (curved fungers, small brains, human-like hands + feet)
Homo Sapiens: Origin & Spread
oldest homo sapiens in Africa
ethiopia - 190kya
South Africa - 100kya
Israel - 100kya
Asia + Europe: 40kya
1st migration - ergaster, 2nd migration - homo sapiens (over generations)
lack of genetic diversity - bottleneck
*there was overlap w/ neanderthals & ergaster
Homo Sapiens: Morphology
large round skulls w/ high foreheads
small face + teeth
protruding chin
less robus postcrania
long limbs
Homo Sapiens Tool Kit: African Archaeological Record
250000-40000ya
Modes 3-5 - Blades (4) & Microliths (5) - atlatyls
Social orgs, symbolic expression
bone tools
heat treated stone (access to fire)
long distance transport
decorative carving
Homo Sapiens Tool Kit: Byond Africa
India & Sri Lanka
Australia - 40000ya, cave paintings, boats
Arctic Circle - 30000ya, sophiticated tools
Upper Paleolithic Humans v Neanderthals
higher pop density, longer lives, healthier (safer hunting methods - atlatls)
Upper Paleolithic Symbolic Behavior
ritual burials, art & music, cave paintings (chauvet cave, france 36000ya), figurines (germany 32000 ya)
Hunter-Gatherer Lifestyle
wild food; no domestication
evening meals (meat) = cooked, snacks raw
Why Cook - hypotheses
early idea - cooking symbolic (false)
increase amount of raw food = decrease in ovulation - obligated to eat cooked food
molars + gut is too small for raw food (expensive tissue hypothesis?)
Benefits of Cooked Food
higher energy gain from macro nutrients
increase digestibility
decrease digestion costs
animals prefer cooked food
Cooking origination
44-50kya - cooked food evident in neanderthal dental
fire controlled 1mya
Anatomical Evidence for Cooking
1.8mya
H. erectus - smaller guts
obligate terrestriality - sleeping on ground dangerous w/o fire
Cooking & the Brain
bigger brain & cortical nuerons - 2mya
energy cost depend on # of nuerons
pay cost by smaller gut & less energy spent chewing (cannot do w/ raw food)
cooking = first, meat = second
Evolution of Running
Ergaster - 50% more cal than Austrolopithecus
lots of travel - longer limbs = less costly
hunting: persistence hunting hypothesis
postcrania: short toes, arched feet, stabilized head, sweat, no fur - cooling mech
can run long distances at gallop speed
more energy efficient than walking
persistence hunting hypothesis
outrun herbivore to death
Genetic Variation
most changes in genes affect large amounts (ex: regulatory - small dif, large change)
202 HAR (highly accelerated regions) - recent & rapid change in humans; many regulatory
vary in diff ways
Variation of Single Genes: Huntington’s Disease
single, dominant allele
persists b/c present post-reproduction
Persistence of Disease: Sickle Cell Anemia
balanced polymorphism: heterozygous is the most resistance to malaria (highest fitness)
this is why it’s high in locations prone to malaria
Variation in Complex Phenotypic Traits: Height
twin studies show strong gen. component
also environment: improved conditions –> taller
Evolution of Skin Color
Chimps - light skin
homo ergaster - no fur; darker skin
86% variation connected to UV radiation
Why UV protection
skin cancer (post rep)
folate metabolism (causes birth defects)
Skin Color and UV protection; tradeoffs
melanin absorbs UV radiation
however, prevents vitamin D production - affects immune function and cell growth
Inuit: dark skin due to sun & snow; vit D from diet
repigmentation in Australia and India
Why Race is fake
races overlap and are continuous - not sep on graph of traits
however, in the past was tied to capacity and temperments - used to defend slavery
effects: maternal mortality (controlled for socioeconomic data)
WEIRD humans
western, educated, industrialized, rich, developed
affected by church, marriage, and other social phenomena
Biological Sex
male (small, mobile gamete)
female (large, immobile gamete)
binary - not born w/ but two categories of reproduction
gender
identities based on social/cultural chars; gender identity, perception, expression
human sex = not binary
more chromosomal combinations than male + female
congenital adrenal hyperplasia (xx w/ high testosteron - male external genitalia)
complete or partial androgen insensitivity syndrome (XY w/ female external genitalia)
acute cornary syndrome: gender expression higher effect on coronary than biological sex
human gender performance
more likely to play w/ “opposite gender toys” when alone than w/ peer
over socialization of gender
primate play & gender
males more agressive - long term exposure to agression
environment evolutionary adaptiveness
humans evolved to be in small foraging groups
many problems are due to mismatch
phobias
evolution of behavior
evolved as mechanism to avoid dangerous situations
inbreeding avoidance
evolution of behavior
many diseases homozygous recessive - likely in inbreeding
primates: leave natal groups
westmark effect: not attracted to those grew up with (chinese minor marriage)
frued = bullshit
Human Mate Choice: Evolution
females lim by resource - favor partner who can provide
males lim by females - favor heavy, fertile, females
attraction highest; women rate ambition higher
Human Mate Choice: Culture
chastity varies cross culturally
finance is uniform
Human Mate Choice: Jealousy
limits infidenlity (sexual + emotional)
Attractive Faces
cross cultural agreement about which faces are the most attractice
prefer averaged faces
prefer symmetric faces
women smell symmetry when ovulating; infants look longer at attractive faces
males prefer females w/ neonatal features
Hunter Gatherer Familial Structures
ethno-linguistic units: share values, beliefs, languages, territories, and ethnicities
marriage is typical
Human Pair-Bonds
females generally bonded to 1 male
wealth goes with an increase in polugamy
Afinal Kindship
complex networks through overlapping connections
organized social world
Functions of Sex
conception, paternity confusion, practice, communication
Nonconceptive Sex: Practice
practice copulation mechanisms
infant males intromit w/ females and males
Nonconceptive Sex: Communication
bonobos!
f-f: reduce tension, integration of female into new community; genito-genital rubbing; find partners for sons
Homosexuality: Alternate Strategy
Albatross: f-f mated pairs rear young together - higher success rate than if alone
mountain gorillas: treat younger males as females for practice
Pro-creative bias
bias that sex is only for conception
homosexuals don’t exhibit psychological abnormalities
Chimp Between Group Agression
most groups are surrounded - agression is universal
Bonobos Between Group Agression
relatively peaceful
prevent with grooming, sex, and play
Balance of Power
mutual fear of intense agression
mild threat & escalate slowly & stop when other stops
when multiple - battle
Imbalance of Power
agressors disinhibited
strong atack
don’t stop
rare
when multiple agressors - raid
Imbalance of Power Hypothesis
fission fusion grouping allows individuals to be alone
imblaance of power = low cost agression and increases dominance and power
prediction 1: power asymmetry provokes attack
prediction 2: power asymmetry supress attack
prediction 3: victims tend to be male
prediction 4: inter-group dominance –> resources (occupy area where raids occur)
Reconstructing Last Common Ancestors
Are we more like chimps or bonobos?
looking at outgroup - gorillas like giant chimps
b/c LCA between 4 was chimp like, LCA between 3 was also likely chimp like
bonobo qualities (and peacefulness?) likely derived
Paedomorphism & Reduced Agression
reduced agression is tied to cranial reduction, paedomorphic crania, limb gracility, dental reduction
fox selection study
Bonobo Agression Explained
low food competition; large groups of females reduce male agression
Today’s Nomads & Agression
peaceful… but
low competition as neighbors aren’t horticulturists
lack materials needed to compete
Adamese - violent across tribes; inuit: kill strangers
Inuit/Yupik War Tactics
night raids on full kashim
block doors & torch inside
risks: open, have tunnels
Asmat People, Papua New Guinea, War Tactics
Raid Sequence: festivities, male alliance, silent approach, joyful experience
Between Group Agression: Cooperative
success depends on strength in numbers and trust
raids = cooperative behavior
Human Inter-Group Agression
low industrial - even when consider WWs
between group agression still high
Human Within Group Agression
Chimps: 100-500x more agressive
Types of Agression
reactive (sudden, due to high arousal)
proactive (planned, due to low arousal)
between group is mostly proactive
Proactive Agression in Humans
war, torture, homicide, capital punishment - universal
Self Domestication - Humans
indications of paedomorphism + paedomorphic behavior
capital punishment against reactively agressive males (capital punishment hypothesis) - mechanism of social control
through language & tolerance
Shamans
practioner who uses trance to provide services
Trance
temporary state that appears diff from normal human functioning
Shamanism
ubiquitous across human culture
features: trance, initiations, chanting, displays, prohibitions, peculiarity
subjective model:
hacks beliefs to control uncertainty
Subjective Model of Shamanism
psychology of superstition
selection for inuitive magic
transform into entities distinct from humans to claim special powers (invisible forces - engage w/), (transofrm - superhuman powers to people who seem nonhuman)
trance increases drama to support
Subjective Cultural Selection
humans have psychologically determined goals + retain variants that seem to satisfy these goals
culture evolves to acheive that goal
Taboos/Self-Denial on Shamans
permanent dietary (valuable foods)
some sex
infer sincere belief, supernatural, powerful
Culture
information acquired from others through social learning, that is separate from genetic information (seen through variation)
Meme
unit of culture
idea, behavior, or style that spreads from invidual to individual
Tradition
unit of culture
enduring behavior patterns shared by members of a group
Cultural Variation in Nature
japanese macaques: potato washing
black rats: pinecone seed acquisition
meerkats: wake times
capuchins: trust games
Chimpanzee Culture
39 behaviors
ex: hand clasp grooming - maternal line determines where grab
Common Garden Experiment
raise two items in common garden - det if genetic or environmental difference
Naath v Dinka cultures
Human Cultural Variation in the Same Environment
similarities: sim language group, environment, cattle, crops
differences: Naath - segmentary lineage, cattle for exchange; more cattle is more incentive for land, which mobilizes for cooperative raids, which are easier due to living w/ kin
Germans v Yankees in IL
Human Cultural Variation in the Same Environment
Yankees see farming as business; value education, and don’t press children to farm
Germans see farming as way of life; urge child to farm
over time - german’s increase percentage of farm ownership
Accumulation of Human Culture
ex: we’d all die in the arctic
accumulation over generations is far more than we could do on our own
cumulative culture: ratcheting effect
culture start expoding 60000ya and never stopped
allows us to adapt through culture and not speciation in new habitats
Social Learning: Directions of Transmission
vertical: parent to offspring
horizontal: among peers
oblique: old to young
social facilitation
Mechanisms of Social Learning
indirectly increasing likelihood that other individual will learn behavior on their own
ex: great tits opening milk bottles - must reinvent behavior every time, but pave way
observational learning
Mechanisms of Social Learning
watch other solve problem
ex: chimp watch termite fish & imitate
imitation
Mechanisms of Social Learning: Observational Learning
copy sequence to solve problem exactly
humans imitate when there is adult demonstration
goal emulation
Mechanisms of Social Learning: Observational Learning
copy final outcome
Teaching
Mechanisms of Social Learning
active involvement of experience facilitating learning
meerkats: dead scorpions to live scorpion w/o stinger, live w/ stinger
criteria: modify only in presence of B, incur cost, B acquires knowledge more rapidly
humans learn vert as young and horizontally as older
culture is part of biology - asshole bump
Intentional Comunication in Chimps
only give alarm when friend/kind is present
more like. to look at other individual and alternate gaze when alarm
stop calling when others indicate tthat they see
Ape Language Studies
Kanzi (bonobo) can understand & respond to 72% of novel sentences (context)
Human Language
sentences using grammar
translateable
innate capacity
syntax & recursion
language for numbers - keep track of long term reciprocal action
FoxP2 Gene
language gene - study family w/ mutation
Mismatch Disorders
bodies designed for hunter-gatherer lifestyle
behavior has evolved, genetics have not
Obesity
Mismatch Disorders
higher rates & health problems
due to storing fat in case of food shortages
not selected against due to post-reproduciton
Stress
Mismatch Disorders
adaptive response to crisis - identical regardless of type of stress
humans: stress in response to past & future events
frequent + prolonged stress - negative health effects (but no direct evidence w/ female fecundicity - non stressed people just have sex more!)
Reproductive Cancers
Mismatch Disorders
pregnant less often, lactate shorter, & menarche earlier in industrial societies - more menstrual cycles
during menstrual cycles - spike in estrogen (which is also in general higher) - increase cell division in breasts
cancer occurs during cell division - more chances to occur
sim w/ prostate cancer & testosterone levels (which are higher in industrial)
Lactase Persistence
Recent Human Evolution
co-evolved w/ pastoralism
Starch & Amylase
Recent Human Evolution
origin of agriculture - increase of starch in diets
amylase breaks starch into sugare
people from higher starch populations have higher levels of amylase - which helps digest (if too low - diharreah = life threatening)
Diet & Height: Inuit
Recent Human Evolution
diet high in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs)
genes that affect ability to digest also affect height and weight - Inuit tend to be shorter & stockier
Children v Adults: language
children are slower to respond to gramattical mistakes and have a larger part of the brain
tools & language
activate same part of the brain
puppet studies
babies choose the cooperative puppet to play with - ev of self domestication
babies choose puppet that likes the same food as them - in group
theory of mind
understand thoughts of others
associated w/ understanding the future
parts of brain
frontal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe, lateral ventrical, thalamus, pineal gland, corpus callosum, optic chiasm, pituitary gland, brainstem (midbrain, pons, medulla), spinal cord
