Hominin Evolution Flashcards
Sahelanthropus tchadensis
6-7mya
West-Central Africa (Chad)
Cranial material, ape/human features, small brain, large brow ridges, elongated skull, small canine teeth, foramen magnum in ventral position
Orrion tugenensis
6.2-5.8 mya
Eastern Africa (Tugen Hills, central Kenya)
Chimp sized, small teeth w/thick enamel (HT), Upper femur, bipedal+quad
Ardipithecus kadabba
5.8-5.2mya
Eastern Africa (Middle Awash Valley, Ethopia)
Bipedal, chimp sized brain, canines (HT), robust
Australopithecus
Starting ~4mya
Australopithecus anamensis
4.2- 3.8mya
Eastern Africa (Lake Turkana, Kenya, and Middle Awash, Ethiopia)
Human-like ankle joint (bipedality), tree climbers (long forearms and wrist anatomy), prognathic face, narrow braincase
Australopithecus afarensis
3.85-2.95mya
Eastern Africa (Kenya, Tanzania)
300+individuals (most common early known human species)
900,000 lived
Lucy AL 288-1 and First Family, AL 333
Dikika, Ethiopia (Dikika ‘child’ skeleton
Laetoli footprints
Ape and human characteristics, shorter development, small braincase (500cc), fingers for climbing, small canine teeth, bipedality
Australopithecus africanus
3.3-2.1mya
Southern Africa (South Africa)
Anatomically similar to Au. afarensis (HT+AT), rounder cranium w/larger brain and smaller teeth, long arms, prognathic face, pelvis+femur+foot indicate bipedality and climbing
Paranthropus aethiopicus
2.7-2.3mya
Eastern Africa (Turkana basin of northern Kenya, southern Ethiopia)
Minimal remains available
“Black Skull” 1985 earliest known robust australopithecine
Prognathic face, large megadont teeth, powerful jaw, large sagittal crest, large muscles for mastication
Homo habilis
2.4-1.4mya
Eastern and Southern Africa
Larger braincase and smaller face and teeth than Australopithecus
Still had long arms and slight facial prognathism
“Handy man” suggested to have used stone tools (oldest stone tools are dated slightly older than Homo)
Homo erectus
1.89 mya - 110,000 years ago
Norther, Eastern, and Southern Africa; WEstern Asia (Dmanisi, Republic of Georgia); East Asia (China and Indonesia)
(Also known as Homo ergaster)
Modern human-like body proportions, elongated legs, shorter arms, bipedality, no climbing adaptations, expanded braincase,
“Turkana Boy” nearly complete skeleton (minus foot and hand bones) 1.6mya
similar growth rate, cared for the old, handaxes
Java 1890s and China “Peking Man” 1920s classic examples of this species
First species to have expanded beyond Africa, variable species, longest lived species
Homo heidelbergensus
700,000 to 200,000 years ago
Europe; possibly Asia; Africa (eastern and southern)
Large brow ridge, larger braincase, flatter face, lived in colder climates, short/wide body (heat conservation), oldest definite control of fire and use of wooden spears, routinely hunt large animals, build shelters
Homo neandertaleinsis
400,000 - 40,000 years ago
Europe and southwestern to central Asia
Closest extinct relative
Large middle part of the face, angled cheek bones, huge nose, short and stockier bodies, brains large
Tool use, controlled fire, lived in shelters, wore clothing, killed large animals, buried dead, DNA extraction performed
Homo sapiens
300,000 - present
Evolved in Africa- worldwide
Dramatic climate change 300,000 ya, H.sapiens evolved in Africa, gathered and hunted food
AMHS have lighter build, large brains, 1300 cc, thin-walled, high vaulted skull, flat/vertical forehead, no browridges/prognathism, jaws less heavily developed, small teeth
Ardipithecus ramidus
4.4mya
Eastern Africa (Middle Awash and Gona, Ethiopia)
Foot bones (divergent large toe with rigid foot), pelvis (HT+CT), lived in wooded environment (contrary to savanna theory)
Keyanthropus platyops
3.5mya
Eastern Africa (West Turkana, Kenya)
Orthognathic face, small-brained, bipedal, earliest known for flat-face in early human
Little known
Australopithecus garhi
2.5mya
Eastern Africa (Bouri site, Middle Awash, Ethiopia)
Not well documented- One fossil cranium + four skull fragments, partial skeleton found nearby
Longer femur, long powerful arms (longer strides during bipedal walking?)
Paranthropus boisei
2.3-1.2 mya
Eastern Africa (Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi)
Specialized skull with adaptations for heavy chewing
Sagittal crest, anchored temporalis muscles (chewing muscles), large cheek teeth (molars and premolars), flaring cheek bones, larger cheek teeth than P. robustus. Flatter, bigger-brained skull than P. aethiopicus, thickest dental enamel of any known early human. Larger brain size
Australopithecus sediba
1.977 to 1.98mya
Southern Africa (South Africa)
Malapa cave-entire skeletons, narrow upper chest resemble earlier Australopithecus, tooth and broad lower chest resemble humans. Pelvis suggests bipedality, the human-like pattern of locomotion based on the strength of humerus and femurs
Small premolars and molars. Long upper limbs and small cranial capacity
Fossils show pelvis and dentition occurred prior ot limb proportions and cranial capacity
Homo rudolfensis
1.9mya to 1.8mya
Eastern Africa (northern Kenya, poss. northern Tanzania and Malawi)
Single fossil “KNM-ER 1470 from Koobi Fora in the Lake Turkana basin, Kenya
Braincase of 775cc (more than H. habilis)
Consider H. habilis inititially, but has larger braincase, longer face, and larger molar and premolar teeth
Should be Australopithecus? But such a large brain!
Paranthropus robustus
1.8 to 1.2 mya
Southern Africa (South Africa)
Robust australopithecine, large megadont cheek teeth, thick enamel, large zygomatic arches (check bones) , dish shaped face, sagittal crest, grinding tough/fibrous foods
Homo floresiensis
100,000-50,000 years ago
Asia (Indonesia)
Hobbit
Island of Flores, Indonesia
Stone tools date between 190,000-50,000 years old
3ft 6in tall, small brains, large teeth, shrugged-forward shoulders, no chins, receding foreheads, large feet
Hunted small elephants and large rodents, may have used fires
Island dwarfism?
Homo naledi
335,000 - 236,000 years ago
South Africa
Earliest Bipedalism
6mya oldest evidence for bipedal walking in Sahelanthropus
Mostly Bipedal
4 mya
Ardipithecus and early Australopithecus
Dawn of technology
2.6mya simple stone flakes and cores in Australopithecus
Control of Fire
800,000 ya - H. heidelbergensis, H. erectus
Rapid increase in brain size
800,000 - 200,000
Human brain size evolved most rapidly during significant climatological change
Agriculture
12,000 ya
