Human Evolution Flashcards
Out of Africa I
1.8-0.8 million BC
Homo Erectus migrated from North West Africa to mostly Europe and Asia. They travelled through the straits of gibraltar and sicily as sea levels were lower, and these would have been land bridges. Dmanisi in Georgia is the oldest Hominin site out of Africa, and dates back to 1.81 Ma.
Homonin Evolution and Migration
Homo Rudolfensis evolved in Homo Habilis, which evolved into Homo Erectus, who migrated from africa during Out of Africa I, mostly into Southeast Asia. Erectus were known as Homo Ergaster in Africa. In Africa, hominin evolution continued, with the appearance of Homo Heidelbergensis, which deveolped into Homo Neanderthalensis. Homo Sapiens migrated during Out of Africa II, mostly into Europe and eventually replaced the Neanderthalensis.
Out of Africa II
More anatomically modern humans (Homo Sapiens), migrated from North West Africa to the majority of the world, including Australasia and the Americas, around 100,000 years ago and replaced the Homo Neanderthalensis that were alreday there by around 41-39,000 years ago.
Fertile Crescent - Domestication of animals and farming began in these areas but was developed independently in other parts of the world. The main produce was Wheat, and still is today. Agriculture involving domestication of plants was developed around 11,500 years ago.
Independent Centres of Domestication- The orange areas represent the origins of food production, while the yellow represent the most productive areas currently.
Metal Domestication- appeared independently in different areas over a period of time.
- A and B show the spread of Copper smelting technology
- Domestication of metals, metals independently developed in the Americas.
First used to make tools around 9000 years ago.
Jomon Pottery is a type of ancient pottery which was made during the Jōmon period in Japan, from around 11,000 to 300 BCE.
Erbil, Iraq- one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It is built on layers of previous incarnations of the city, forming the mound it sits on, called a ‘Tell settlement’. It dates back to 5000 BC and is important to archaeologists as the stratigraphy will show many layers of previous cities.
The emergence of writing.
3100 BC - Mesopotamian curieiform
3000 BC - Egyptian hieroglyphs
2500 BC - Indus Valley script
1800 BC - Aegean Linear A
1450 BC - Aegean Linear B
1450 BC - Hittite hieroglyphs
1200 BC - Chinese characters
1000 BC - Phoenician alphabet
750 BC - Greek alphabet
250 BC - Zapotec/ Mixtec script
250 BC - Maya glyphs
250 BC - Brahmi alphabet
Emergence of Civilisations with Leaders
3500 BC - Mesopotamia
3200 BC - Mediterranean
3000 BC - Egypt
2500 BC - Indus Valley
2000 BC - Northern China
1500 BC - Mesoamerica
1500 BC - Andean
Lucy. Australopithecus Afrarensis from 3.2ma. Comprises 40% of a total skeleton. Discovered in Ethiopia’s Afar Depression in 1974. Walked upright but still had the cranial capactiy of apes- around 375-500 cc.
Peking Man. Homo erectus pekinensis found in 1923 near Beijing. May be as old as 680-780,000 years old. Found amongst several incomplete skeletons with date back to 0.5 ma. There is evidence that he was a hunter (animal bones and fire) but may have been a scavenger. The fossils went missing during WWII.
Neanderthals, found in Neander Valley in 1856 and Le Moustier, Dordogne. Homo neadnerthalensis. They were in Europe from 200,000 and in Britain from around 60,000 to 30,000 BP. So far they are more successful than modern humans.
Hybrid Child. Found in Portugal. This is a 24,500 year old early modern huma child burial known the the lapedo child, age 4. This may be an example of mixed ancestory or interbreeding around 30,000 BP between Neanderthals and early modern humans.
The origins of Gracile and Robust Australopithecines, who coexisted in West Africa.
Taung Child. Gracile Australopithecine found in South Africa in 1924 by Raymond Dart. Dated to around 2.8 ma, and may have been carried off and killed by an eagle. Aged around 3.3 years old when killed.
Gracile Australopithecines (e.g. Lucy). Gracile bone structure, long arms, bipedal, sexual dimorphism, prognathic face, and short stature.
The Laetoli Footprints, found in Tanzania in 1976 by Mary Leakey. Made by Gracile Australopithecines 3.7 million years ago and preserved by volcanic ash.
Robust or Paranthropus Australopithecines. Small brain, saggital crest in males, sexually dimorphic, herbivorous teeth, broad prognathic face and wide zygomatic cheek bones. (e.g The Black Skull, below). The Black Skull was found in Kenya in 1985 and is abour 2.5 millions years old.
Nutcracker Man, or Zinj, Robust or Paranthropus Australopithecine. Found in Tanzania in 1959 by Mary Leakey. It is around 1.75 millions years old.
Mode 1 Tools- Pebble tool industries using choppers and simple flakes. The first toold were found in Ethiopia from around 2.6-2.5 ma, and may have been used by australopithecus. Found in the Lower Palaeolithic/ Early Stone Age.
Homo Habilis e.g. Twiggy, right. Known as the ‘Handy Man’ and lived around 1.9-1.6 ma. Cranial capacity of 500-650 cc, sexually dimorphic, proportionally long arms, prognathic face. Associated with early stone toold industries in Kenya and South Africa but tools predate their appearance by 100,000 years. Twiggy was found in Tanzania in 1968, and is around 1.8 ma.
Homo ergaster (in Africa)/ erectus (elsewhere) e.g. Turkana Boy (right) and Dmanisi fossils (below). The first hominins to leave Africa in 1.8 ma. Adapted to live in a range of environments, used fire (1.6-1 ma in Kenya), large cranial capacity. Post cranial skeleton similar to modern humans but more robust. Turkana boy was found in Kenya in 1984 and is around 1.6 ma. The Dmanisi fossils were found in Georgia in 1991 and are around 1.8 ma.
Java Man. Homo erectus found in Indonesia in 1891, and included femurs, skullcap and teeth. Dates to around 1.6-1.8 million years old.
Homo Nadeli, date unknown. Comprised of homo and australopithecine features. Humanesque skull, versatile hands and long legs, but with primartive shoulders and flared pelvis. May have split from early forms or be a recent cousin of us. Signs of deliberate burial. Found in South Africa in 2013.
Mode 2 Tools. Bifacially worked tools produced form large flakes or cores. Associated with the Acheulan insudsty and Homo Erectus. The first technology to leave Africa around 1.7-1.5 ma.
Homo heidelbergensis e.g. Arago (right), Broken Hill (below). The first hominin to successfully colonise Europe. Large cranial capacity and shared features with H. erectus. Ancestral to H. Neanderthalensis in Europe and H. Sapiens in Africa. Broken Hill was found in Zambia in 1921, and is around 300,000 and 125,000 years old. Arago was found in France in 1971 from around 450,000 years ago.
Homo neanderthalensis. We share DNA with them but we are not descended from them. Evidence of eating small mammals and vegetables, and both sexes hunted large mammals. Large cranial capacity.
e.g. The Old Man of La Chapelle discovered in France in 1908. This showed evidence that they looked after the elderly, ill or infirm and of deliberate burial. It is around 60,000 years old. He was around 40 and had arthritis.
Homo sapiens e.g Omo I, the earliest definite H. Sapien, found in Ethiopia in 1967 and dated to 195 ka. Average cranial capacity of 1350cc. Us.
Homo floresiensis. Only 1m tall, with a cranial capacity of 417 cc. Shared features with erectus, australopithecus and sapiens, as well as some unique attributes. Likely to be a late surviving dwarfed form of erectus. e.g Hobbit, found in Indonesia in 2003, and arm bone of which is around 74,000 years old.
Mode 3 tools. Flake tools, produced from prepared cores, used in the Middle Palaeolithic/ Middle Stone Age.
Ardi. Ardipithecus ramidus, believed to be 4.4 million years old. It is the most complete early hominid specimen, with most of the skull, teeth, pelvis, hands and feet intact. A total of 110 bones were found. Discovered in Ethiopia in 1994. Pelivs adapted to partial bipedality, ape like features such as teeth and long arms, and small cranium.
H. Antecessor. Dated to between 1 ma -450 ka. Found at various sites with limited fossil evidence- suggests an unsuccessful hominin disperal. Cut hominin bone suggests cannibalism due to environmental pressure. Happisburgh footprints, dated to 1ma - 780 ka are made by H. Antecessor in Norfolk and were discovered in 2013.
The Acheulan: the first technology to leave Africa. Coincides with greater climate variability, 1.7-1.5 ma. Associated with H. erectus. Bifacial standardised tool forms.
