Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

2019 - Biology > HUMAN EVOLUTION > Flashcards

HUMAN EVOLUTION Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
AP® Biology flashcards Biology 101 flashcards
1
Q

HUMANS IN ANIMAL KINGDOM

A
  • mammalia and into the genus Homo.
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

SIMILARITIES BETWEEN APES AND HUMANS

A
  • opposable thumbs that allow for power grip
  • two hands with five fingers (toes too)
  • no tail
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN APES AND HUMANS

A

H - bipedal, A - quadrupedal
H - large, developed brain, A - small less dev brain
H - narrow flat face, A - wider sloping face

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

EVIDENCE OF COMMON ANCESTORS

A
  • fossil evidence
  • genetic evidence
  • cultural evidence
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

WHAT DOES FOSSIL EVIDENCE LOOK AT

A

looks at:

  • bipedalism
  • dentition
  • palate shape
  • brain size
  • cranial and brow ridges
  • prognathism
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

PALEONTOLOGY

A

study of fossils

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

BIPEDALISM

A
  • walking upright on two feet

- foramen magnum in the middle of the skull enables bipedalism, as opposed to it being at the back of the skull

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

ADVANTAGES OF BIPEDALISM

A
  • upright bodies expose less surface area to the sun - less overheating
  • hands are free to use tools and hunt
  • adaptable - can occupy wider variety of habitats
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

PALATE SHAPE

A
  • was previously narrow and rectangular, later became more u-shaped and then became wider and more curved in humans
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

CRANIAL AND BROW RIDGES

A
  • apes have prominent c&b ridges for attachment of chewing muscles
  • decreased in size over time and completely reduced in humans
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

DENTITION

A
  • teeth size decreased with evolution
  • apes have prominent canines, but human canines are the same size as other teeth
  • tooth enamel thickened over time
  • diastema disappeared over time
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

DIASTEMA

A

the large gap between the incisors and canines

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

PROGNATHISM

A
  • when the jaw protrudes and there is no chin (in apes)
  • apes have sloping face bc of this
  • teeth smaller over time = reduced prognathism
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

BRAIN SIZE

A
  • cranium size inc in most fossils over time = brain capacity inc as well
  • ape cranium is small and elongated, less dev brain
  • humans have rounded skull = bigger cranium and larger dev brain
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

MORE COMPLEX HUMAN BRAIN HELPED WITH

A
  • well developed hand-eye coordination
  • the capacity for language
  • the use of fire
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

GENETIC EVIDENCE

A
  • very rare to extract DNA from a fossil
    organisms contain:
  • chromosomal DNA
  • mitochondrial DNA
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

COMPARING mtDNA

A
  • by comparing mtDNA of living hominids, scientists can determine when the evolutionary paths of humans and apes separated
  • many diffs = sep occured earlier
  • more time for mutations to occur = more variation
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

CULTURAL EVIDENCE: TOOLS

A

the production and use of tools (and other cultural practices like fire making and art) are suggested as further evidence of common ancestors for living hominids

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

TYPES OF TOOLS

A
  • made of stone, sometimes bone and wood
  • some sharp stones, others carved blades
  • provide access to wider variety of foods
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

THREE MAIN TOOL CULTURES

A
  • oldowan
  • acheulian
  • mousterian
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

MAIN HOMINID GENERA WITHIN THE HOMINID GROUP

A
  • ardipithecus
  • australopithecus
  • homo
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

ARDIPITHECUS

A
  • 5,8 - 4,4 mya

- transition between apes and australopithecus

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

CHARACTERISTICS OF ARDIPITHECUS

A
  • probably bipedal
  • long arms for climbing trees
  • small brain capacity
  • sloped face
24
Q

AUSTRALOPITHECUS

A
  • first bipedal primates

- lived between 4,5 and 1,4 mya

25
Q

CHARACTERISTICS OF AUSTRALOPITHECUS

A
  • bipedalism and upright walking
  • large brow ridges
  • u-shaped palate
  • protruding jaw, no chin
26
Q

FIVE WELL KNOWN AUSTRALOPITHECINES

A
  • Taung child
  • Mrs Ples
  • Lucy
  • Little Foot
  • Australopithecus sediba
27
Q

TAUNG CHILD

A
  • found by Raymond Dart
  • was of a 3-4 yr old child
  • small brain, human-like teeth, bipedal
28
Q

MRS PLES

A
  • Robert Broom

- possibly bipedal, no protruding canines

29
Q

LITTLE FOOT

A
  • Ron Clarke

- bipedal, short arms, similar hands to humans

30
Q

CHARACTERISTICS OF HOMO

A
  • bipedalism
  • flat face
  • wide, curved palate
  • larger brain
  • no brow ridges
31
Q

HOMO HABILLIS

A
  • smaller body and larger brain than Australopithecus

- fossil found in Tanzania

32
Q

HOMO ERECTUS

A
  • closer to modern humans than Australopithecus

- large bodies, thick skulls and large teeth

33
Q

HOMO TIMELINE

A
  • habillis
  • erectus
  • neanderthalensis
  • sapiens
34
Q

HOMO SAPIENS

A
  • direct ancestors of modern humans
  • developed better skills and more advanced technology
  • had a large brain capacity
  • used tools and wore clothing made of various materials
35
Q

OUT OF AFRICA HYPOTHESIS

A
  • states that all human life originated from Africa and Homo sapiens migrated from Africa 50000 mya
  • resulted in more Hs replacing He around the world
36
Q

EVIDENCE OF AFRICAN ORIGINS

A
  • genetic links (chro, mit, Y-chro DNA)

- fossils and artifacts of hominins (Africa has largest numbers)

37
Q

THE USE OF GENETIC LINKS (OOA) mtDNA

A
  • mtDNA of diff pops are compared to determine the extent of genetic variation in a pop
  • more variation = more mutations
  • high variation in Africa = Africans are the oldest humans
38
Q

STRUCTURAL CHANGES IN HUMANS IN TERMS OF BIPEDALISM

A
  • the moving forward of the foramen magnum
  • the vertabral column in humans is S-shaped for flexibility & shock absorption
  • longer arms, shorter legs
  • stronger knee-joints
  • arched foot, instead of flat
39
Q

CHROMOSOMAL DNA DEF

A

occurs in the nuclei of all cells and contains all the genetic information

40
Q

COMPARISON OF CHROMOSOMAL DNA

A

determine how closely related they are, more similarities more closely related

41
Q

cultural changes that distinguishes modern humans from primates

A
  • development of speech and language (improved comm and social interaction) (helped with hunting and defence)
  • tools
42
Q

Oldewan tool culture

A
  • oldest tools found, found in Tanzania
  • 2,6 to 1,5 mya
  • choppers, flakes, scrapers
  • rock, stone
43
Q

Acheulian tool culture

A
  • more advanced, found in France
  • 1,5 mya to 250 000 ya
  • hand-axes, picks, cleavers
  • stone, wood, bone
44
Q

Moustertian tool culture

A
  • found in France
  • 250 000 to 50 000 ya
  • flakes, scrapers, points
  • hand axes w carefully shaped blades
45
Q

what did refined tools help with

A
  • gave access to better food, clothing and shelter

- more comf and complex lifestyles

46
Q

microliths

A

smaller blades that formed part of arrowheads and fishhooks

47
Q

fossils found in Great Rift Valley

A

h-h and h-e in Kenya

ardi and austra in Ethiopia

48
Q

the Cradle of Humankind

A

the richest source of hominin fossils in the world, 40km North of Jhb

49
Q

importance of CoH

A
  • produced over one third of the world’s hominin fossils

- scientists have concluded that humans originated in Africa

50
Q

why is it important to know the dates of fossils

A
  • to compare diff fossils and observe evolutionary trends

- determine the order in which different life forms appeared on Earth

51
Q

radiometric dating

A
  • based on radioactivity, if the age of the rock of the fossil is known, it is assumed that the fossils are the same age
  • if fossils are older than 50 000 years
52
Q

relative dating

A
  • based on the fact that deeper layers of sed rock are older than shallow years
  • therefore deeper layers = older fossil
  • not very accurate
53
Q

alternatives to evolution

A

creationism
literalism
intelligent design

54
Q

reproductive isolation

A

occurs by means of various isolating mechanisms which prevent pops from exchanging genes

55
Q

mechanisms of reproductive isolation

A

behavioral patterns, physiological processes that prevent diff species from crossbreeding an producing viable offspring
eg.) prezygotic and postzygotic

56
Q

prezygotic division

A

occur before fertilization and prevent mating and/or fert from taking place

57
Q

postzygotic division

A

after fert and cause abnormal zygote development so that no viable / fertile offspring can be produced

2019 - Biology (13 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions