Human Origins and Colonization Flashcards
Where do the earliest known hominine fossils come from?
The Afar region of Ethiopia
How old are the oldest known hominine fossils?
4.5 million years old
Name the probable common ancestor of Australopithecines and the genus Homo.
Australopithecus Afarensis
What is the name of the most famous Australopithecus Afarensis?
Lucy
How big was Australopithecus Afarensis’ brain compared to modern humans?
1/3 the size
How long ago did homininae learn to cook their food?
Approximately 1.5 million years ago
Meat has been a central part of hominine diet for how long?
Approximately 2.5 million years
When did Homo erectus start to emigrate from sub-Saharan Africa?
1.8 million years ago
Name a probable common ancestor of Homo erectus and Homo heidelbergensis.
Homo ergaster
When did Homo heidelbergensis reach Northern Europe?
About 500,000 years ago
Which now extinct hominine species lived from 400,000 to 40,000 years ago?
The Neanderthals
Homo neanderthalensis
When did modern humans develop?
200,000 to 140,000 years ago
50,000 years ago, this continent was first reached by boat.
Australia
When was Australia first discovered?
50,000 years ago
People first came to this area of the world 15,000 years ago.
The Americas
When was New Zealand first reached?
1200 years ago, 1000 years before Captain Cook
When did humans first expand into the Arctic?
4500 years ago
Where are the earliest modern human skulls from?
The Omo basin in Ethiopia and the Klasies River Mouth in southern Africa
How old are the earliest modern human skulls that have been found?
130,000 years old
When did Homo sapiens sapiens start emigrating out of sub-Saharan Africa?
100,000 years ago
How many ice ages have there been in the last 800,000 years?
8
How long do the warmer periods of interglacials last?
10,000 years
When did the last ice age end?
Around 12,000 years ago
Besides Homo sapiens sapiens, which Homo species also lived in East Asia?
Homo erectus
Besides Homo sapiens sapiens, which Homo species also lived in Europe and west Asia?
The Neanderthals
Homo neanderthalensis
What 3 critical societal developments happened between 10,000 to 4,000 BC?
- The origins of settled life 2. The first farming 3. The first cities
What is the origin of agriculture often referred to as?
The Neolithic Revolution
What was the world population in AD 1500?
Between 350 and 540 million
What was the world’s population by 1960?
About 3 billion
When and where were the earliest semi-permanent villages formed?
10,000 BC in southwest Asia (modern day Turkey and Palestine)
What was the first walled community?
Jericho (8000 BC)
When were the first cities formed?
Around 3,500 BC
