L10

Question 1

How we study human evolution: Temporal framework

Answer 1

• Neogene time scale
  • Mioscence, piloscene, pleistocene and holocene
  • Tight stratigraphy of fossils
  • Humans are linked to tighter ages as it is more recent

Question 2

Various dating methods

Answer 2

• Half- life radioactive decays
  • Radiopottasium
  • Slew of dating techniques

Question 3

Ice-house world

Answer 3

• Ice-caps create an unstable environment
  • Milankovich cycles
  • Humans evolved in an environmentally unstable world
  • Understanding climate is important

Question 4

Attempts to use technological innovations to date deposits

Answer 4

• Not a good idea
  • Technologies get copied
  • Not sensible to date deposit off tools

Question 5

Reconstructing palaeogeography

Answer 5

• Active ……
  • Palaeogeography changes and expands based upon milankovich cycles
  • Sea- level and shelf change, exposing more continent

Question 6

Reconstructing environment

Answer 6

• Characteristics depend on climate
  • Pollen stores can reconstruct vegetation
  • Vegetation change can be tracked

Human evolution was in a complex, cold period of time

Question 7

How we study human evolution: evidence from living organisms 4

Answer 7

• Anatomy
  
  • Genomics
  • Physiology
  • Behaviour
  • Look at humans nearest relative (chimpanzee)
  • Humans do not have another genus of the same species
  • Makes it more challenging

Question 8

Human evolution Evidence from fossil organisms:

Answer 8

• Small
  
  • Terrestrial
  • Few became fossils eg washed into a river
  • Mainly jaws and teeth are found
  • Cave deposits also occur

Question 9

Human evolution evidence from archaeology

Answer 9

• Stone tools are durable
  • Bones eg butchered
  • Fire hearths/ charcoal / burnt bones can be detected

Burials show goods and quality preservation

Question 10

Relationships among living primates and their fossil record

Answer 10

• 200 species of extant primates are classified into 4 groups:
  • Prosimians
  • New world monkeys
  • Old world monkeys
  • Hominoids
  • Anthropoids are collectively the monkeys and apes

Question 11

Earliest hominid: Proconsol 22ma from Africa

Answer 11

• Read abstracts of fascinating areas.
  
  • Recent studies

Insert potential groupings

Sequencing showed sister groupings

- Studying morphology provided resolve understanding

Gibbons (lesser apes)
16 species

Hominids (great apes

Question 12

Brief history of research into human origins

Answer 12

Few fossils

Human remains discovered in caves were often interpreted depending on where they were found, as:

- Soldiers from the horde of gengis khan
- Remains of cossacks that had died

We know now that they are remains of Neanderthals, Cromagnon Man etc

Question 13

Java man

Answer 13

1891-1892 Dubois discovers java man

- Java man (Homo erectus)

- Large thigh bones

- Large skull cap

Question 14

Piltdown man

Answer 14

1908-1913

Forgery

Question 15

Taung boy

Answer 15

• Australopithecus africanus
  • 3.2-2.5 Ma
  • Brain endocast
  • Disregard of out of Africa idea

1925

Question 16

1925-1935

Answer 16

• Different forms of Australopithecus
  • SA finds could not be avoided due to sufficient evidence

Question 17

What species is Java man?

Answer 17

Homo erectus

Question 18

What species is Taung boy?

Answer 18

Australopithecus africanus