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Human Evolution > Last Exam > Flashcards

Last Exam Flashcards

1
Q

Describe Ardipithecus

A
  • Evidence of bipedalism
  • likely had both tree climbing ability and bipedal capability
  • big toe was opposable but other toes were rigid and suggestive of bipedal gait
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2
Q

Describe australopithecines

A
  • first undisputed bipeds
  • sexually dimorphic( body size, but not canines)
  • arms and bones suggest they still had adaptions to life in trees
  • brain size-> still small
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3
Q

What did the laetoli footprints show?

A

Evidence of bipedalism

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4
Q

What is the earliest evidence of stone tools?

A

Silk, Ethiopia
Bones with cut marks
3.4 MYA

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5
Q

Which Australopithecines relate more to humans?

A

Gracile

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6
Q

Where were the earliest stone tools and what technique?

A

Lomekwi, west Turkana
Sitting on ground and smashing one stone onto a second stone
Tools quite large

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7
Q

What name was associated with the earliest tools?

A

The Lomwekian Tradition

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8
Q

Describe Homo Habilis

A
  • Less post orbital constriction
  • cranium more rounded
  • teeth more modern ( smaller) flexible diet
  • lots of variation( arms long compared to legs, dental arcade of some look more u-shaped and other are more modern human)
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9
Q

Explain Lumpers and splitters

A

Lumper: within a species, there is a significant range of variation. Argue there was considerable variation among individuals but all members of the same species( classify all as H. Erectus)

Splitters: many speciation events occurred. Many hominin species existed. Fossils exist; but the current labels or categories may not( classify as different species)

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10
Q

Describe homo erectus compared to homo habilis

A
  • thicker bone
  • skull longer
  • larger brain size
  • Sagittal keel
  • larger superorbital torus
  • less post orbital construction
  • receding forehead
  • modern body proportions
  • more muscular
  • less sexual dimorphism
  • smaller jaw
  • still no chin
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11
Q

What were the earlier hominis to leave?

A

Dmanisi

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12
Q

What was new evidence and describe

A

Dmanisi

Bar-like superorbital torus; postorbital construction, massive zygomatic process

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13
Q

What are hawks?

A

Shape variation among living humans, or variation among living chimps

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14
Q

Small brains, large face, prognathism and robust are all what?

A

Morphologies all in normal range of variation of early homo. Variation across a single evolving lineage.

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15
Q

What changes did the origins of cooking for homo erectus have on the teeth?

A

Shovel-shaped incisor

Mostly among Asian H.erectus

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16
Q

Change on birth Canal and brain size?

A

Changing in response to fetal Brian size

Brains of h. Erectus infants closer in side to human infants

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17
Q

Did cookin have an affect on brain size?

A

Evidence that cooking food may have contributed to encephalization

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18
Q

Was was advantageous to cooking?

A

By cooking food you expand less energy indigestion , save time , can engage in other activities

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19
Q

Describe archeulean tool tradition

A 
Deliberate shaping of tools; tool- makers must have had an idea of what they wanted to make .
Hand axes ( butchering ), cleavers, scrapers
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20
Q

What is the movies line?

A

Hand axes found in Africa and Europe , but not china or Indonesia

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21
Q

Control of fire?

A

H.erectis had to use fire for warmth , etc, in colder climates
Probs able to adapt to new environment because of culture

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22
Q

What is the evidence of fire?

A

Burned bone and ash from wonderwerk cave

Ash deep in cave , more than 90ft from entrance

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23
Q

What are archaic homi sapiens?

A

H.erectus with a few derived features or h.sapiens with some primitive features
Classifying hominins into species was done by humans

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24
Q

What are the changes from erectus to sapiens?

A 
Brain getting larger
Brow ridge setting smaller
Forehead more vertical 
Teeth getting smaller 
Beginnings of chin
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25
Q

What is allens rule?

A

Animals that live in colder climates have shorter limbs(legs, arms) and appendages (fingers, toes) than those living in warmer climates

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26
Q

What is Bergmans rule?

A

Smaller body sized found in warmer regions , larger ones in colder regions

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27
Q

Body traits for neandertals?

A
  • Long, broad skull
  • low forehead
  • heavy browridges
  • large nasal aperture
  • occipital bun( back of skull)
  • large cranial capacity
  • varied in pigmentation levels, similar to modern humans
  • may have had red or blonde hair, blue or green eyes
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28
Q

What is the mousterian?

A

Fewer core tools, More flake tools
Levallois: special technique for producing a flake
Used to make scraping, cutting , and puncturing

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29
Q

What is the chatelperronian?

A

Blend of middle and upper Paleolithic tools

Used to be debated whether or not neandertals creates them; now we know they did

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30
Q

Describe the neandertals burial practices

A
  • pits dug in ground, bodies covered
  • most skeletons buried in fetal position with hands and arms carefully positioned
  • soil samples found significant amount of wildflower pollen
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31
Q

What is mtDNA?

A

Y-chromosome studies play a role, but do not tell us the entire story of modern human origins

Other types of DNA might disappear from the gene pool over time, and might appear invisible to us today

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32
Q

Describe Homo sapiens from skhul

A

Viewed as “transitional”
Higher forehead
Large brow ridge, slightly projecting face( archaic)

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33
Q

Modern vs archaic?

A

Modern: more vertical forehead, smaller brow ridges, chin

Archaic: significant brow ridges, face is relatively long , more robust

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34
Q

Describe the mandible and teeth of Homo sapiens

A

Jaws lightly built , have a protruding bony chin

Teeth are relatively small compared with earlier species

35
Q

What is the oldest art by Homo sapiens?

A

Engraved ochre and shell beads, around 77KYA

36
Q

Describe upper Paleolithic

A
  • Similar in many ways to earliest lifestyles
  • people were nomadic hunters and gatherers, living in open air sites and rock shelters
  • stone tools were still being produced, but there was a greater variety
37
Q

Tool technology in upper Paleolithic?

A
  • Move towards blades
  • microliths tiny blades, hafted into handles to serve as spears, knifes
  • spears, thrower, bow and arrow, harpoons
38
Q

Describe the cave art in the upper Paleolithic

A

Subjects are mostly animals; humans rare ( hand prints exception)

Art appears to reflect how people got some of their food(hunting)

Animals depicted were usually ones people preferred for meat and hides

39
Q

Describe florensis

A
  • 1m tall
  • pelvis slightly wider than modern female
  • very small brain
  • feet: 10% larger that the feet of modern humans of a comparable height
  • lack well-developed arch
  • somewhat curved( hands too)
  • longer Arms, shorter legs
40
Q

Describe human diet

A
  • There are no essential foods, only essential nutrients
  • diets that cut out certain nutrients are not sustainable ( you can’t survive on lean protein only , you need fats)
  • our culture shapes or diets
  • predicted that our diet will be causing major problems in the near future
41
Q

How has evolutions shaped our diet?

A
  • Throughout evolution, major concern is as getting enough food
  • we have evolved to crave sugars, fats, salts, and to overeat foods containing these
  • rewards system in our brain for over eating stimulates the same brain circuits as drug use
  • we have natural appetite suppressing hormones, but modern food ( highly processed) can actually suppress these hormones
42
Q

Why do we have different skin colours?

A

Largely due to differences in the amount of melanin( controlled by at least 3 genes)

43
Q

Why was darker skin evolving as a protection against skin cancer not a good enough reason?

A

Because skin cancer only occurs after reproductive years

44
Q

What is the connection between the evolution of human skin colour and the B vitamin folate?

A

Dark skin evolved to protect the body’s folate stores from destruction and folate is important because it prevents neural tube defects, for the synthesis of DNA in diving cells, the production of sperm cells, and anything that has to do with fast cell proliferation

45
Q

As humans migrated northward, why was darker skin seen as more detrimental?

A

Dark skin was adapted to the conditions of UV radiation and heat which was strongest near the equator. But when modern humans began to leave the tropic areas, they came upon environments where they received less UV radiation. This was a problem because dark skin contains a lot of melanin so receiving very little UV radiation and less UVB radiation, it wasn’t able to penetrate the skin and allow to make VD, so lighter skin was selected because would allow for UV radiation to penetrate the skin and make VD

46
Q

In human populations, why do women tend to have slightly lighter skin than men?

A

Women need more calcium than men do throughout their reproductive lives, especially during pregnancy and lactation, so lighter skin allows for more UVV rays to penetrate their skin and increase ability to produce VD

47
Q

What is one example of a “mismatch” between geographical region, skin colour , and human health?

A

Many people from Southern Asia and Africa with dark skin who are living in northern places like UK , Europe and USA are suffering from a lack of UV radiation and VD. They are more likely to develop high rates of tickets, and other diseases related to VD deficiency

48
Q

How did the shift to agriculture around 10,000 years ago change human population levels?

A
49
Q

What were the negative health consequences that were a result of this new diet?

A

The diet came less nutritionally diverse. Since farmers would eat the same domesticated grain everyday, it gave them cavities and periodontal diseases. When they started domestication animals, like cattle , sheep, and goats, they contained parasites and infectious diseases

50
Q

In hunter-gatherer societies, did meat make up the majority of the diet?

A

No because it wasn’t always easy to hunt animals for their meat, so they had to depend on plants most of the time.

51
Q

When and why did lactose intolerance evolve?

A
52
Q

What are island dwarfing and gigantism?

A

Dwarfing: island animals are known to evolve to their environment in unusual ways, so once they settle on islands, over time larger mammals will become smaller

Gigantism: when some smaller species grow to a bigger size ( gigantic proportions)

53
Q

Why are some anthropologist skeptical that Homo erectus could be the direct ancestor of H. Floresiensis?

A

Because of the physical appearances of the two species were too different ( different size, face ,etc

54
Q

What do we know of the stone tool culture and diet if H.floresiensis?

A

They used oldowan tools, such as flakes for processing food and the knapping of technique.

They are Komodo dragons, rats, birds, small reptiles, and plants. Proves that they were successful hunters, scavengers and gatheres

55
Q

What was the first indication that the remains of H.floresiensis was an adult and not a child?

A

We’re the exposure of the wisdom teeth and how they were worn out

56
Q

Did the CAR scan reveal that the H.sapiens microcephalic brain was similar or different to the brain of the H.floresiensis?

A

The H.sapiens microcephalic brain was the same size but they both had a different shape. The frontal live of the hobbit was swollen and for h.sapiens the cerebellum was pushed back and had a flat frontal lobe

57
Q

When the h. Floresiensis teeth were examined, they were found to be very close to humans in terms of size, except one feature. What was the difference?

A

For h.floresiensis the teeth were shortened to fit the jaw

58
Q

When tocheri examined the wrist bones of H.floresiensis, what did he find?

A

Found that their wrist bone had a pyramid shape which proved that it was a new species because chinos have a triangular shape

59
Q

Which hominins are being re-examined as possible ancestors of H.floresiensis?

A

Gino erectus, Dmanisi

60
Q

Why was the painting babirusa seen as such an important discovery for archaeologists and paleoanthropologist

A

It makes it the oldest- known figurative art and the worlds very first picture. It brings up new ideas about the origins of art and it made them wonder when imagination and symbolism started in the human brain

61
Q

What is symbolic thinking?

A

The capability to let one thing represent another, it allowed people to make visual images of things that they could remember and imagine

62
Q

What is the difference that have been observed between cave art in Europe and in Sulawesi, in regard to notions of sacredness and spirituality?

A

In Europe the main purpose of the cave art was to communicate with the spirit worlds and in Sulawesi, the cave art represented their everyday life

63
Q

What were the different examples of hand stencils found m?

A
  1. There were hands lined up making 2 different tracks horizontally, with all the fingers pointing to the left, and there were hands with slender pointed digits, with palm lines that were painted and fingers that were bent or missing

This is a tradition on Sulawesi which they would mix rice powder with water to make handprints on a new house and was to protect against evil spirits and is a symbol of strength. Also, some people express their grief by cutting off a finger WHNE a loved one dies which represents why the stencils has missing fingers

64
Q

What is the hypothesis of how figurative art may have developed?

A

Tacon smith cloths

65
Q

What does the recent African replacement model say?

A

Modern humans ascended from Africa and spread out across the rest of the world, replacing archaic groups and their competitors without interbreeding with them

66
Q

What does The multi regional evolution model say?

A

The transformation occurred slowly among archaic populations that lived thoroughly Africa, Eurasia, and Oceania because of the mixture of migration and mating that allowed them to inherit modern traits that were beneficial to them and to spread amongst all these different populations

67
Q

What does the assimilation model say?

A

It allows for a greater influence of modern traits by populations from Africa. It is an in-between model of the recent African replacement model and the multregional evolution model

68
Q

What does the hybridization model say?

A

Only occasional production of hybrids. The production of hybrids between modern humans and archaic groups that they met while migrating to new lands

69
Q

What were the conclusions of the early neandertals DBA studies?

A

From the mtDNA sequences, there was no sign of neandertals and modern humans interbreeding .

70
Q

Can we determine whether neandertals and modern humans had similar cugnitive abilities from examining DNA? And why?

A

Yes because the researchers are able to look at the genes, and by looking at the genes, they can gather some informations about their cognitive abilities, for example they saw that neandertals carried a similar gene of ours called FOXP2 which plays a role in speech and language in humans.

71
Q

What are three examples of neandertals culture that were once though unique to modern humans?

A

Art, symbols, and manufacture tools

Art: body decorations, there were signs that they used snail shells to use as cups for mixing and holding pigments that were probably used for cosmetics. The shells had holes which indicated jewelry. Red ochre or iron oxide was found which hypothesized for painting.

Symbolism: hunted eagles for their claws instead of mean for symbolic reasons

Manufacturing tools: came up with a tool called Missouri which they used from deer ribs

72
Q

What was the evidence that was found that disapproved the hypothesis that neandertals only hunted and ate large mammals?

A

The arbi du maras neandertals who are many small animals like rabbits and fish

Ate edible plants such as parsnips, and mushrooms.

Many other neandertals ate a variation of plants.

Teeth and stone residue showed that neandertals ate wheat and barley and cooked them to make edible. Found also pieces of starch from tubers and dates

73
Q

What is the main difference between chinos and humans when comparing how much of their day is spent chewing food? And what are the benefits?

A

Chinos spend around half of its day chewing while humans spend less than one hour a day. This is beneficial to humans because it gives us so more time to do other things rather then chewing all day, where as chinos spend their time hunting for meat and then spend if the their time chewing.

74
Q

Why can’t humans survive in a raw diet?

A

On a raw diet, the number of calories needed would require too many hours of eating per day

75
Q

What are the benefits of cooked food?

A

Provides more energy than if it were raw. It also becomes softer rather than being tough and very chewy. When food is cooked it will help you gain weight but if the food is raw it will make you lose weight which is. It ideal for thin people. Cooked food improves food quality, makes it softer, makes it easier to digest, and comes wih a better off source of energy

76
Q

What is the connection between cooking and brain growth according to wrangham?

A

In a raw diet, the number of calories that would be needed to support a human brain would involve spending too many hours eating everyday, but cooked food allowed our ancestors the additional energy that was needed to support more neurone which allowed the brain size to increase. It reduced our gut size which saved a lot of energy, allowing calories to be unfocused to the brain.

77
Q

What were the physical requirements to work at the rising star site?

A

To be skinny to be able to fit through tight space to get to cave, slender frame, caving experience , scientific credentials

78
Q

What were the traits of this new hominin called Homo naked I?

A

Both primitive and modern because some of the teeth, like molar crowns, were small and had five cusps like modern humans , but premolars were primitive.
Their had had curved fingers which meant they climbed trees
Shoulders resembled the shoulders of apes and the flaring blades of the pelvis were primitive.
Feet were also similar to ours
* everything above the hips reserved primitives and everything bellow resembled humans

79
Q

How did the naledi end up at the bottom of the cave?

A

Purposely put there for burials, found another way in since the hole was too tight or it was bigger back then

80
Q

Why is the naked skin of humans better at keeping us cool compared to animals wih fur coats?

A

Wih fur coats, the sweat will still evaporate the heat away from the skin but the more the animal becomes wet with sweat, the harder it is to eliminate the heat because the fur becomes tangled , which blocks evaporation.
Also most likely have apocrine glands, which group around the hair follicles and coat the fur.
Since humans don’t have fur, the sweat will evaporate directly from the surface of skin and mostly use eccrine gland which vaporizes quickly than apocrine gland.

81
Q

Which is better? Apocrine gland or eccrine gland?

A

Eccrine because it lies close to the surface of the skin and had a think watery sweat that comes though the very small pores, which allows for a better cooling

82
Q

When did the evolutionary explanation between climate/ environment and loss of the fur coat start?

A

Started with climate change.
Earth has a phase of global cooling which caused a drying effect in east and central Africa
Impacted the environment, decline in rainfall, fruits, leaves, tubers, and seeds which meant our ancestors had to abandon their old living habits and travel long distances to find plant foods and water to stay hydrated to acquire enough calories

83
Q

Why did humans retain hair in their heads?

A

Since ancestors use so much energy to find food, they were at risk of overheating. So had to improve eccrine sweating ability and lose body hair
Was a shield against heat on head.
Created blockade layer of air between the scalp which would have sweat and the hot surface of hair. So hair will absorb heat and layer of air keeps the scalp cool, allowing the sweat to evaporate.
Helped enlarge brain because of eccrine gland

Human Evolution (2 decks)

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