Lec. 8 Hunting/ Scavenging Flashcards
What is the evidence that meat consumption by chimpanzees is likely a form of
political currency?
most members of the chimpanzee community do not get to eat it, males strategically let allies eat.
What is the biggest difference between chimpanzee prey and prey animals hunted by humans?
Human prey animals include many species much larger than ourselves
What is the main predator of chimpanzees?
humans who hunt them for bush meat.
How can chimpanzees reduce the threat of leopard predation?
By killing cubs of leopards if they find them.
How is reading animal tracks not the same as a dog following the scent of a prey
animal?
The dog’s nose perceives the scent molecules of the animal whereas the human mind infers meaning to the track (interprets past action by the animal or human who made the track in absence of any perceivable molecules from that agent).
What could inform a hunter about which of a number of different track belong to
the animal that was hit by his arrow?
An injured animal moves differently, and this can be reflected in the tracks it leaves
Did he earliest known cave painting depict mostly prey animals?
No, many animals that were rarely or not hunted are also depicted
What would a larger number of prey animals contribute to changed pathogen load?
Each species carries its own collection of microbes, by handling the carcasses of more different species, human ancestors would have samples larger number of pathogens
What reliable information indicates the maximum age for fossils and tools found
at Olduvai gorge?
A thick layer of (volcanic) basalt that is 2 million years old, anything above it MUST be younger, unless transported there.
What part of butchery would be especially difficult to perform by an ape?
The cutting of the hide to skin the animal and the cutting of flesh using sharp edged stone flakes require strong thumbs
What was the first hominid genus that made stone tools?
Australopithecus (because the older stone tools are older than the origin of the genus Homo.
How can modern paleontologist share information about their fossils remotely?
They can send each other Scans of their fossils that can be viewed on computers and used to generate 3-D print models.
Which three different areas in Africa have evidence for early butchery?
- East Africa (Olduvai Tanzania, Olrogesailie, Kenya, Afar, Ethiopia),
- North Africa (Algeria) and
- South Africa,.
What seems to have been done with bones at Qesem Cave as long as 400,000
years ago?
Storage of bone marrow for later use.
what would be the advantages of accessing marrow in large bones and brain in
skulls?
Both tissues inside bone are very nutritious and rich in fats, and relatively safe with regards to bacterial contamination
What made hominins good at obtaining bone marrow form the long bones of large animals?
Their cooperation in chasing away other predators or scavengers (hyenas and lions) and their use of stone tools to get access to fresh marrow after breaking the bones, and possibly throwing these stone at the other scavengers/predators
What can be said about the ancestry of human tape worms?
They come from spotted hyena and lion tape worms.
What crucial tool could early humans have made from animal hides?
slings to carry their infants.
Which aspect of leopard predation makes their prey much easier to be stolen by hominids??
Leopard cache their kills in trees, away from all the other large predators
Why are animal hides usually scraped by humans who harvest them from prey
animals?
to remove the connective tissue and fat, which would make the skins stiff and stinky
Which two countries have rapidly growing meat consumption?
China and Brazil.
Which is the major concern about bushmeat hunting apart from its devastating
effect on biodiversity?
introduction of novel pathogens , emerging infections (HIV/AIDS, Ebola, monkey pox, Lassa, SARS, MERS etc).
Which is one of the biggest differences between the prey hunted by humans and
that hunted by chimpanzees?
Humans hunt prey that includes animal much larger than themselves.
Why are projectile weapons so rare in the archeological record?
They were mostly made of wood, which does not preserve well
Did Australian aboriginals use bows and arrows to hunt?
No, they mostly used woomeras (spear throwers) and spears or boomerangs.
What are the parallels between an enzyme and a basket?
The enzyme consists of a linear polypeptide that folds into a functional (bio)tool,
the basket is made by bending and folding linear plant fibers to make a functional tool.
How could throwing weapons have affected the human mind?
Prediction of prey movement and planning of trajectory of the weapon are mental performances as well as physical acts.
What is the parallel between a desert kite and a weir?
Both are animals traps.
Why are snare traps invisible in the archeological record?
Because snare traps are made of organic materials that are perishable
Which continents have people traditionally hunting with blow guns?
South America and Asia.
List three example of traditional cultural packages that reflect the environment in which people live.
- Mbuti: forest hunting and gathering,
- Khoisan: desert hunting and gathering,
- Inuit: arctic hunting, almost not gathering.
