Lecture 13 - Homo erectus and 'out of Africa' 1 Flashcards
what discoveries were made in the 1960s?
African Homo (ergaster and/or erectus) - up to 1.9ma found in various sites across Africa
what discovery was made in 1985?
Turkana boy - found in Lake turkana Africa - Homo erectus/ergaster 1.5ma
- found pretty much complete but with missing feet and majority of hands
homo erectus fossils from europe were dated at 0.5ma, until recently, no fossil specimen outside of Africa was dated as being older than approximately 1 million years - what discoveries changed this?
- Redating of fossils from Java and the discovery of a 1.7ma Homo erectus in Georgia (Asia/ Europe boarder)
- suggest that the species expanded its range beyond africa soon after it evolved
anatomical differences spilt early homo into two species what are they?
1) Homo erectus (0.5-1.8ma)
2) Homo ergaster (1.5-1.9ma)
- ergaster and some erectus in Africa
- erectus outside of Africa
what is our current view on the evolution of the early homo species?
H.habilis evolved from somewehere close to A.africanus - A.garhi and all subsequent homo evolved from this except from H.rudolfensis that evolved from K.platyops and is an evolutionary blind alley
- clearly H.ergaster/erectus migrated out of Africa
how long was it predicted the migration from Africa to East Asia could have taken?
only 25,000 years - this is based on the glacial pace of population expansion of 15km per generation
what was h.ergaster/erectus like?
- H. ergaster/erectus was similar to modern humans but more robust and heavily muscled.
- First molars erupted at 4.6 years and lifespan 52 years. (extended youth and longer lifespan than more ape like species e.g. lucy)
- Decreasing sexual dimorphism may reflect change in social structure/dynamics (more male-male co-operation) - young have extended youth so need more care
- Hole through which spinal column ran is small indicating smaller demand for nerve signal traffic and possibly less control over breathing (suggestion of no speech)
how is it thought h.ergaster/erectus walked?
pretty much like modern humans (bipedal) - no adaptations for climbing e.g. hands and feet arent curved, not as good wrist action etc
what was the brain capacity of Australopithecines, Homo habilis, Homo erectus and Homo sapiens?
Australopithecines 400 cc
Homo habilis 650 cc
Homo erectus 850 cc
Homo sapiens 1350 cc
Home ergaster/erectus was a new grade of hominin with… ( 6 things)
1) Systematic tool making
2) The first appearance of systematic hunting
3) The first appearance of genuine home bases
4) The first use of fire
5) The first indication of extended childhood
6) The first migration of hominins beyond Africa
what could they tell about extended childhood?
- know maturity is slow from teeth development
- required looking after as a child - indicates they hung around in groups - with longer life spans than any species before
what can be inferred from systematic tool making?
- reflects intelligence
- indication that they look for areas with good materials to make the tools e.g. volcanic rock
- manufactured them and transported them back to the group
- meant they could be efficient at cutting meat (now a big part of their diet)
what did the change in diet of increased meat mean?
they took part in hunting
- meat is also much more nutritious and allowed the brain to carry on growing
when did Archeulian tools appear in Africa, Israel and Europe?
Africa (Ethiopia) at 1.4 Ma
Israel at 1.0 Ma
Europe at 0.9 Ma
- never make it to east Asia
why is it thought Archeulian tool never made it to east asia?
could be because the population in java/china became isolated which prevented interaction and therefore technology didnt travel
(technological innovation can be lost/gained/passed over by copying etc)
