Lecture 17 Flashcards
Eugene Dubois
Dutch anatomist who discovered Trinil 2 (Java Man), the first Homo erectus fossil, in Indonesia in 1891.
Pithecanthropus erectus
Original name for Trinil 2; means “upright ape-man.” Later reclassified as Homo erectus.
Charles Dawson
Amateur archaeologist behind the Piltdown Man hoax in 1912.
Zhoukoudian
Chinese site where Sinanthropus pekinensis (H. erectus) fossils were found; a major shift in paleoanthropology.
Kamoya Kimeu
Fossil hunter who discovered Nariokotome Boy (WT 15000).
Subnasal prognathism
Forward projection of the face below the nose; present in H. erectus.
Thick cranial vault
H. erectus had thicker skull bones compared to modern humans.
Altricial offspring
Babies born underdeveloped and needing care; wide Gona pelvis suggests H. erectus may have birthed these.
Zooarchaeological assemblage
Collection of animal bones from archaeological sites; used to test hypotheses like “following fauna.”
Persistence hunting
A hunting strategy involving long-distance running; H. erectus anatomy may have supported this.
Nuchal torus
Horizontal ridge at the back of the skull for neck muscle attachment; seen in H. erectus.
1.5 MYA footprints (Ileret)
Fossilized footprints in Kenya showing modern walking gait in H. erectus.
