Lecture 5 Flashcards
Who was “Taung” child?
2.3 MYA. Came from a limestone quarry in Taung, South Africa. Australopithecus africanus.
Who was “Mrs. Ples”?
Adult hominid from Sterkfontein, south africa. Found in a cave site being mined for limestone. Australopithecus africanus.
The robust australopithecines are classified as what genus?
Paranthropus
What is megadontia?
Refers to the very large molars and premolars of the robust australopithecines.
What happened to the robust australopithecines?
Died out. They did not go on to lead modern humans.
What are the major trends in hominid evolution?
Bipedalism, expansion of the brain, reduction of the face, teeth and jaws.
What two things do you also see with the expansion of the brain?
Tool making and meat-eating.
What probably lead to the reduction of the face/teeth/jaws?
Cooking foods. We would have no longer needed such large teeth/ jaw strength to chew.
What is special about olduvai gorge, tanzania?
A gorge that was created exposed about two million years of the earth’s history. These exposed layers became an important hominid site. Lots of volcanic sediments help date things.
What are important finds from Oldovai Gorge?
Paranthropus boisei, homo habilis, homo erectus, oldowan tools, acheulian tools.
When do the earliest stone tools appear?
2.5 MYA by homo habilis.
Is there evidence of australopithecines using stone tools?
Probably, their metacarpals are curved as if they would have been.
What is the oldowan tool tradition?
Earliest stone tools. They were unifacial. Both the core and flake pieces were used.
How were they able to create the oldowan tools?
Through percussion flaking.
Who was lake turkana boy?
Nearly complete skeleton of boy, suggested to be about 6 ft tall if full grown with modern limb proportions. 1.6 mya.
