Midterm Flashcards
diachronic
across time
Biological: evolutionary anthropology: Macroevolution (primate/hominin evolution
Cultural: archaeology (evolutionary, pre-historic, historic)
synchronic
across space
Biological: Evo Anthro: microevolution (human population genetics, growth and development, behavioral ecology)
Cultural: cultural/linguistic anthro (economic, political, historical, psychological, environmental, urban)
Solar System
4.57 bya
Impact and Formation of the Moon
4.53 bya
Late Heavy Bombardment
4.1 - 3.8 bya
Oldest datable rocks on Earth
4.031 +/- 0.003 bya
Geological evidence of life
stromatolites at 3.5 bya
spread proliferation of cyanobacteria
3 - 2.5 bya
oxygen produced
Metazoans
Variously 1.2 bya, 635 mya
End Ordovician
Lasts from 488 to 444 mya 86% of species 61% genera 22-24% of families ⅔ brachiopods and bryozoans ~100 families of marine life 2nd largest overall loss of life 2 pulses 0.5 to 1 my apart
Late Devonian
374 mya More prolonged crisis, 20-25 my Maybe 8-10 events 20% families 70-80% of species Tabulate corals and stromatoporoids (reef builders never really recover) Devonian Reef Placoderm: Dunkleosteus Trilobites and Ammonites
End Permian
251 mya
95% of marine species
70% of land families
57% of insect families (only mass extinction to really hit insects)
Plants relatively immune to extinction but a major ecological reorganization of plant life
End Triassic
201.6 mya
End Cretaceous
65.95 mya
Cosmopolitan vs. endemic taxa
Chance of extinction goes down with size of geographic range
specialist vs. generalist, stenotopic vs. eurytopic
Chance of extinction increases with niche specialization
tropical vs. high altitude
chance of extinction goes down when latitude goes up
Key events in human evolution
Possible fusion of bacteria and archaea leading to eukaryotes
The advent of bipedalism
the human-chimp-gorilla split (cladogenesis)
Shifting dietary strategies (adaptation)
Rampant splitting (cladogenesis)
Tool use (adaptation)
Globe spanning migration
Dramatic brain expansion
Language
The great winnowing (I think we’re alone now)
How many hominin species?
15 to 25 species of hominin
over ~7 my
average hominin species lifespan
500ky to 292ky
Turnover-Pulse model
- Periodic disturbance
- Extinction
- Speciation
Milanovitch cycles
orbital shape - 100 ky cycle
axial tilt - 41 ky cycle
axial procession - 26 ky cycle
LADs
last appearance datum
Neanderthal vs. Human cranial shape
Neanderthal: long, low cranial vault, with receding forehead; occipital bun; mid-facial projection
Early Modern Human: shorter, higher cranial vault, with more vertical forehead; chin
Neanderthal vs. EMH post-cranial skeleton
Neanderthal: short and stocky, powerfully muscular, robust skeleton
EMH: taller and leaner, less muscular with more gracile skeleton
Four subfields of anthropology
cultural, linguistic, biological anthropology, archaeology
CITROENS
Complex Information-Transforming Reproducing Objects that Evolve by Natural Selection
Major transitions
Replicating molecules : Populations of molecules in protocells
Independent replicators: chromosomes
Rna as gene and enzyme: dna genes, protein enzymes
Bacterial cells (prokaryotes) : cells with nuclei and organelles (eukaryotes)
Asexual clones : sexual populations
Solitary individuals: colonies with non-reproductive castes (ants, bees and termites)
Primate societies: human societies (language)
