module 10 Flashcards
what was the cretaceous period of the Mesozoic Era
- age of dinosaurs
- ends with extinction of the dinosaurs
what is the paleocene epoch?
-first epoch of cenozoic era
- evidence of PRIMATE-LIKE animals, but lack ALL primate traits
- prehensile hands/feet, but NO binocular/stereoscopic vision
What is the Eocene Epoch?
- first primates (full set of primate traits)
- prosimian grade
What is the oligocene epoch?
- first anthropoids
- Catarrhines & Platyrrhines
- Aegyptopithecus (an early fossil catarrhine)
What is the Miocene Epoch? (Hot chicks need water)
- Hominoids & Cercopithecoids
- No tail
- wide diversity of apes
What is the Late Miocene & Pliocene Epoch?
- bipedalism
- Hominins (Sahelanthropus, Ardipithecus, Australopithecus & early homo)
what is the Pleistocene Epoch
Homo & Australopithecus
What is the Holocene Epoch
homo (currently)
what are the 3 early primates
- Aegyptopithecus
- Proconsul (under Miocene; genus name of a hominid)
- Sivapithecus (under Miocene; ancestor of orangutan)
What were the footprints at Leotoli in East Africa?
- found over 3.7 million years ago
- evidence of bipedalism
what are the 4 early pliocene hominins? where were they found?
- Sahelanthropus tchadensis
- Ardipithecus Kadabba
- Ardipithecus ramidus
- Australopithecus anamensis
- East & Central Africa
Australopithecus afrensis:
name:
- temporal span
- location
- phylogenetic status (related to whom)
- traits
- 3.7 to 3 mya
- East Africa
- direct ancestor of humans
- ape-like & human-like characteristics
what is the anatomy of bipedalism
foramen magnum (big hole in base of cranium) so that the spinal cord can run through
where is the foramen magnum located in quadrupeds vs bipeds
- quadrupeds: in the back of the cranium
- bipeds: underneath cranium for upright posture
what are 5 reasons/theories of the evolution of bipedalism
- broader/better vision
- keeping cool
- efficiency of travel (more stamina)
- tool use (hands are more free)
- provisioning
what do the theories of evolution of bipedalism assume?
it is evolving in a savannah
what are the 5 robust traits
- big molars & premolars
- heavy (buttressed) mandible
- flaring zygomatic arch (to give muscles room)
- sagittal crest
- smaller brain
what are the 5 gracile traits
- back teeth not as big
- jaw not as heavy
- cheekbone not flaring
- larger brain (in later forms)
- no sagittal crest
what are the 6 characteristics of robust teeth
- large back teeth (molar & premolars)
- molarized premolars (have root similar to molars)
- small front teeth (incisors & canines)
- disproportionate dendition
- heavy jaw
- big muscles
what are 5 characteristics of Australopithecus aethiopicus? what is another name for it?
- robust
- from East Africa
- 2.5 million years ago
- small (ape sized) brain
- prognathic
- also called paranthropus aethiopicus
what are 5 characteristics of Australopithecus africanus?
- gracile
- from South Africa
- 3.2 to 2.5 million years ago
- small (ape sized) brain
- long arms relative to legs
what are 5 characteristics of Australopithecus robustus? what is another name for it? (Red Snakes Taste Like Sewer)
- robust
- from South Africa
- 2 to 1.5 million year ago
- less prognathic
- small brain (ape sized)
- also called Paranthropus robustus
what are 6 characteristics Australopithecus boisei? what is another name for it?
- robust
- found in East Africa
- 2.5 to 1.5 million years ago
- super-robust
- flatter face
- potentially descendant of A. aethiopicus
- also called Paranthropus boisei
what are 6 characteristics of Australopithecus garhi? (Go Eat Tacos Plus Spicy Shrimp)
- gracile
- from East Africa
- 2.5 million years ago
- prognathic
- small brain
- stone tool use
what are 5 characteristics of Homo habilis?
- gracile
- early genus homo
- bigger brain
- possibly 2.3 million years ago
- some split them into 2 species: H. habilis (smaller) & H. rudolfensis (larger)
what are 3 characteristics of homo naledi?
- gracile
- from South Africa
- cannot be dated
what are 7 conclusions from the phylogenies of early hominins?
- Is Australopithecus afarensis a common ancestor?
- is robust grade one evolutionary clade?
- Is early homo one species or two?
- who made the stone tools?
- what is the position of A. africanus?
- robust grade hominins are NOT ancestral to homo
- considerable parallelism
what was the Oldowan tool tradition?
- stone tools
- Unifacial core tools
- used for butchering animal remains
what is Homo erectus temporal distribution
1.8+ million years ago
what is Homo erectus geographical distribution?
- first in East Africa
- spread out to E. Europe, China, Java (Indonesia)
what did some splitters split homo erectus into
H. ergastor & H. erectus
what are 11 traits of Homo erectus
1.) large brain
2.) supra-orbital torus
3.) no chin
4.) sagittal keel (sloped/flatter skull bones)
5.) low cranial vault (roof of cranium)
6.) cranium wider near base
7.) nuchal torus (bar of bone across neck muscles allowing attachment)
8.) postorbital constriction (back of skull pinched in behind eyes)
9.) modern limb proportions
10.) thick boned
11.) heavily muscled
what is achulean tool tradition
- hand axe
- bifacial core tool
what are 5 characteristics of archaic Homo sapiens (or homo heidelbergensis)(Eating Burgers Hurts Big Hearts)
1.) 800,000 - 200,000 years before present
2.) bigger brain
3.) still question of whether to call them homo sapiens or an intermediary species
4.) better tools (Levallois technique)
5.) hunted entire carcasses
what are 10 traits of Neandertals (Homo sapiens neanderthalensis) (sorry for letting orange bats meet no tasty crispy snacks)
1.) supraorbital torus (big eyebrows)
2.) Platycephalic (flat head)
3.) long oblong cranium
4.) occipital bun (back of brain swells out)
5.) bigger brains than modern humans
6.) mid-facial projection
7.) no chin
8.) thick bones (heavily muscled)
9.) shorter than modern humans & shorter arms/legs
10.) chest & rib cages flare out & are larger
what did neandertal culture include
- mousterian culture (flake tools, fire, burial of dead)
- Chatelperronion; more sophisticated in later neandertals (better tools, blades, jewelry)
how do modern traits contrast with Neandertals? (6)
1.) eyebrows; no torus
2.) high rounded cranium
3.) cranial capacity is 1400 cc (less than Neandertals)
4.) flatter face
5.) chin
6.) thinner bones
what are Denisovans?
- from Eastern Asia
- DNA was extracted from the bones of these fossils
- they are DISTINCT from Neandertals & homo sapiens
what are the 3 Paleolithic culture levels?
- lower (Oldowan & Acheulean)
- Middle (mousterian)
- Upper (chatelperronian & upper paleolithic cultural traditions of anatomically modern homo sapiens)
