Origins of Homo Flashcards

Question

Why are OH fossils placed within the genus Homo?

Answer 1

Slightly larger brain than Australopithecus Slightly smaller posterior teeth Habitual erect posture and bipedal gait H. sapiens-like foot bones Different affinities in hand bones, but capable of making tools

Answer 2

``` Homo has: Increased cranial capacity Reduced prognathism Reduced teeth and parabolic arcade Obliged and modern bipedalism Sophisticated and more committed use of stone tools More complex social behaviour Increased meat consumption ```

Answer 3

~2mya - substantial increase in brain size begins Systematic hunting & increased meat consumption Advantages of meat: Higher energetic contents Easier digestion (expensive tissue hypothesis) Disadvantages of meat: Harder to get & competition Requires planning, co-operation, complex social networks

Answer 4

Aiello & Wheeler 1995 -> humans cannot afford having a big brain together with other 'expensive tissues' Trade-off = brain size increases and gut size decreases Associated with higher quality diet (more meat, perhaps cooked) HOWEVER: sample of 100 mammalian species -> no significant relationship between brain size and gut size Brain size is negatively correlated only with the size of adipose deposits Encephalisation and fat storage are alternative strategies to buffer against starvation

Answer 5

Oldowan industry - thought to be the most primitive human technology for many years. Associated with OH 7 at 1.8mya Concoidal fractures Manuports - rocks moved by hominins but not worked Hammerstones - used to remove flakes from other rocks Core forms - pebbles which flakes were removed or used as tools themselves Flakes Demonstrate advanced knowledge of the mechanical properties of stone

Answer 6

Tools in Gona, Afar, Ethiopia at 2.6mya Cutmarks in Bouri at 2.5mya - association with Au. garhi? Lack of associated lithics suggests curation of tools Cutmarks in Dikika, Ethiopia at 3.39mya - Dominguez-Rodrigo et al 2010 "In a less contentious context, the marks would likely be accepted as genuine cutmarks." Stone tools at Lake Turkana, Kenya, at 3.3mya

Answer 7

West Turkana, Kenya, 3.3mya Same location as Kenyanthropus platyops Predates Oldowan by 700,000 years - possibly the oldest human technology Simplest mode to make stone tools Very large and crude Human-like dexterity is not required

Answer 8

Chimpanzees, macaques, capuchins use stones to open nuts and crabs Therefore tool use is NOT a defining trait of the genus Homo - not surprising that Australopithecus used tools as well

Answer 9

OH 5 (P. boisei) found in layers with stone tools Stone tools found at SK Mbr 3, only with P. robustus P. robustus hand bones capable of a modern human-like precision grip

Answer 10

Hunting in groups = division of labour and role specialisation Implies higher cognitive abilities and communication 80-95% of carnivores are solitary Exceptions: lions, wild dogs, spotted hyenas, chimpanzees, humans

Answer 11

Homo habilis foot Adducted hallux Straight - not curved - metatarsals Evidence for transverse and longitudinal arch Could also belong to P. boisei Modern features have been contested

Answer 12

2.3mya to 12,000 years ago Divided into: Lower Palaeolithic 2.3mya to 125,000 years ago Middle Palaeolithic 125,000 to 35,000 years ago Upper palaeolithic 35,000 to 12,000 years ago

Answer 13

Oldowan and Acheulean Oldowan: opportunistic flaking. Associated with hunting behaviours, but likely useful for other activities e.g. digging, woodwork, defence. Acheulean: first appeared 1.4mya. Characteristic tool is the hand axe, plus tool types specific to certain regions. Evidence for preconceived notion of what the tool should look like = greater intellectual capacity.

Answer 14

Rising Star cave system near Johannesburg, South Africa. 1,500 fossils (Berger et al., 2015) Combination of primitive and derived characteristics: Curved fingers Primitive shoulders 465-560cc brain size Premolar asymmetry Increased size of teeth towards the back of the tooth row