terms for final Flashcards
how do we reconstruct diet?
dental anatomy/morphology
mastication system (levers)
wear patterns
isotopes
dental anatomy: methods and what they tell us
size of teeth, thickness of enamel, cusp or sharp teeth
tells us what they ate
mastication system: methods and what they tell us
chewing apparatus of the mandible and skull
lever system
speed and force are traded off for each other: more force, slower/less force, faster
wear patterns: methods and what they tell us
how the food that something eats wears on its teeth
small scratches/pits/dents
phytoliths
enables identification of plants alive at the time
more scratches = folivore
more pits = frugivore
lots of pits = brittle diet
isotopes (C3 and C4 vegetation): methods and what they tell us
grasslands = almost all c4 plants
forests = c3
tells us where they lived, what they ate
main differences between australopithecus and paranthropus diets
austra: megadont, strong mastication, more scratches, 30% c4
para: HYPERmegadont, powerful mastication, more pits, 30% c4
fallback foods and adaptation
earliest evidence of stone tools & cut marks
stone tools: 3.3mya in Lomekwi, Kenya
cut marks: 3.4mya in Dikika, Ethiopia
earliest specimen of homo
2.8mya
no chin, 610-750cc, reduced dentition, small body size, australopith body proportions
the habilines (gen. characteristics)
obligate bipeds
still some arboreality
larger brained than austra
tool making
humanlike thumb, wrist bones
precision grip
how much variation is there within a single species? ways to assess
coefficient of variation
qualitative characteristics (do they follow a normal mammalian pattern of sexual dimorphism?)
supra-orbital torus
supra-orbital sulcus
temporalis origin
nuchal origin
canine size
prognathism
homo habilis
dates: 2.3-1.65mya
locations: all of eastern africa (esp. koobi fora)
important derived traits: humanlike thumb and wrist bones, curved phalanges, long arms, mod. encephalization, less post orbital constriction
homo rudolfensis
dates: 2.4? 1.9mya
locations: malawi
important derived traits: generally less robust, slightly bigger teeth and palate, still more gracile
the erectines: dates & locations
dates: 2.1mya - 117kya
locations: old world distribution minus australia
erectines: one or two species?
qualitative traits:
scores 0-5, too much variation for one species
quantitative traits:
measurements, NOT too much variation for one species
homo erectus (sensu lato)
important derived traits: much encephalization, long + low cranium, full facial prognathism, crazy brow bone, slightly external nose
endurance running hypothesis
persistence hunting hypothesis
expensive tissue hypothesis
stone tool (lithic) technologies
hypotheses for pan-african and eurasian dispersal of homo erectus
intrinsic:
- large body size X
- humanlike intermembral index
- large brain
- tool use X
- increased meat consumption
extrinsic:
- escape from disease X
- normal mammalian dispersal X
- following predators X
- following prey X
- demographic pressure
- environmental pressure
