Unit 7 : Hominin Origins

Question 1

Explain the general time depth for the earliest primates and how they relate to living primates

Answer 1

• The earlies primates were the Palaeocene , 65-55 million years ago . There was limited divergence of animals at the time and the only way they relate to living primates is that they were also mammals

Question 2

Define ‘hominin’ and explain the evidence used to determine whether a fossil form is a hominin

Answer 2

• Hominin is a direct ancestor to humans
  TO recognize if it is a fossil form of a hominin you can check for :
  1. reduction of front teeth
  2. development of a number of traits associated with bipedalism including positioning of the foramen magnum directly in the centre of its base
  3.Speciatzation of the foot for weight bearing , shorter , broader and stronger pelvic bones
  4. high ratio of leg to arm length
  5. increases in thumb length
  6. tool use and manufacture
  7. major increases in brain size

Question 3

Compare the earliest bipeds to one another and to living primates

Answer 3

-The bipeds had skulls that would sit toward the front and for primates its more towards the back going through the foramen magnum

Question 4

Describe the earliest appearance of the genus Homo in the fossil record

Answer 4

• it was 2.5 million years ago.