What makes humans typically humans?

Question 1

Dominance hierarchies

Answer 1

some individuals are “higher” in rank than others and are constantly able to displace others from a resource, the rank is dynamic and can be challenged (by fighting) and reversed

Question 2

Social-brain hypothesis

Answer 2

idea that maintaining social relationships required devoted brain mechanisms, thus, social species will tend to have larger brains compared to non-social ones. A bigger brain size must therefore have evolved as a result of bigger group size.

Question 3

Strepisirrhines

Answer 3

Suborder of primates that includes the lemuriform primates in Africa, Madagascar,…

Question 4

Haplorrhines

Answer 4

“dry-nosed” primates, suborder of primates containing the tarsiers as a sister of the strepsirrhine

Question 5

Promisians

Answer 5

Group of primates that includes all living and extinct strepsirrhines and haplorrhines

Question 6

Platyrrhines

Answer 6

Group of primates that includes the new-world apes, marmosets, and tamarins, distinguished by having nostrils that are far apart and directed forwards or sideways and typically have a tail.

Question 7

Catarrhines

Answer 7

Group of primates that include the old-word apes, characterized by having nostrils close together with an opening in front of the face.

Question 8

Brachiation

Answer 8

mode of locomotion involving swinging from branch to branch using only arms

Question 9

Hominins

Answer 9

intermediate forms between chimpanzees and the humans today, not a single evolving lineage; rather there is a branching of multiple forms, many of which go extinct and only some of which are on the line leading to living humans.

Question 10

Out-of-Africa model

Answer 10

states that AMH (anatomically modern human) is a new species that replaced the other living hominins without interbreeding.

Question 11

Cultural intelligence hypothesis

Answer 11

Argues that human’s unique cognitive skills is mainly due to species-specific set of social-congitive skills for participating and exchanging knowledge in cultural groups.

Question 12

General Intelligence Hypothesis

Answer 12

Larger brains enable more efficient use of all cognitive operations.

Question 13

Adapted intelligence hypothesis

Answer 13

Cognitive abilities evolve in response to relatively specific environmental challenges (either ecological challenges or social challenges -> Social brain and Cultural Intelligence Hypotheses)

Question 14

Bottleneck effect

Answer 14

Sharp reduction in the size of a population due to environmental events (such as earthquakes, floods, …) or human activities (such as genocides)

Question 15

Allometry

Answer 15

an increasement in size does not have to result in an increasement of its parts. One variable Y (i.e., brain size) can be related to a more fundamental one X (i.e., body size) by the following equation where C and k are constants. Y = CX^k

Question 16

Encephalistation Quotient (EQ)

Answer 16

departure of brain size from the allometric line, defined as: actual brain weight divided by brain weight predicted from allometric line

Question 17

Chihuahua fallacy

Answer 17

intelligence is too complex to have such a simple relationship. Just like small dogs (chihuahuas) the body can be bred smaller but the brain size is less variable.

Question 18

Basic metabolic rate (BMR)

Answer 18

rate of energy expenditure per unit time by endothermic animals at rest. Metabolism comprises the processes that the body needs to function.

Question 19

Machiavellian intelligence hypothesis

Answer 19

what differentiates primates from all other species (and, hence, what might account for their especially large brains) was the complexity of their social lives and environment. Punishment of Cheaters, games, etc.

Question 20

Principle of parsimony

Answer 20

The simples tree having the lowest number of steps (evolutionary changes) is accepted.

Question 21

Apomorphies

Answer 21

traits that are defining for all species afterwards, a novel evolutionary trait that is unique to a particular species and all its descendants and can be used as a defining character for a species/group in phylogenetic terms

Question 22

Homology

Answer 22

similarity resulting from common ancestry (i.e., bones in hand and arm)

Question 23

Convergent Evolution

Answer 23

gain of new, similar features indepedently (trait that develops indepedently)

Question 24

Proof of Out Of Africa

Answer 24

1. AMH today look similar to fossils from AMH fossils, not hominins
2. Bottleneck Effect: mtDNA results -> more differences between Africans and Africans
3. Neanderthal DNA is outside the variation of living humans

Question 25

What makes humans different?

Answer 25

1) Meat eating -> higher nutritious value needed for high metabolic costs of the large brain
2) Tool use
3) Brain size
4) Life history
5) The learning niche
6) Language -> Complex vocal system made possibly by mutation to gene FOXP2 which only exists in humans

Question 26

Ballistics

Answer 26

Throwing objects accurately would have once had great survival advantage, but this act requires sophisticated cognitive coordination

Question 27

Genomic inprinting

Answer 27

Advantages to mothers of well-developed neocortex and advantages to fathers of a more instinct-driven limbic system set up an escalating genomic conflict that increases the size of both components.

Question 28

Why did the brain grow?

Answer 28

1) Dietary complexity
2) Tool use
3) Ballistics
4) Sexual Selection
5) Genomic inprinting
6) Machiavellian intelligence and the social brain hypothesis
7) Climate changes

Question 29

Comparing social and ecological theories

Answer 29

1) Length of juvenile period correlated most strongly with diet and lifespan
2) Relative brain size correlated most strongly with home range (mental maps and navigation)
3) Neocortex brain ratio correlated most strongly with group size -> social complexity
4) ecological factors correlated with cranial capacity
-> Strongest impact: population density

Question 30

Results Chimpanzees Children

Answer 30

Cognitive Skills Physical World: Chimpanzees = Children
Cognitive Skills Social World: Chimpanzees < Children

Question 31

Expensive tissue hypothesis

Answer 31

Bigger brain - smaller gut