Which is most likely to be preserved by fossilization?
bones and teeth
___ can be defined as variant forms of an element?
Isotopes
Strata are
layers of rock
Compared to adapiforms, omomyoids
are usually more nocturnal
What is the genus assigned to the largest primate that ever lived?
Gigantopithecus
Mammals thrived and proliferated during the ___ era
cenozoic
____ is the earliest known platyrrhine to date
Branisella
The half-life for radiocarbon decay is ___ years
5730
While the femur of a quadruped is straight, the femur of a biped is
angled inward to the knee
Bipeds have a(n) ___ spine
s-shaped curve
The Toumai fossil, or Sahelanthropus tchadensis, was discovered in
Chad
Among the earliest developments in the hominid family is
bipedal locomotion
The ____ is the hole in the occiptal bone through which the spinal cord connects to the brain
foramen magnum
The kind of bipedalism practiced by a living chimpanzee is called
occasional bipedalism
The pre-australopithecines lived around
7 mya to 4.4 mya
The main propulsive force of a biped's foot comes from the
big toe
Which of the following traits characterizes the quadrupedal ape?
divergent hallux
Adapiforms
are generally small to medium in size (similar to modern lemurs). They have forward-facing eyes, postorbital bars, grasping hands and feet, nails instead of claws, and larger brains than other mammals
Omomyoids
During the Eocene (56 to 34 mya). See them throughout North Americ and Eurasia. Are definite primates with forward-facing eyes, postorbital bars, grasping hands and feet, nails instead of claws, and large brains
Aegyptopithecus
has several general anthropoid traits, such as full bony enclosure of the orbit and a fused mandible
Branisella ..
found in Bolivia and dates to around 26 mya. It shares several dental traits with living New World Monkeys, such as the presence of three premolars in each mouth quadrant.
Proconsul
Was found in Africa from 2 to 17 mya. It has dental traits that suggest a frugivorous diet, and its postrcranial traits indicate it was probably an arboreal quadruped.
Dryopithecus
lived around 12 to 8 mya and had ape-like canines and Y-5 molars. Both their brain and body size were comparable to that of a modern chimpanzee, and they may have had some adaptations for suspensory locomotion
Law of Superposition
uses this principle to argue that material from lower (deeper) geological layers must be older than material from higher (shallower) geological layers.
Stratigraphy
is the study of the deposition of layers (or strata).
Comparative Stratigraphy
assumes that things found in the same strata will be from the same time period because they were deposited together
Occasional Bipedalism
is bipedal locomotion that ispracticed sometimes.
Habitual bipedalism
is bipedal locomotion that is practiced regularly (or habitually).
Obligate Bipedalism
bipedal locomotion that is practiced all the time
Bipeds
have an S-shaped vertebral column with curevs in the thoracic and lumbar areas. They have large lumbar vertebrae
Non bipeds
the vertebral column is straighter with only a single curve that gradually forms a long, convex dorsal surface.
Sahelanthropus tchadensis
The FIRST of the PRE-AUSTRALOPITHECINES. It lived around 7 to 6 mya
Orrorin
The second pre-australopithecines. was found in Tugen Hills of Kenya and dates to around 6 mya.
Australopithecus anamensis (Man of the Lake)
lived around 4.0 mya in eastern africa. Had a number of primitive ape-like traits such as very large canines, parallel upper tooth rows, and asymmetrical lower premolars with outer cusps that were much larger than the inner cusps
Australopithecus afarensis
lived around 3.6 to 3.0 mya in eastern africa.
Most famous specimen of Au. afarensis is
Lucy.
Australopithecus africanus
lived around 3.0 to 2.0 mya.
Australopithecus aethiopicus
is the earliest robust australopithecine form known, and it shows the classic cranial and dental traits. Had a diet that required heavy chewing.
Homo Habilis (Handy Man)
was the first member of our own genus. Had a much smaller chewin complex and a larger brain size.
Oldowan technology
this earliest stone tool technology is characterized by chopper and flake tools
Chopper
a large heavy stone tool with a sharp edge where small pieces of rock have been removed
Flake
a small piece of rock that has been removed from a larger rock and can be used as is or further modified into a specialized tool
Homo erectus
lived from about 1.8 mya to 300kya during the late pleistocene, in Africa and Asia. Lived in Europe. These individuals had pronounced brow ridges, relatively orthognathic (flat) faces.
Acheulean technology
the second and more widespread stone tool technology that was characterized by handaxes
Homo erectus is important because..
it was the first one to leave africa
Biface
is a stone tool that has had flakes of stone removed from two sides
Handaxe
is a biface tool that is shaped like a pear (or teardrop) with one end that is larger and rounded and another end that is more narrow and pointed.
Homo heidelbergensis
lived in Europe and Africa. Several traits in common with homo erectus. They had long and low crania nd large brow ridges
Homo heidelbergensis unique traits
had a larger cranial capacity. They had a diverse diet that included meat fro big game animals
Mousterian technology
a stone tool technology that used the Levallois technique to produce a variety of specialized flake tools
Levallois technique
a process used to produce regularly shaped flakes that can then be further modified into different tools.
Homo neanderthalensis
perhaps the most famous of our extinct fossils. lived around 130 to 30 kya in Europe nd western Asia. Had incredible large capacities
Occipital bun (H. neanderthalensis)
a large, round projection located on the occipital bone
Homo neanderthalensis facts
may have had the ability to produce language. Evidence of purposefully arranged burials for their dead.
Homo Sapiens
slightly more robust than humans today. They had small orthognathic (flat) faces with small brow ridges. They also had small front and back teeth and a pronounced chin on the front of the mandible
Homo Sapiens diet
included a wider range of prey than those of other species. They hunted and ate medium-sized game animals, such as ancient deer species, as well as smaller game, such as birds and fish.
Homo Sapiens burial
were more ritualistic than neanderthal, and they regularly interred their dead with special tools, jewelry, and other grave goods
Upper Paleolithic technology (Homo Sapiens)
a complex stone tool technology characterized by tools made from special stone flakes called blades and also included tools made from antler and bone
Homo Floresiensis
occupied the Indonesian island of Flores. These individuals had small teeth and orthognathic (flat) faces, similar to other late Homo species, but they had somewhat more primitive locomotor adaptations, such as long arms and flat feet