Be able to describe Homo habilis (Homo rudolfensis). When did it live? Where? Which scientists first discovered this (these) species? Where did they find it?
Found by Louis and Mary leaky at Oldulvai Gorge in Tanzania(1960s) (2.5-1.4 mya)
Be able to compare and contrasts the basic traits of early Homo and previous hominid species.
Larger, more rounded braincase (larger brain).Smaller, less jutting face.Smaller teeth.More efficient in their bipedalism.(Eventually) larger in overall size.(Eventually) more intelligent.
Be able to describe the Oldowan tool industry? Which hominids used these tools? When?
Oldowan tools: flakes, cores and hammer stones. flakes:slicing hides, butchering meat cores:stone from which flakes are knocked off. hammer:crack bones, knock flakes off other cores
What might be some of the implications for stone tool development among hominids?
Greater social complexity, more mobility, greater language skills, meat became more important with diet (scavenging or hunting), increased intelligence
Did early Homo scavenge or hunt or both? Which type of lifeway would likely have been the most optimal?
mixed strategy: hunting small game or water species, gathering plants and scavenging. mixed is the most sufficient and stable over a long time.
When does Homo erectus first appear? When does it die out?
first appear in Africa 1.8 mya Survived in large numbers until 300,000 years ago, and relic populations may have existed in Indonesia until as late as between 75,000-25,000 years ago.
Be able to describe Homo erectus.
largest hominid up to this point, may represent an adaptation to harsh environmental conditions, evolved out of homo habilis, possibly the first hominid to use fire, bigger brains, much longer legs than arms, femur length similar to modern humans, more "h
What is the Nariokotome Boy?Who found it? Where? How old are these remains?
Found in 1984 Richard Leakey and Alan Walker. A nearly complete skeleton of an adolescent male Homo erectus (Homo ergaster) in the Lake Turkana area of Kenya. Most complete skeleton of an early hominid.1.5 mya
When does Homo erectus leave Africa? Where else is it found in the world.
left africa about 1.7 mya, By 1.6 mya had made it to what is today far western China and southern Indonesia. Among the earliest finds outside of Africa at 1.7 mya in what is today the Republic of Georgia (near the village of Dmanisi, black sea between eur
What is the significance of the Dmanisi site? Where is it located?
The Dmanisi finds seems to represent a small colony of hominids. Some scientists see these are representing transition figures between earlier hominids and H. Erectus, while others believe they should be classified as H. habilis
Why did Homo erectus leave Africa?
As H. Erectus are evolving, the African climate was both cooling and drying.Grasslands are expanding and forests contracting. These changes are stoking population increases in large grazing animals.Homo erectus is well-adapted for long distance travel. in
When does the Acheulean tool tradition first arise? How is it different than the Oldowan tradition?
Where aren't Acheulean tools found?
Roughly 1.6-1.4 mya the Acheulean tool tradition begins in Africa, and lasts until around 250,000 years ago. Dominated by hand axes and cleavers (biface), first time tools are standardized, likely hunting tools, as well as plant use, made for specific use
What are archaic Homo sapiens? How do they relate to modern Homo sapiens and Neanderthals?
homo erectus-Due to its geographic success, dispersed populations begin adapting to different local environments much biological variation to the point where subspecies can be defined>> these various lineages are often lumped under the term "Archaic Homo
What is Homo heidelbergensis?
Archaic homo sapiens are sometimes called Homo heidelbergensis. (by those who view them as being one species).
How are archaic Homo sapiens different from Homo erectus?
Archaic Lineages Have larger brains (1,000cc - 1,400 cc).Feature taller, less angular cranial vaults.
Arching instead of straight supraorbital tori (brow ridges). In some instances, they have wider nasal apertures (implying they had relatively wide flat n
What is midfacial prognathism?
the forward projection of the middle facial region, including the nose- mostly on Neandtherthals
What types of technologies did archaic Homo sapiens use?
Oldowan and Alcheulean tools, wooden spears, perhaps a throwing stick, used fire, big-game hunting
Which hominids are likely associated with big game hunting? What is the evidence for this?
Archaic homo sapiens, Boxgrove site in England-site features remains of small and large game animals, cut up by tools
When do Neanderthals first appear? When do they go extinct? In what parts of the world are they found?
Exist from at least 150,000-27,000 years ago. Lived in Europe and parts of the Middle East, and Western-Central Asia.
Where were the first Neanderthal fossils found?
Neander Valley in Germany where one of the first fossil discoveries of these hominids was made.
Are Neanderthals a separate species from modern Homo sapiens?
Seem to have arisen out of at least one lineage of Archaic Homo Sapiens (and are sometimes classified as a type of Archaic Homo Sapiens).Scientists disagree as to whether they are a separate species
What ways do Neanderthals differ anatomically from modern Homo sapiens?
Neanderthals have a larger cranium (and brain) than either Homo erectus or modern Homo. sapiens.
Great midface prognathism.Shovel-shaped incisors.
Feature occipital bun Small back teeth (molars and premolars) - smaller than those of modern humans.
Very di
The Neanderthal physique may be an adaptation to what?
Neanderthals stout physique and unique facial anatomy appear to be adaptations to cold climates.
Genetic drift may have also played a factor in these developments.
What may have been the Neanderthal lifeways (How did they get food, etc.)?
Later use Mousterian tools, big-game hunters, practiced cannibalism.However, upon the arrival of modern humans into Neanderthal territories, Neanderthal populations seem to drop rapidly. implies that modern Homo sapiens out-competed Neanderthals and quick
What behaviors are associated with Neanderthals?
Neanderthal remains show remarkable number of healed traumatic injuries, shows they helped each other, had basic clothes of some sort, 10-15 ppl migratory (short distances), buried their dead, had personal items,
What tools are associated with the Upper Paleolithic (Later Stone Age)?
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When do modern Homo sapiens first appear in Africa?
200,000 years ago
By when are they fully established in Africa?
By 100,000 years ago hominids whose skeletal anatomy is modern are firmly established in Africa.
When do they leave Africa?
90,000-100,000 years ago found in Israel, ice age and weather changes driving us out also following food sources.
Where was the first modern Homo sapiens skull found outside of Africa? How old is it?
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What are the reasons scientists think drove Homo sapiens left Africa?
Modern humans are far more intelligent, have greater language skills, and a more extensive and sophisticated material culture than any previous hominid. This has allowed us to have a greater geographic range and live in more types of environments than any
Out of what species may have Homo sapiens developed?
Most likely developed out of a lineage or lineages of Archaic Homo sapiens or Homo erectus / Homo
ergaster. The exact nature of Homo sapiens' closest ancestor is not clearly understood by scientists. did not develop out of neanderthals
Be able to explain both the Replacement Hypothesis ("Out of Africa" model) and the Multiregional model.
out of africa-This model hypothesizes that modern humans arose only in Africa and then quickly replaced earlier hominid species (Archaic Homo sapiens, Neanderthals, and remaining Homo erectus populations). In this model, there is little to no breeding bet
What studies genetic studies support the Replacement Hypothesis? What data supports the Multiregional model?
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Roughly when did Homo sapiens arrive in the Middle East? India? China? Australia? Europe? The Americas?
By at least 90,000 years ago H. sapiens are found in what today is called the Middle East.
By roughly 40,000 years ago they are in Europe.
May have arrived in China by 67,000 years ago (this early date is disputed) and Indonesia by at least 40,000 years a
Where are the first sites that might be associated with modern humans found outside of Africa? Where are these sites found? What do these sites lack?
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When do the behaviors we associate with modern humans first start being represented in the archaeological record?
70,000-40,000 cultural aspects appeared
When do modern humans first begin to leave Africa in a big way?
Between approximately 70,000-50,000 years ago indicators of behaviors associated with modern Homo sapiens begin appearing in the archaeological record in Africa at first and eventually elsewhere.
During this period modern humans begin leaving Africa in si
When does the Middle Pleniglacial happen? What is the climate like during this period. How might this period have influences human migrations?
The period between 60,000-30,000 BP lies in and near the heart, time wise, of the most recent glacial period (ice age). However, the climate within glacial periods is not uniform. Though considerably colder than today, the climate during this period (Midd
What general cultural advantages did modern humans have over other hominid species?
Modern humans had significant advantages over other hominids in their cognitive and linguistic abilities.
These would have led to major cultural advantages.
Both biological and cultural evidence suggests that modern humans were markedly more intelligent t
What biological advantages might Neanderthals and archaic Homo Sapiens lineages had over modern humans?
In many ways, competing hominids were better biologically adapted than modern humans for ice-age conditions.
When did humans first arrive in Australia?
Confirmed settlement dates back to at least 40,000 years BP. likely dates back at least a few thousand years before that.
What are Sunda and Sahul? What is Wallacea/the Wallace Trench? How did this region affect the distribution of flora and fauna in its part of the world?
At the time humans first made it to Australia, due to ice-age conditions, much of what today are Indonesian islands were connected into a single landmass called Sunda. Today's Australia and New Guinea, along with some other smaller islands, were joined in
Did the first Australian likely have watercraft?
All of these routes, though, would have meant multiple ocean crossings. widest being 43 miles-strongly implying water crafts
What are sum of the reason why we have not found many sites in Indonesia predating the colonization of Australia?
Tropical preservation issues and intense land use by later occupants likely have obliterated many human remains and sites.
Many early Australian sites are found near what were lakes and rivers. What might this say about the cultural skills of the first Australians?
This suggests that the first Australian colonists were adapted to ocean environments and used these skills as their method of settling inland areas.
What is lake Mungo? What has been found there?
Lake Mungo in southern Australia has yielded human remains that date to roughly 40,000 years ago and stone tools that might date to between 50,000-46,000 years ago.
After what time period do Australian sites proliferate (increase in abundance)?
proliferate after roughly 40,000 years, and there are a great number of dates after 35,000 years ago.
This suggests that settlement much before the 40,000 years ago was likely very sparse
Many of the first sites are found in what general part of Australia?
Many early Australian sites are found in the southern regions of the continent, far from northern coasts where the first settlement almost sure took place.
It has been argued that this likely means that the first arrivals to the continent came earlier tha
How do reproduction and the pace of migrations tie into each other?
The first settlers were probably quite small in number.
In order for groups to remain viable biologically they would have had to had access to mates from other groups. This would have stopped small groups from moving far from their neighbors. This ties mi
What are the general colonization dynamics of organisms that find themselves in environments where they face little or no competition?
Research had shown that organisms entering such "empty" environments spread rapidly and have exponential population growth.
What is Willandra Lakes 50? What might it say about early hominid populations in Australia?
A female skeleton (Willandra Lakes 50) dating between 30,000-20,000 years ago was found at Willandra Lakes, a site complex just north of Lake Mungo. The skeleton features extremely thick cranial bones, more similar to those of certain Archaic Homo sapiens
When do modern humans first arrive in Europe? From where did they come?
Modern Homo sapiens first entered Europe roughly 40,000 years ago. Genetic and archaeological evidence strongly suggests these immigrants can trace most or all of their biological ancestry to Africa. The first (modern) Europeans were believed to have arri
What are some of the environmental challenges modern humans would have faced upon entering Europe?
Modern humans entered Europe during an ice age.
There they would have experienced climate extremes they would not have before faced. Unfamiliar flora and fauna would have greeted them. Biologically they were still largely adapted to tropical conditions Mo
What other hominid species would have modern humans encountered in Europe?
Neanderthals and Archaic Homo sapiens lineages
Why do some researchers think that the first modern humans in Europe at first practiced an "avoidance strategy" in regards to other hominids? Why might this actually be an illusion?
Early modern human sites in Europe seem to be places in areas where other types of hominids were not found>>This could indicate an avoidance strategy on the part of these newcomers.The pattern may be an illusion created by the low number of sites we have
Be familiar with the basic nature of and which hominid species made the following tool traditions: Levellois, Mousterian, Aurignacian, Chatelperronian.
Archaic Homo sapiens made what we call Levellois tools. Earlier hominids specialized all purpose "core" tools, such as hand axes. Levellois tools saw the switch to flake tools, which were more specialized.The tools were more efficient than earlier tools.
How might the Middle Pleniglacial have affected Neanderthal? How might they have been biologically over specialized?
Unlike other hominids, Neanderthals became highly specialized for cold environments. Modern humans first colonized Europe during the Middle Pleniglacial, a relatively warm period during the last ice age.
This warm snap would have effected the flora and fa
How did Homo sapiens likely reach The Americas?
15,000 years ago
In what ways do modern Homo sapiens differ anatomically from Neanderthals and earlier Homo species?
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What does your instructor mean by "Cultural Take Off?" What are some examples of these phenomena?
believe that human intelligence (and by extension culture) showed marked increase around 50,000 years ago Between roughly 70,000-40,000 years ago ice age conditions caused a severe environmental downturn (drought and desertification) in Africa. Animal pop
What is a symbol?
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Be able to define the terms "race" and "ethnicity.
Race - The division of humans into groups based on biological characteristics. Ethnicity: A group of people sharing common origins, history, language, and in many cases religion, social and political structures, and real or perceived biological commonalit
What was the main subject matter of early anthropology?
Early biological (physical) anthropology was primarily concerned with the study of believed racial differences in humans. This work included ethnocentric (or "racist") judging and ranking of peoples by their supposed biological worth "Worth" was often jud
What are some of the problems associated with early anthropology?
The work of these early anthropologists was often invoked to justify social, economic, and political policies employed by people of European ancestry towards those of non-European ancestry, by men towards women, and by "normal" people towards those seen a
What is Linnaeus' classification of humans?
Homo sapiens afer = Sub-Saharan Africans
Homo sapiens americanus = Native Americans
Homo sapiens asiaticus = Asians
Homo sapiens europaeus = Europeans
Homo sapiens ferus = Wild men
What factors contributed to early anthropology's lack of scientific rigor?
poor understanding of human prehistory. Little understanding of the earth's true age or of the antiquity of humans. Little ethnographic data on living populations. Unacknowledged and unrecognized cultural and religious biases on the part of the researcher
On what was early anthropological theory based?
Much early anthropology was based on poorly defined pre-Darwinian views of evolution, untenable analogies to Darwinian theory, or attempts to correlate human traits (biological and cultural) with Biblical scripture.
Most of theories had at their base a li
What is Monogenesis? Polygenesis?
Monogenesis - the belief that all humans arose from one creation (Adam and Eve) and then developed different racial characteristics later. Humans are seen as a single species in this view.
Polygenesis (a.k.a. "The American School" of Anthropology) - Argue
What is craniometry? Craniology? Anthropometry? Recapitulation?
Craniometry - The comparative study of human skull size and shapes to determine intelligence and "racial attributes."
Craniology - Primarily the comparative study of brain size (weight) and shape to determine intelligence and racial, sexual, and class att
Who was Samuel George Morton? What types of studies did he do? What are some of the problems with his studies? What is Crania Americana?
Was trained as a medical doctor and became one of the leading American physical anthropologists of the 19th century.
Proponent of polygenesis.
Wrote the very famous study Crania Americana (1839). He believed brain size, on average correlated with intellig
What is a population?
A group of (breeding) organisms identifiable with a species
What is a deme?
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How are the terms "race" and "subspecies" related?
race is the division of humans into groups based on biological characteristics, its the human equivalent of the "sub species" designed to classify non-humans
What effects the development of skin color? Hair color?
Skin color is largely determined by the amount of melanin, (polymer pigments derived from amino acids), which, among other things, protect the skin (from sunburn and cancers) from the sun in proportion to its abundance. The more melanin one's skin contain
What is Bergman's' rule? What is Allen's rule? What does each predict about human body types?
Bergmann's Rule - Large (more stout and round) body sizes should evolve in colder climates to conserve body heat. Limbs will be shorter as well. Relatively short bodies (height). Bodies also evolve to store more subcutaneous fat in these climates.
Allen's
What other factors can affect human appearance?
The original human populations in many parts of the globe were very small in number and for long periods of time may have been relatively isolated from other populations.
Because of this, genetic drift has likely played an important role in the way humans