Anthropology (ANTH 001) FINAL EXAM REVIEW

Who are Acheulean tools used by? What do they look like? What were they likely used for?

Acheulean (stone tool industry of early and middle Pleistocene) tools were used by H. erectus mostly, but many Homo species made it. They look better constructed, composed of bifacial handaxes and cleavers. They were likely used for butchering animals, scraping/cutting plants, sharpening wood tools, or stripping bark from trees.

Know the details of the dates of appearance, anatomy, and geographic distribution of modern humans in the following places: Africa, Near East, Europe, Asia, and Southeast Asia, and Australia. In which area do we have really great transitional fossils between H. heidelbergensis and amH.s.? What continent has advanced tools with microliths? How are two different hominin groups using Israel? What is suggested by the cranial and postcranial details in Europe? What area lacks fossils between about 100 kya and 40 kya? How must hominins have gotten to Australia? Where do we see cremated remains and red ochre?

Africa:

What details unite all australopithecines (location, age, locomotion, body size, brain size, etc..?)

All australopithecines are located in Eastern and South Africa, dated 4.4-1.2 mya. They are bipedal, small brained (340-550 ccs) and prognathic. They have high sexual dimorphism, and range from 3.5-4.5 ft tall in height and 60-110 lbs in weight

We talked about 11 species (Ardipithecus ramidus, Australopithecus anamensis, Au. afarensis, Au. bahrelghazali, Kenyanthropus platyops, Au. garhi, Au. africanus, Au. sediba, Au. aethiopicus, Au. boisei, Au. robustus) of well-accepted hominins. For each, remember where they are found (sites and countries), dates, what makes them hominins, if we have cranial and/or postcranial remains, and any special information about them. Also (when applicable), know and be able to explain how "lumpers" and "splitters" view each group, how they interpret diversity, and how the scientific name(s) may change according to each perspective.

Ar. ramidus: Ethiopia (Aramis), Northeast Africa, 4.4 mya. Cranial (C) traits: small canine w/no clear CP3 honing complex and an anteriorly placed femoral magnum. Post-cranial (PC) traits: having a "bipedal" pelvis (short broad) and a divergent hallux (big toe off to the side). Au. anamensis: Kenya (Allia Bay, Kanapoi; streamside forest), East Africa, 4.2-3.9 mya. C traits: parallel (U) dental arcade with smaller canines than Ardipithecus, but have a CP3 complex, and thick enamel. PC: having a bipedal tibia. Au. afarensis: Ethiopia (Afar), Northeast Africa + Tanzania (Laetoli), East Africa, 3.9-2.9 mya. Lucy and Dikika are famous specimens. C traits: cranial capacity (cc) of 350-500 ccs, prognathism less than chimps, have a cresty crania (saggital, temporonuchal), U-shaped dental arcade, small canines w/ apical wear. PC traits: bipedal evidence such as having a short pelvis and femur. Signs of arboreality due to having a scapula, arms, and phalanges. Evidence also points out that they are highly sexually dimorphic because males are larger, as well as tool usage at site of Dikika (3-4 mya) Au. bahrelghazali: Chad (Bahr el Ghazali), West Africa, 3.5-3.0 mya. C traits include single parietal maxilla w/ 7 teeth. Likely Au. afarensis, but expands range. Kenyanthropus platyops: Kenya (Lomekwi), East Africa, 3.5 mya. C traits: flat face, small molar teeth, anterior FM. Maybe a squished Au. afarensis? Lumpers may categorize it as the same genus if given enough evidence, however splitters would keep them separate. Au. garhi: Ethiopia (Bouri, Gona), 2.5 mya. C: cc of 450 ccs, prognathic, large canines, saggital crest. PC: long legs with climbing hands/feet; could be a late Au. afarensis. At Gona/Bouri site there were cut/crushed antelope bones, may have been used for tools. Au. africanus: South Africa (Taung, Sterkfontein; found in limestone caves [breccia, which is a cement-like matrix of fossilized rock and bone])), 3.5 to <2.0 mya. C traits (compared to Au. afarensis): cc of 450-550 ccs, smooth crania, less prognathic face, and smaller anterior teeth. PC: shorter arms. Au. sediba: South Africa (Malapa), 1.97-1.78 mya. C: cc of 420-435 ccs, homo-looking face/teeth(?) PC: long arms "robust" australopithecus (or paranthropus): very specialized; robust/reinforced faces for hard-object feeding. C traits to indicate: postorbital construction, flaring zygomatic arches, sagittal crest, dished faces, molarized premolars, megadonty, reduced anterior teeth, very thick enamel. Au. (or Paranthropus) aethiopicus: Kenya (West Turkana), 2.7-2.5 mya. Possess traits that indicate hard object feeding; C: sagittal crest posteriorly placed, cc of 400 ccs, alveolar prognathism, big anterior teeth. Au. (P.) boisei: Tanzania (Olduvai), Kenya, Ethiopia, 2.3-1.2 mya. Famous specimens are "Zinj" and "Nutcracker Man." C: cc of 500-550 ccs, hyper-robust (traits?), PC: large body compared to others, 75-100 lbs. Au. (P.) robustus: South Africa (Kromdraai), 2.0-1.5 mya. C: 500-550 ccs, robust, anterior pillars. PC: smaller body (70-90 lbs). *Au. afarensis -> P. aethiopicus -> P. boisei -> P. robustus(?)*

What species is "Lucy" from? Who was she discovered by and when? What is the level of dimorphism in this species? What does this tell us?

Au. afarensis, she was discovered by Donald Johanson at Hadar in Ethiopia in 1974. They are highly sexually dimorphic and tells us that they may have had a polygynous mating strategy (multiple mates)

Which hominin species shows retained postcranial adaptations to arboreality? What were they?

Au. afarensis; had longer arms relative to leg length, more curved phalanges in fingers and toes, and shoulder characteristics similar to arboreality (brachiator complex)

What species is "Taung" from? Who described it and when?

Au. africanus, found by Raymond Dart in 1924

Besides the traits associated with bipedality, what other traits do we associate with the hominin lineage? (Hint: they're cranial and dental)

Bigger brain size, reduced prognathism (snout), smaller canines with apical wear (no CP3 honing complex), no diastema (gap in teeth), and a parabolic dental arcade (non-parallel tooth rows) with thick enamel

We focused on 2 hominin traits that are easy to see in the fossil record and show up early in our lineage: what were they? Which is THE defining characteristic of members of the Tribe Hominini?

Bipedality and apical canine wear. The defining characteristic is bipedalism

What happened to Africa around 1.8 mya? How did the robust australopithecines (aka paranthropines) cope? How did the Homo lineage cope?

Cyclic glaciations and cooling in Africa caused hominins to migrate out. It led to the evolution to the genus Homo and allowed them to flourish more than australopithecines. Robust austra. coped by having adaptations that allowed them to eat hard food objects due to the absence and scarcity of food available.

What are the two ways we can interpret the diversity in the "species" Homo erectus?

Depending on the scientist, Homo erectus and Homo ergaster can be seen as one variable species as H. erectus (lumpers), or two diff. species (splitters); Asian = H. erectus, African + Georgian = H. ergaster

What are the 2 ways we can interpret the diversity in the "species" Homo habilis?

Depending on the scientist, earliest Homo is conceived of either as a single, variable species (H. habilis) or as multiple, less variable species (usually H. habilis and H. rudolfensis)

What tool cultures are categorized as Early Stone Age (aka Lower Paleolithic)? Which tool culture is categorized as Middle Stone Age (aka Middle Paleolithic)? Where were Mousterian tools invented? Who uses them? What do they look like? What were they likely used for?

ESA (or LP): Oldowan and Acheulean MSA (or MP): prepared-core-technologies, such as levallois technique (using prepared cores to produce levallois flakes) Mousterian tools were invented in Europe, Neandertals used them, they looked well constructed and were most likely used for hunting or scavenging

What were the 3 reasons posited for why bipedality evolved in our lineage? What anthropologist(s) is/are associated with each? Are they connected in any way? Which is least supported by the fossil evidence?

Energetics (Peter Rodman and Henry McHenry), ecological/dietary, and sexual selection/mating strategy (Nina Jablonski, George Chaplin, and C. Owen Lovejoy). Bipedalism is more energy efficient (less oxygen used, better heat dissipation), it allowed early hominins to forage for food for longer distances (due to better energy efficiency) and to better lookout over tall grass or to pick fruit from trees, and helped to display males better to females for mating (energy efficiency allows better foraging for food to impress them) and asserting dominance over others (taller display). Sexual selection is least supported by fossil evidence

Who are Oldowan tools used by? What do they look like? What does the toolkit consist of? How were they used?

H. habilis used Oldowan (tool industry 2.5mya) tools, they looked like they could have been naturally created out of stones (craftsmanship). A toolkit consists of cores (raw material source), flakes (stone fragment struck from a core, and hammerstones (a stone used for striking cores to produce flakes or bones to expose marrow).

We talked about 5 species (Homo habilis, H. erectus, H. heidelbergensis, H. neandertalensis, anatomically modern Homo sapiens) that are members of our genus. For each, remember where they are found (sites and countries), dates, what makes them hominins, if we have cranial and/or postcranial remains, and any special information about them. Also, know and be able to explain how "lumpers" and "splitters" view each group, how they interpret diversity, and how the scientific name(s) may change according to each perspective.

H. habilis: Tanzania (Olduvai), Kenya (Koobi Fora), 2.8-1.4 mya. C: rounded vault (no keels; uncresty crania), cc of 510-775 ccs, less prognathic than Au., parabolic dental arcade. May have been sexually dimorphic. *bigger species is H. rudolfensis, living in East Africa as well, unclear which one gave rise to H. erectus and H. sapien H. erectus: Kenya (Koobi Fora, East/West Turkana), Tanzania (Olduvai Gorge), South Africa (Swartkrans), 1.9ish mya - 800 kya. Nariokotome is dated 1.5mya, was 8-11 due to dental structure, Oldowan tools dated 1.9-1.5mya, Acheulean dated 1.5mya - 250kya; Georgia >1.7mya, Dmanisi w/ cc of <800ccs, similar to African erectus in skull/dental morphology; East Asia (Indonesia) 1.8mya (Trinil, Java) - 50kya (Ngandong, Java) "Java Man" was first H. erectus specimen in 1891, few Oldowan tools; East Asia (China) 1.6mya (tools; Zhoukooudian)/800kya (fossils) - 200kya (Jinniushan), "Peking Man". C: thick-boned, long/low ("football-shaped") skull, huge supraorbital torus ("bar-like") above the eyes, sagittal keel (like a sagittal crest but smaller), occipital torus, cc of 700-1200 ccs, robust jaw, shovel-shaped incisors. PC: adaptations to heat such as a larger body up to 6ft, narrow pelvis to cool down quicker H. heidelbergensis: Europe: 600kya (such as Boxgrove, England), and 200kya (Petalona, Greece), Gran Dolina + Sima del Elefante, Atapuerca Spain from 500-600 kya in "pit of bones" with thousands of specimens; Africa: Bodo Ethiopia 600kya, cc was 1300 ccs and cannibalized, Kabwe (Broken Hill, Zambia) 125kya and cc of 1280 ccs, also in Ndutu (cold, rural), Tanzania, Morocco; Asia: China (Jinniushan), India (Narmada) 200kya-125kya, cc of 1150-1400 ccs and coexisted w/ H. erectus; Heidelberg, Germany, 400-500 kya. C: cc is 1000-14000 ccs, large arching browridges, occipital torus (horizontal crest towards back of the skull), tall cranial vaults; overall long/low, large faces w/ wide nasal apertures, thick bones, midfacial prognathism, no chin. PC: robust postcrania H. neandertalensis: Europe (Germany (type specimen: skull and skeleton found in Neander Valley 1856), Belgium (first fossil discovered was Engis skull in 1830), Spain, Italy, France), Mid+Near East (Israel, Syria, Iraq), Western Asia (Vzbekistan), 150kya-27kya overlapping w/ amHs. C: large braincase, large nose, midfacial prognathism, cc of 1300-1600 ccs (humans are at 1350ccs), double arched browridge, occipital bun, long/low vault, no chin, shovel shaped incisors, taurodant molars (enlarged pulp cavity), retromolar space. PC: short and stocky (5'3"-5'6", 110-143lbs), barrel shaped chest, short distal limb segments, broad pelvis, robust postcrania, large joints, broad pelvis (for heat retention). amHs: Africa 200kya. C: cc of 1350 ccs, gracile (lighter build, including a supraorbital torus and rounded occipital (no bun)), very tall cranial vault ("soccer ball shaped"), vertical forehead, small face, small jaw + teeth, orthognathic (not sticking out), chin. PC: gracile skeleton (light build)

What species are "Bodo" and "Kabwe" from? Anything special about either specimen?

H. heidelbergensis; Bodo dates 600kya, has a cc of 1300 ccs and practiced cannibalism, and Kabwe dates 125kya and has a cc of 1280 ccs

What species are "Peking Man," "Java Man," and "Nariokotome"/"Turkana Boy" from?

Homo erectus

Which is the first hominin species to leave Africa? Why might they have left? What enabled their move?

Homo erectus; they might have left due to climate change, but they dispersed due to multiple movements of small groups of hominins into new territories

What are the 3 ways that the earliest hominins could have gotten meat? Use key terms and describe each. Which is most likely according to the archaeological evidence?

Hunting, confrontational scavenging (fighting off predators such as sabertooth cats to gain access to significant amounts of meat and marrow), and passive scavenging (creeping up on decomposing/stripped carcasses to eat the scraps of what is left). Evidence supports that hominins were scavengers rather than predators

Why is it easy to date sites from East Africa? Why is it hard to recover or date fossils from South Africa?

It is easy to date sites from East Africa because fossils are more well preserved because of volcanic deposits, and sites in South Africa do not have them

We discussed a site called Sima de los Huesos. In which country is the site located? What species of hominin are the remains attributed to? What does the site date to? How has the site helped us understand variation in this species?

It is located in Spain, and the remains are attributed to Homo sapiens. The site dates to 500-600kya, and it helps to understand how our lineage is similar and different in traits, such as possibly being ancestral to Neandertals

What is the Movius Line? What caused it?

It is the separation between areas of the Old World in which Acheulean technology occurs and those in which it does not; named by archaeologist Hallam Movius. It was caused by a technological difference in tool usage between Asia and Africa

What does Neandertal DNA tell us about our relationship with them?

It tells us that Neandertals are most likely not our direct ancestors, as Neandertals possess traits not present in amHs, however there are signs of interbreeding between Eurasian amHs

Why do we see lineages (including ours) diversifying during times of climactic change? How is climate change related to the mutation rate?

Lineages diversify during times of climactic change because the environment is changing which may affect the lifestyles of certain species/genus's, increasing natural selection thus leading to diversification (other mechanisms may present themselves as well, such as genetic drift, gene flow, and mutation). Climate change is related to mutation because environmental factors can affect how the body adapts to these changes, whether it be adapting to hotter or colder climates, etc

What can we tell about Neandertal growth and development? Neandertal health and disease? What evidence do we have that suggests that they cared for elderly? What may Neandertals have been doing with their teeth? What do we know about Neandertal diets? What specific evidence do we have that suggest that Neandertals engaged in cannibalism? What did they do with their dead? What evidence is their for symbolic activity in Neandertals?

Neandertals had dental maturation similar to humans, and evidence in growth of the mandible show that they had faster early childhood development maturation and similar overall maturation compared to us. Their health and disease show us that they were susceptible to injuries, as seen in the "Old Man" of La Chapelle (deformed pelvis, arthritis, broken rib, missing teeth, bone loss in jaw), but some may think that they were cared for as fractures in bones of other members have healed. Neandertals may have been using their teeth as another set of hands, as they held objects in their mouth while cutting up other things, or as another tool by biting things off and such. Neandertal diets consisted of both meat (from animals, evidence pointing that they were skilled hunters and rarely scavenged) as well as vegetation and fruit (but was scarce at times b/c of the cold), and also practiced cannibalism due to evidence of broken long bones (to get to bone marrow) as well as burn marks on the bones and holes in the crania of many fossil remains. They buried their dead which is also a sign of symbolic activity, and also evidence of a child fossil skeleton being surrounded by 6 pairs of upright goat horns to indicate ritualistic activity, in addition to findings of personal adornment items such as pierced animal teeth.

Which 3 species may actually be Au. afarensis?

P. aethiopicus, P. boisei, P. robustus

What traits unite the robust australopithecines (aka paranthropines)? What is this related to?

Postorbital constriction, flaring zygomatic arches, dished face, molarized premolars, megadonty (huge molars), reduced anterior teeth, and very thick enamel

What are the two views regarding the emergence of modern humans? Know the arguments, consequences, and predictions (archaeological, genetic, paleontological) of each.

Replacement; arguments: amHs evolved in Africa, dispersed into the rest of the world, and replaced all other hominin populations, making a second out-of-Africa dispersal. Consequences of this model are that all variation (inc. "racial" traits) w/in humans evolved very recently. Predictions; Archaeologists view this as slow changes in tool technology in Africa and abrupt changes in technology elsewhere. Genetic data says that it is the highest diversity in Africa, all other populations result in genetic drift; there is little mixing b/w sympatric species. Paleontologists view as traditional fossils in Africa, there are 2 distinct populations of hominins coexisting elsewhere. Multiregional; arguments: many/all hominin pop. evolved simultaneously into H. sapiens, there was gene flow b/w them, coming to the conclusion that amHs evolved in multiple regions. Consequences of the argument state that all variation (inc. "racial" traits) w/in humans evolved long ago. Predictions; Archaeologists view gradual changes in archaeology in all areas b/c of technological anagenesis. Genetic data views there is no spike of diversity in modern Africans and there is substantial ancient contributions to various modern gene pools. Paleontologists view that transitional fossils are in multiple regions with the appearance of regional characteristics

We discussed 3 species (Sahelanthropus tchadensis, Orrorin tugensis, and Ardipithecus kadabba) of "likely" hominins. For each, remember where they are found (sites and countries), dates, what makes them (likely) hominins, if we have cranial and/or postcranial remains, and any special information about them.

S. tchadensis is dated 7-6 mya in Chad (Sahel), Central Africa. They are likely hominins due to reduced canine w/ apical wear only with no diastema. They have reduced prognathism as well as an anteriorly-placed femoral magnum. U-shaped dental arcade opposes parabolic (like hominins). No post-cranial (PC) features O. tugensis is 6 mya from Kenya (Tugen Hills), East Africa. Likely hominins due to thick enamel, but also have large upper canine teeth w/ a reduced(?) CP3 complex. They also have PC features such as femora that suggest bipedality. Ar. kadabba is dated 5.8-5.2 mya in Ethiopia (Alayla), more northeast part of Africa. Likely hominins due to a CP3 complex, and a PC feature showing a bipedal joint surface

What do we know about the environment in which Neandertals lived? What (anatomical and behavioral) adaptations do they show that helped them survive? How might genetic drift factor in?

The environment of which they lived in was cold. They were adapted to the cold weather having C: traits of a big brain, large nose, midfacial prognathism and PC traits of being short and stocky, having a barrel shaped chest, short and broad pelvis, short limb segments. Genetic drift factors in as Neandertals may have come from an ancestor, H. heidelbergensis despite not sharing certain features, increasing the chance of producing genes that helped them adapt to the cold

When and where was the first Australopithecine found, and who described it?

The first Australopithecine was found in Taung, South Africa in the 1920s by Raymond Dart, describing it as "southern ape"

What is the history of discovery of the Neandertals?

The first fossil hominin ever was the Engis Skull found in Belgium in 1830, and the first type-specimen of a skull and skeleton were found in Neander Valley, Germany in 1856. Overall they were found in Europe (Germany, Belgium, Spain, Italy, France), Mid + Near East (Israel, Syria, Iraq), and Western Asia (Vzbekistan)

What are the details about the spears that were found at Schoeningen? The horse scapula from Boxgrove?

The spears from Schoeningen were found in direct association with the butchered remains of ten horses and flake tools that could be used to deflesh the carcasses (used for big game hunting), and the horse scapula from Boxgrove indicated that archaic H. sapiens were capable of bringing down big game b/c it had a hole the same size as the spear

How are Au. afarensis and Au. africanus similar, and how are they different?

They are similar because they are both less prognathic, bipedal traits, and had small teeth. Au. afarensis had longer arms than Au. africanus, Au. afarensis had cranial crests while africanus had smooth crania. Lastly Au. afaransis had a smaller braincase compared to Au. africanus.

We see multiple hominin species coexisting in the same space at the same time. How did they do it?

They occupied diff. niches that had different resources and food. If coexisting, the species living there would have to compete for food and adapt accordingly due to competition.

Be able to discuss the ways that the following parts of the human body have adapted via natural selection to allow us to walk on two legs: vertebral column/skull, pelvis/birth canal, legs/knees, feet/big toes, arms/shoulders.

Vertebral column/skull: Our backbone is S-shaped to bring the center of gravity closer to the hips (ultimately over the feet), and our foramen magnum (skull) is located more anteriorly. Quadrupeds have a C-shaped column and posteriorly placed foramen magnum Pelvis/birth canal: Bipeds have a short and broad pelvis (to help with balance). Quadrupeds' are tall and narrow. Legs/knees: Bipeds have longer legs w/ angled (valgus) knee due to an angled femur. Quads have shorter legs w/ straight (versus) knee due to straight femur. Feet/big toes (hallux): Bipeds have not-as-quite-as-grasping foot w/ a convergent hallux and shorter toes. Quads have a grasping foot w/ divergent hallux and long toes. Arms/shoulders: Bipeds have shorter arms, shorter fingers, w/ a mobile shoulder. Quads have long arms, long fingers w/ a mobile shoulder

What justifies a new genus name?

a new genus name is made when characteristics in regards to biology and anatomy are similar to those in the same species, however have differences in traits such as cranial capacity, canine wear, etc.

What comes first in our lineage-- bipedality or big brains?

bipedality

What are the 3 kinds of archaeological sites we see associated with Oldowan tools?

butchering sites, quarrying sites (where raw materials were retreived), and home bases (where early hominins brought tools and carcasses where their activities were centered)

Conserving energy and balance-- how are they related to locomotor pattern (bipedality especially)?

conserving energy and balance are related to locomotor pattern because in bipedality, it requires less energy; balance naturally falls between a biped's two feet so it is more conserved than that of a quadruped

Understand the basics of the different phylogenies presented on pg 267.

go to page

Know how to properly format scientific names. For example, Lucy's species' proper scientific name (when writing by hand) would be Australopithecus afarensis (or Au. afarensis; in both cases the terms would be underlined)

see notes