Anthropology

List each of the five australopithecines discussed in the class lectures. Note: you do not have to describe each one; it is sufficient to provide a list.

- A. anamensis - A. afarensis - A. boisei - A. africanus - A. robustus

Example of cranial capacity

Homo Genus

What is the eco-niche that Homo erectus first adapted to? Discuss at least 4 environmental, adaptive, anatomical, or behavioral factors that may be relevant to being successful in this eco-niche

Homo erecuts adapted to hunter gathering.4 Factors Relevant to Hunter Gathering: they were bipedal so they could walk farther distances to hunt and gather, they used tools to dig and cut up their food, the used fire to cook food, they had smaller teeth and jaws because they could cut and cook their food so they didn't have to chew as hard

The discovery of ___ suggested a downsized version of homo erectus.

Homo floresiensis

As you read in your textbook, archeologists now believe that ____ had as much to do with Maya decline as did natural environmental factors.

Social, political, and military upheaval and competition

the study of rock layers and the sequence of events they reflect

Stratigraphy

Oldowan tools

The oldest known tools, made by chipping stones to produce a sharper edge. Made by H. Habilis.

False

There is a lack of genetic evidence that affirms the hypothesis that modern humans arose fairly recently in Africa, then spread out and colonized the world. True or false

Mostly terrestrial, large, social organization 2 species

gorillas

large teeth

grittier food

example of 3rd path of hominin evolution

h. habilis, h. erectus, h. sapiens

-evolved from a population of h. erectus in East africa - full bipedalism - increased cranial capacity -2nd species to move out of Africa

h. heidelbergenisis

one population of H. Erectus in east Africa evolved into

h. heidlebergenisis

social organization of chimpanzees

hierarchal, less hierarchal

gorillas, chimps, hominins

hominids

Which of the following is the first hominin to be found outside of Africa? -Homo sapiens sapiens -Homo erectus -Australopithecus afarensis -Hom sapiens neandarthalensis -Ardipithecus ramidus

homo erectus

Example of material culture

homo floresienies

A group (and offshoot of A. Afarensis) that was isolated from australopithecines between 3 and 2 mya eventually gave rise to

homo habilis

The sharing of traits through similar ancestry Ex: Primate and humans have opposable thumbs (due to a similar ancestry)

homologies

gibbons and simmangs

hylobatids

orangutans

pongids

The best method for absolute dating fossils older than 500,000 years is

potassium-argon

pierolapitecus Catalaunicus

potential common ancestor of Hominids, 13 mya

states arising through competition among chiefdoms

primary state

Why do biological anthropologists study non-human primates from the past? Who are the living primates who are most closely related to us and how do they inform us about human evolution?

- Studying the behavior, anatomy, social structure, and genetic code of primates can help make inferences about the early social organization and adaptive strategies of hominids. - Terrestrial monkeys and chimpanzees & gorillas

Discuss two BIOLOGICAL traits that are shared by humans and other apes and that are distinct from monkeys and other primates (do NOT discuss behavioral traits).

-Body size tends to be larger -Larger life span-Longer interval between birth of infants -tendency toward upright posture -Larger brain -muzzle less projecting -No tail

Early Cenozoic Primates

-the paleocene (65-54mya) -the eocene (54-38mya)

-occurs in East Africa (4.3 mya) -gracile body types -move towards more robust body types

1 path of hominin evolution

What prompted evolutionary appearance of primates

1. Meteorite (mass extinction, end of Mesozoic era) 2. Cenozoic era begins (tropical climates appear)

5 specialties of biological anthropology

1. human biological evolution as revealed by the fossil record 2. human genetics 3. human growth and development 4. human biological plasticity 5. primatology

3 hominoid families

1. hylobatids 2. pongids 3. hominids

-occurs in South Africa (3.8 mya) -light skeletal build still selected for

2 path of hominin evolution

-East Africa (3 mya)-more adept bipedalism -smaller teeth and face -increased cranial capacity -language

3 path of hominin evolution

Primate evolution began:

65 million years ago

example of second path of hominin evolution

A. africanus, A. robustus

examples of first path of hominin evolution

A. anamensis, A. afarensis, A. boisei

gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos proconsula (23-25mya) - ancestors of modern apes

African apes

Miocene links

Aftrican Apes - pierolapitecus Catalaunicus

mammals living in the cold have shorter faces and limbs than mammals living in warmer areas

Allen's rule

False

Analogous traits, rather than homologous traits, are used to classify humans, chimpanzees, and apes in the same taxonomic category. True or false?

Example of Bipedalism

Ardipithecus

gibbons and orangutans - giantopithecus (largest primate)

Asian apes

most hominins evolved in Africa, left, and partially interbred with earlier hominins

Assimilation Model

Example of dental changes

Australopithecines

What are some of the benefits that various people around 10-12,000 years ago throughout the world could have reacted to when deciding to both create and adopt new adaptive strategies of domestication and sedentism?

Benefits: farmers needed less land than a hunter-gatherer, farmers have a more predictable food source, farming was less damaging to the body (less violent deaths and longer life spans), & sedentism meant new opportunities for social complexity (more chances to socialize)

Body size tends to be greater in cold than in warm climates. -The smaller of two bodies similar in shape has more surface area per unit of weight.

Bergmans rule

the study of human biological variation in time and space

Biological Anthropology

Given the significance of bipedalism in terms of hominin evolution and human attributes, think about what you learned in class as well as the textbook. Give 3 biological changes and 2 behavioral explanations for its evolutionary advantage.

Bipedalism is significant because it sets apart hominins from the other primates. Three biological changes are the changes of the feet and knee, the change in finger bones because the fingers are freed to fo things such as manipulate food and tools, & the pelvis becomes smaller so it is easier to walk straight. Two behavioral explanations are that bipedalism allows animals to see predators that are farther away and it helps for general adaptability's because animals can change their environment by walking to a new environment

Process of estimating age of once living material by measuring the amount of radioactive decay present in material.

Carbon 14 dating

old world monkeys and apes characteristics

Catarrhines, forward noses, full color vision

-occurred only once by the Natufians in the near east and the idea was then diffused throughout the rest of the world -Domestication is opportunistic, where the most productive and useful traits are selected for accidentally

Domestication

What are the two primary factors that best explain the Neolithic changes leading to domestication and sedentism as a global phenomenon and how did they shape the direction of these cultural changes?

Environmental determinants -receding ice age -warming climates Social determinants -population size -Social network opportunities

Which of the following miocene apes lived at the same time as our early hominin relative, Homo erectus? -Oreopithecus -Proconsul -Pierolapithecus catalaunicus -Orrorin tugenensis -Gigantopithecus

Giantopothecus

2.4-1.5 mya first stone tool users (Oldowan), 500-800cc brain size, some indication of Broca's area development, small incisors and canines and small molars

H. Habilis

- 1.9 to .15 mya - first to leave Africa increased bipedalism, sexual dimorphism, and robustness - Increased cranial capacity

H. erectus

one population of h. habilis in East Africa evolved into

H. erecus

all hominim species are connected through gene flow.

Multiregionalism Model

New World Monkey characteristics

Nostrils open to the side. Many have prehensile tails. lack full color vision

Archaeologists have given at least five different explanations about why and how complex societies arose. Please briefly describe and name one of those explanations and provide a name of a culture or region from the lectures or your readings that fits the theory.

One explanation of how complex societies arose is the establishment of long distance trade. Having controlled trading systems could've contributed to the rise of societies due to the increase in communication and cultural ideas being spread as a result of it.

How did domestication of plants OR animals occur? What physical/morphological changes happened and how were people thinking about it?

Plant domestication had both opportunistic and intentional aspects. Opportunistically, the most productive plants got selected for and intentionally, they were purposefully planted for selecting traits. When domestication began, the process was taking place outside the normal environment, there were changes in pollen, and they were in much larger areas

the living body's ability to change as it copes with environmental conditions (heat, cold and altitude)

Plasticity

a political entity, such as a chiefdom or state

polity

Human Taxonomy

Primates, Anthropoids, Catarrhines, Hominoids, Hominids, Hominins, Humans, Recent Humans, AMHs

the study of living nonhuman primates as well as primate fossils to better understand human evolution and early human behavior

Primatology

Using your knowledge from the textbook and lecture, discuss why race is a discredited idea in biology. Use examples to make your points

Race is a discredited idea in biology because it does not explain human biological differences. Skin color is simply determined by the amount of melanin in an individual and is relative to the proximity to the equator, meaning populations vary with no breaks.There are no reproductive barriers amongst races and many clinial differences between groups, so in all actuality there is more variation within races than between them.

each hominin species evolved in Africa, left, and then replaced earlier hominin species -fossil records

Recent single origin model

What explains the biological variation between human populations today? Explain why different groups of people share certain physical traits that makes them different from others. In addition, provide an example of one of these traits.

There is biological variation between human populations, because of natural selection. Humans adapt to different environmental factors and stressors. The people most fit for a certain environment survive. For example, in colder climates people with long noses were more apt to survive and reproduce than people with short noses. The long nose trait = cold environments the short nose trait = warmer climates.

In terms of the second discussion about Pseudo-archaeological ideas, are these 'fantastic' claims equally valid understandings to the more scientific archaeological explanations? Using what you learned in class and from the textbook, what are one of the problems associated with pseudo-archaeology?

These claims are not equally valid explanations, because they do not have clear evidence to explain the,. The more scientific archaeological explanations can be proven with the scientific method, but pseudo-archaeology cannot be. One problem with pseudo-archaeology is that it tries to discredit the explanations of scientific archaeology. Pseudo-archaeology contrasts scientific explanations with their theories and leads people to believe that actual scientific explanations are not true.

H.sapiens

Used upper Palaeolithic tools. Produced art forms and had spiritual awareness

Consequences: population change (large population increase), environmental degradation (agriculture changes the environment), insecure food supply (greater susceptibility to disasters), shift in diet (farmers rely on a small number of food types), increase in disease (greater concentrations of people), & increase in labor (loner work day for farmers)

What are some of the consequences that various people around 10-12,000 years ago throughout the world could have reacted to when deciding to both create and adopt new adaptive strategies of domestication and sedentism?

when archaeologists establish dates based in numbers or ranges of numbers

absolute dating

The sharing of traits through the effects of the environment. Ex:Primate and humans have opposable thumbs but humans don't have strong feet (due to environment)

analogies

Hominoidea superfamily

apes and humans

the ability to walk upright on two legs

bipedalism

What are the four trends of hominin evolution?

bipedalism, dental changes, cranial capacity, material culture

(n) a chimpanzee with a black face and black hair, found in the rain forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire).

bonobos

Example of absolute dating

carbon 14 dating

Early Miocene Hominoids

cattahine infraorder splits into 2 super families: old world monkeys and old world apes

a society with a permanent political structure, hereditary leaders, and social ranking but lacking class divisions

chiefdom

larger body types are found in

colder environments

2 species of chimpanzees

common chimpanzees, bonobos

Expanding area in hominin cranium, brain/body ratio increased over time

cranial capacity

protection against skin cancer and sunburn

darker skin

jaw reduces size and alters shape and teeth change due to changing diet

dental changes

2 species of gorillas

eastern (mountain and lowland) and western (lowland and cross river)

A mature state that is large, multiethnic, militaristic, and expansive

empire

Which of the following is NOT a trait found in homo erectus? -Smaller teeth -Increased bipedalism -Increased cranial capacity -Large flaring cheekbones -Increased sexual dimorphism

large flaring cheekbones

adaptations to high altitude

larger lung sizes, larger nasal capacity, low birth weight, adapted placentas, blood is equipt to carry more oxygen

greater ability to form vitamin D

lighter skin

According to your textbook readings, recent archaeological research suggests that food production began in ___, not in optimal zones where traditional foods were abundant.

marginal areas

complexity of human made objects increasing over time

material culture

Three Out of Africa Models

multiregionalism model, recent single origin model, assimilation model

anthropoid infraorders

new world monkeys and old world monkeys

Method of determining the age of a fossil by comparing its placement with that of fossils in other layers of rock

relative dating

-determined by amount of melanin -is relative to proximity of the equator

skin cancer

small teeth

smooth food

biological race is a

spectrum

a society with a central government, administrative specialization, and social classes

state

Example of relative dating

stratigraphy

(During the eocine) Happlorhines split into two infraorders

tarsiers and anthropoids

2 important types of nonhumans

terrestrial, most closely related to humans

from 58 million to 40 million years ago dominated by strepsirrhines (lemurs +lorises)

the eocene

65-55 mya. The earliest primates were here. split between strepsirrhines and happlorhines

the paleocene

Fossils of Australopithecus and even Ardipithecus are particularly significant because

they comprise some of the first fossil evidence to confirm that bipedalism preceded the evolution of a humanlike brain

Hominids

tribe of bipedal primates - 3 genra - 11 species

smaller body types are found in

warmer environments