Archy 105 Midterm
Homo erectus
"Upright man" these hominids became skillful hunters and invented more sophisticated tools for everyday life such as hunting, scraping and cutting. They had bigger brains, occipital overhand, receding chin, large single brow-ridge. They also became the first hominids to migrate from Africa. Also were the first to use fire.
Homo sapiens sapiens
"wise, wise humans," a species that appeared in Africa between 150,000 and 200,000 years ago; they were the first anatomically modern humans - highly sophisticated in every aspect
Australopithecus afarensis
3-4 mya, "Lucy" - big gut
Why did hominins start making tools?
3.3 mya
Australopithecus africanus
3.67 mya, larger brain, still ape like features, pronounced jaw, sloping face
Ardipithecus ramidus
A biped that also climbed
What is the Levallois technique and why was it an improvement over Acheulean? Who used it?
A way of making tools from prepared core, this was tech expansion - shows stages of planning, anticipating, put on spears - they adapted it to make other things
Do you agree with Cronon about the reasons the past matters? While his examples are drawn from the literary/written records of "History", they should apply equally to our use of the human fossil and archaeological record of the past. To what extent do you think archaeology might serve the same roles? Are there critical differences? If so, what do you see as the most important ones?
After reading I have a new outlook on the past and its meaning. Cronon opened up my eyes so I could see that the past isn't just made up of old events and dead people, it is the foundation of everything we know and love today. It is the reason we are able to do what we do and have the conscious mind we have. Without the past and all of its records we would be nothing, just conscious less beings living on a rock. The past absolutely matters and it is the single most important thing in the world. It allowed us to have the things we have and know the things we know. Archaeology serves a very similar purpose to stories, books, museums, buildings, etc because archaeologists create history by making sense of the things discovered like artifacts, buildings and people. They are responsible for getting all the bits and pieces of our past and putting it back together to allow us to understand and see why we are here, where we came from, and most importantly to learn about the past.
Who was Homo habilis? Why did this species play a disproportionate role in models of human evolution?
Also known as handyman, used tools which set homo apart from Austra. This filled in the gap but is controversial because tools could have been used by Austra.
When did "Modern Humans" arrive in Europe and how did they differ from Neanderthals?
Around 48kya - Modern human's have smaller heads, noses, less robust, smaller bones, more globular skull, less prominent brow-ridge
What can we say about art and Upper Paleolithic thought?
Art was found in caves and images of mostly animals and geometric shapes were found. Finger painting, brush usage and spray painting through a tube. David Lewis-Williams suggests cave art was created as part of a shamanistic belief system - belief that one can leave their body and be the mediator between living and dead. It is also though that cave art was a response to the result of population crowding which created a need for ritual and ceremonial activities to maintain social cohesion. All this is evidence of deeper cognitive ability and modern human traits. To create art it involves deeper thinking and planning.
If your author is correct, then the characteristics they see as definitively human should have evolved in our hominin ancestors sometime between our split with chimpanzees (~5‐7my ago) and the global dispersal of homo sapiens around the world sometime before 70,000 years ago. What kinds of physical evidence might be expected to demonstrate the achievement of this uniquely human set of characteristics? While evidence of hominin fossil anatomy might be imagined, don't forget to think more abstractly about what kinds of behaviors the new capability would trigger and how those behaviors might appear in the archaeological record in some fashion
As said in the reading, the earliest evidence of deliberate practice were tools made by Homo erectus. Evidence of tools are being found to this day all over Kenya. It revealed that our early ancestors would practice making tools out of rocks over and over to master (or so we think) the ability to make the tool. Because of the quantity of tools found it can be inferred that our ancestors stocked up on tools and were well prepared for the threats that they faced. With this evidence it can be assumed that our early ancestors had the ability to problem solve, think ahead, foresee various outcomes, share thoughts and ideas with others, practice certain skills to get better at something, etc.
According to the author of your reading, what distinctive psychological characteristics are unique to humans? In no more than a few sentences, outline the main points of their argument.
As the author calls it "nested scenario building," and "urge to connect," are the two main cognitive differences between humans and animals. Our ability to think of and envision many scenarios and outcomes, and our need and want to share and explain our thoughts to people. Nested scenario building involves several abilities such as "imagination, memory, reflection and executive decision making." The specific psychological characteristics are our working memory, recursive thought and executive function.
Write a reflection about the implications, as you see them, of the aDNA and archaeological evidence presented in these articles for questions of human evolution. Do these discoveries challenge the notion that "Anatomically Modern Humans" prevailed evolutionarily because they were smarter or better adapted physically than their close biological cousins? Refer to evidence in the readings and anything else you think fits from class to this point.
As we have learned in class, there are two main theories as to how people think Humans came to be today. One, the "Recent African Origin hypothesis," the idea that early Humans replaced archaic hominins around 200,000 years ago. The "Multiregional Evolution model," is the idea that modern humans evolved from archaic hominins around the world. Of the two theories, I definitely support the Multiregional Evolution model for a few reasons. One, nuclear DNA found in Neanderthal fossils are also found in non-african people today, proving that H. Erectus and Neandrathals did interbreed. This alone disproves the "Recent African Origin hypothesis." Second, fossil evidence from a site called Jebel Irhoud revealed that the fossils were about 315,000 years old. These fossils are the oldest H. Sapiens to date and is 100,000 years older than the African Origin Theory. Archaeologists and researchers believe that advanced language skills which came from increased brain size, allowed H. Sapiens to dominate the world. Around 50,000 years ago is thought to be the start of advanced language. We can thank our ancestors for mingling and interbreeding with different H. species, and this is proven by DNA found in humans today that match our early ancestors. It is believed that the different types of DNA allowed early H. Sapiens to adapt to new environments and fight off disease. Another key piece of evidence that proves interbreeding was found in the limestone cave called Denisova. There researchers found DNA that is believed to be a hybrid of Neandertal mom and Denisovan dad. The origins of modern behavior and cognition is thought to have started around the time Denisovans developed the Upper Paleolithic artifacts. Overall, it is hard to say forsure when and where our early ancestors came from, but we have a pretty good idea thanks to types of dating and recovery of ancient DNA.
How did archaeological discoveries challenge conventional explanations of the antiquity and origins of humans?
At the start of archeological advancements, people had no idea how to identify the chronological order of things. This was largely due to biblical scholars who said Earth was only 6,000 years old. Darwin's thesis of evolution clashed with the idea of the divine. It is believed that the first humans date back anywhere from 200,000-350,000 years ago.
What divides Australopithicus and Homo?
Australopthiecus: short, stocky, with apelike features, could walk upright by 3mya, smaller brain Homo: upright, large brain, tool making, meat eating
Based on the Homo naledi discoveries, how important do you think having large brains was for the development of tool use, sociality, or symbolic behavior? Does the fact that the H. naledi finds are now dated to only 250‐350,000 years ago (contemporaries with late Homo erectus in Africa and Asia and early Neanderthals in Europe) support or contradict Lee Berger's Braided Stream model of hominin evolution? What do you think he meant by that analogy and how might it change how we view the fossil record?
Based on the evidence we know about Homo Naledi, it can be hypothesized that they were social and cooperative with each other because evidence shows they had some sort of burial. No other bones were found except for Naledi bones in the cave which had children's bones and elderly bones. Naledi had somewhat small brains yet still somehow managed to organize a burial site. With this it shows they cared deeply and were sociable. To elevate this to symbolic behavior and tool usage it would probably require a larger brain. No tools were found either when Naledi was found. Now that Nadeli is dated 250,000-350,000 years ago contradicts Berger's model because he claimed Nadeli was the transitional species between Australopithecus and Hominids which would have occurred much earlier. What he meant by Braided Stream was that Nadeli had characteristics of both Australopithecus and Hominids, so that's why he thought Nadeli was the transitional species. Proving him wrong changes a lot in the ancestral family tree, which makes sense because new discoveries are always being made and things change.
What is the difference between a biological species and a morphological/paleontological species?
Biological species: organisms that can reproduce with one another and produce fertile offspring Morphological species: Species that don't reproduce sexually - similar anatomically Paleontological species: species based on morphological differences known only from the fossil record
What evidence suggests that Neanderthals were better adapted to cold climates?
Broader rib cage, larger boned, stockier, biological adaptations to cold - able to retain heart better, nasal passage is large which can be argued was used to warm the air, developed physiological adaptations to cold
What interpretations have been offered to explain cave art in Europe? (Seddon ch. 28). Stretch your mind ... compare the evidence for art in Africa and Europe. What might it tell us about the evolution of the modern mind?
Cave art found in Europe included "sculptures, carvings and enigmatic figurines of large-breasted women." Artwork of animals was popular, including paintings of reindeer, horses, bison and cattle. An important piece of work, the "beast-man" was found which is half man, part animal. Geometric shapes were also found. The paintings were made by engraving or applying pigment. It is argued that the people who created these images were for magical purposes given that they are hard to reach. It is suggested that is is hunting magic which is "the belief that making an image of an animal can influence the subject portrayed." It has also been suggested that cave art came about because of population crowding. This is thought to have created a need for ritual activities to maintain social cohesion. It is also thought to be possible that the art was produced and controlled by religious leaders. Finally, David Lewis-Williams suggested that cave art was created as part of a "shamanistic belief system." This is the belief that Shamans can leave their bodies and travel to other realms. Here they could communicate with spirits and they are thought to be mediators between the living and dead. In reality, these people are likely experiencing illusions which result from behaviour of the nervous system in altered states of consciousness. High levels of CO2 were found in the shaft which can alter your state of consciousness. He also thought that it was intentional that these images were pretty inaccessible which suggests that specific people were permitted to go down there.
How does climate relate to changes in these early European occupations?
Colder climates started to happen so Homo's adapted (Antecessor and Heidelbergensis)
Why does Cronon believe the past matters to people in the present? In what ways do you agree or disagree?
Cronon explains that the past is what has shaped our current present and how we live today. He explains that the past is "everything we are." I agree with this statement because everything that has happened in the past is the reason we stand where we stand today. Everything in the past happened for a reason or purpose to allow us to live in the present. The past is a record of how and why we got to where we are today, it is responsible for every single thing in our lives today. The past is what shaped each and every single one of us and made us into the people we are today.
Who made the elaborate artifacts found in 40‐45kya layers of Denisova Cave?
Denisovans were making it and possibly learned it from Anatomically modern humans but too far to be possible - If Denisovans made them then we can say they are like us because it shows signs of planning, sophistication - still a mystery
What theory did Dart propose to explain hominin evolution? How does the A. sediba skeletons (and others) support or challenge that theory?
Early Hominids moved to flat lands to hunt which gave way for human evolution. Sediba supports this claim because opposable thumbs. Thought Austra weaponized teeth and bones and were gruesome but evidence of food that Australopithicus ate indicates plant based diet which means forested regions. Teeth marks in Sediba's skull indicates predation. Dart was wrong.
How was archaeology linked to renaissance developments in sciences such as geology and biology? How was it linked to global exploration and the European discovery of "new" lands, cultures and people?
Economic expansion in Europe allowed people to travel overseas and see different cultures and meet different types of people. By doing this, Europeans learned new ways of technology and a better understanding of Europe's past. They were the first to see the amount of human diversity the rest of the world had to offer. At first, archaeology was only used in Europe and only later did they focus on other people.
When did hominins first control fire?
Evidence of the first controlled fire dates to around 400,000 years ago, opportunistic fires 1 mya
What are the principal conditions for Darwinian evolution to occur?
Evolution by natural selection - if there is variation in a population, and if that variation is heritable, and if there is a competition between individuals to survive, then you create natural selection. Those variations that allow individuals to survive better than others will then get passed on
Why is it surprising the H. naledi had such a small brain size?
Evolution crafted from outside to in. had human hands, feet, legs and brows but tiny brain. Buried others so indicates sociality which is a modern human trait.
What is the expensive tissue hypothesis and how does it relate to stone tool developments ... if at all?
Expensive tissue hypothesis: Meat diet may be precondition to developing big brains and tools helped with this
What are at least three reasons why the past, in general, and archaeological past (including paleoanthropology), matters in our lives today?
Explains why we are here today, formed our current understanding of Earth, Helps deal with things in the present to not repeat mistakes
What sorts of evidence help us interpret past climates?
Features on mountains from glaciers create moraines and can be seen on the landscape. Evidence suggest colder climates in the past from features on land lower down. From this we could map glacial patterns. Glacial geomorphology. Extinct animals associated with past glaciers is another piece of evidence. Geological and biological evidence of colder climates. Oxygen isotope geochemistry is when a lot of ice means more O16 is staying in the ocean and when it melts, it goes into the ocean so the ocean is less dense. The ocean is a stratigraphic bed of the skeletons of living things that died at surface or near that got buried. From this we can measure the relative 16-18 isotopes and can get a proximate temperature from places in the water and can do the same with ice Coles - like tree rings. Also the Milankovitch cycles
Who/What/Where were the Denisovans?
Found in Denisovan cave in Serbia. Radiocarbon dating indicates the cave was being used back to 50kya. Optical stimulated luminescent dating shows dates going back 200kya. Possible that those deeper parts found at bottom aren't associated with human DNA. Denisovan DNA found at bottom and at top which indicates they were there on and off or continuously.
How have modern DNA and variation in fossil features featured in the debate?
Genes from ancestors found. Mitochondria Dan carried from woman to woman and can trace back family tree. There's genetic diversity among humans like Neanderthal traces found in certain groups. Genetic clock: constant rate of mutation
Why was Homo erectus so successful in expanding around the Afro‐Eurasian world? (open‐ended)
Greatest geographical extent of any hominid, greatest diversity of environments, habitats and climates. Because of their larger brains they were able to adapt to different places with the aid of tools, hunting and use of fire. Forms of communication, collaboration, successful gene flow/population. They were generalists somewhat
What was unique about Homo erectus? Why is Dmanisi important?
Had human-like body proportions, with shorter arms and longer legs relative to its torso. Receding chin, large single brow ridge, low sloping forehead, occipital over hang, walked, used tools. Dmanisi was the site where Erectus was found. Large collection of fossils were found, hundreds. Found with stone tools. 5 different cranium - high degree of variation
On what basis did the scientists decide to place the Rising Star fossils into the Genus Homo? Why did they think it belongs in a NEW species (naledi)?
Head more curved than homo habilus, bipedal, primitive, small head, teeth and jaw homo like. The jaw is too small to be ape, could be the transitional species between Austra and Homo. Evolution is bushy and not linear so it's hard to categorize homo, could have interbred.
Who was H. antecessor? H. heidelbergensis? Where do Neanderthals fit?
Homo Heidelbergensis (shorter, robust bones) had fire, presumed ancestors of Neanderthals, cold adapted, 400-600k years old - large mammals found indicate hunting/butchery - Homo sapien could have come from them Homo Antecessor about 900k years ago, had tools, as it got colder Antecessor left but came back later which indicates a shift in capacity of hominid to withstand cold climates.
What kinds of evidence support increased social group size?
In Olorgesailie, Kenya hand axes were littered everywhere. This could be a sign of social gathering and choices of raw material show substantial selectivity for raw materials which implies a degree of future planning
What were some competing ideas about the origins of life in the mid 19th century?
Inclined to put living cultures in a hierarchal ladder of evolution, ladder of progress. Naturalism: gods creations were miraculous and fantastic and the way to honor them is to study them in great detail. Arch bishop James Arthur used bible and calculated back numbers of generation In bible and figured creation occurred at sunset on the 22nd of October 4,004 BC. Species were created as they are today and unchanging - no evolution - Fossil records shows that people aren't here with this so came up with Noah's flood.
When and where did archaeology begin according to this textbook chapter? What interests drove its initial developments and who led the effort?
It is believed that archeology started around 500 years ago in Europe. It wasn't until the 19th century where archeologists were able to put artifacts in chronological order. This was when prehistoric archeology was born. The increase in literacy in Europe drove economic expansion which led to sea voyages which led to understandings of different people and cultures.
Why is Potassium‐Argon dating more useful for Paleoanth than C14 (carbon‐14/radiocarbon)?
It is more accurate
When did "Modern Humans" arrive in Australia and why is that controversial?
It is thought they arrived 70kya but challenged by other people and say it's 50kya. Stone tools were found dating back further.
What do you think about Raymond Dart's claim that early humans distinguished themselves through violent aggression? What do you think about the film's arguments against that suggestion? Is this the kind of theory that can be proved or disproved... If so, how? What additional kinds of evidence would be needed?
It isn't a far fetched claim given humans have a past of being very aggressive and acts of violence happen pretty frequently today. His influence and trauma from his service in WWI also had an effect on his claim. The film's arguments counter his claim well given the evidence from Sediba's teeth showing that it ate plants. With this evidence it disproves his claim that they were violent. That doesn't mean they didn't show signs of aggression because all species show signs of aggression one way or another.
What are some big questions in hominin evolution? And why are they important? How did some great apes evolve into humans? Where/when? In what environments? (up in trees, in savannah, etc) What were the key developments and in what order did they occur? How can we explain these changes in hominins and their behaviors? Was hominin evolution progressive or random in direction? Was it unilineal or multilineal? What can our evolutionary history tell us about ourselves today?
Key developments: Symbolic behavior, reduced sexual dimorphism, tool manufacture, Encephalization (enlarged brain), Bipedalism Apes similar to us, we share 99% of our genes with Chimps. Split goes back 7 million years. Hominin evolution was multilingual.
What/who was found in Malapa Cave.
Littered with Homo bones - Australaopithicus was found but a different kind. Sediba.
What are the differences between Lomekwian, Oldowan and Acheulian stone tool industries? Who made them?
Lomekwian: flake tool Olodwan: Chopping tool Acheulian: Hand-axe
What is the difference between lumpers and splitters?
Lumping: Putting certain groups together - fossil records - makes it easier to tell a story Splitters: Want to assign names to groups of inter-relationships
Cronon claims that some forms of 'remembering' the past make it dead and uninteresting. What are those forms and what two activities does he claim make it alive?
Many events in the past that don't get written down or past down in story form are likely to be forgotten and overlooked. Many of these "dead" memories were important to the people during the time and were their live memories. Cronon talked about a woman named Juliette Magill Kinzie who wrote a book about her and others experiences, memories and stories. This allowed Juliette to be remembered almost 200 years later. The act of writing history down is that people centuries later can live those experiences and share it with others which allows those memories of the past to be alive. The house she lived in, a piece of history and memory for people, was able to be kept alive because of the book she wrote. The past and everyone inevitably dies and the only way to keep it alive is to tell stories. Stories allow future generations to get an idea as to what happened in the past and answer questions about how we got to where we are today. It's not just the stories that help lift the past from the dead, but the art, museums, buildings, books, films, etc that allow us in the present to somewhat experience the past.
What was Piltdown Man and how did fluorine dating change the story?
Missing link between ape and humans who had a human skull and ape jaw - but it was fake and proved to be my fluorine dating
How do more fossils complicate the picture of human evolution?
More fossils complicate things, many different primitive ancestors so things get found often and change the picture of human evolution.
What is the two main "Out of Africa" positions?
Multiregional hypothesis and the Replacement hypothesis
What is the Multi‐regional vs. Out of Africa/Replacement debate?
Multiregional: modern humans evolved from Homo Erectus all over the world. Homo E. diversified in East Asia, Neanderthals in Europe, and Homo Heidelbergensis, along with others exchanged genes and interbred. This meant that regions developed unique physical characteristics while maintaining common humanizing and evolving together. Replacement: 1 1/2 million years ago a group of Hominins replaced all descendants of homo Erectus.
What evidence is there for Neanderthal and Denisovan contact?
Neanderthal DNA found, they were there during warm periods and the Neanderthals and Denisovans overlapped for sometime. Signs of interbreeding for short intervals. Denisova II bone fragment found which had traces of a Neanderthal mother and a Denisovan father.
What are the most viable routes for expansion of modern humans out of Africa and what role might climate change have played in these migrations? (Seddon ch. 26).
Out of the four possible routes to leave Africa, the most viable route(s) is the southern route which occurred 60-65,000 years ago. This route is known as the 'coastal express train scenario," where our ancestors became "beachcombers" and adopted a seafood diet. Low sea levels could have been an advantage for early modern humans to reach New Guinea and Australia. During this time sea levels were lower which allowed for possible crossing of bodies of water. Another route is the northern route which shows that the Levant people left around 115,000 years ago. Fossil remains found at the site of Mugharet es-Skhul suggest similarities of those of early modern people. Indigenous people found along the coast in Thailand, Philippines and other places are of close relation to ancient branches of the three founder mitochondrial haplogroups M, N and R. These groups of people have been isolated from the developing world which allowed them to stay relatively the same for thousands of years. This evidence suggests settlement out of Africa took place at least 60,000 years ago. Wet climates on the Arabian Peninsula as much as 127,000 years ago suggest possible hospitable environments. Regions including the Red Sea basin and Yemeni highlands and parts of the Persian Gulf had low sea levels which allowed for the appearance of fresh water. With this it is possible this area was booming with life. Modern humans could have crossed the Bab el-Mandeb Strait before the warm period when sea levels were low. Dhofar findings of stone tools suggest cultural exchanges across the Red Sea by modern humans around 40,000 years before estimates of migration date. Teeth in China found to be at least 80,000-120,000 years old closely resemble those of Homo Sapiens. The coastal express train scenario suggests an explanation of the presence of modern humans in Australia before they reached Europe. The world's current non-African population ancestors come from places along the coast of the Persian Gulf, southeast Arabian coastal zone and Red Sea basin, and later expanded to Iran, Pakistan and India. This is because when the climate was deteriorating, groups were forced out.
How is archaeological evidence from Africa pushing back and either clarifying or confusing questions of the achievement of "behavioral modernity" (mentally complex, symbolic, socially coordinated behavior. (Seddon ch. 24‐25)
Over the past (roughly) 90,000 years ago we have seen the development of advanced technological skill in the time of archaic beings. About 90,000 years ago we see evidence of the first use of sophisticated fishing. Evidence shows they would catch fish seasonally as part of a strategy to catch more fish. This year round planning shows signs of elevated cognitive thinking, planning, gathering and communication. Another sign of advance planning and thinking is the Stillbay tool industry. Carefully crafted elliptical and leaf-shaped spear points made from high-quality materials such as chert, quartzite and silicate were used. Along with this, evidence of a compound adhesive and pressure flaking was found which required mixing of two ingredients and use of fire to harden the material. This strategy was thought to have originated about 20,000 years ago, but new evidence shows it to be around 71,000 years ago. All this evidence shows that our archaic ancestors were a lot more sophisticated and had the ability to create, think, communicate and socialize far earlier than when we first thought. Another valuable piece of information that shows increased cognitive ability is the discovery of first signs of archaic graphic tradition. Evidence of engraved ochres suggests the ability to produce patterns over and over on these ochres. The ruling out of doodling or careless intent shows signs of tradition over thousands of years.
What are some main differences between processual and post processual archaeologies?
Processual archeology focuses more on how and why something happened rather than just recording what happened. Processual archeology is responsible for finding the deeper meaning from a specific event or thing in the past. Post-processualism is the idea that the human past does not just have one single meaning or reading, but in reality could have many many different interpretations. Although the two are different, both are used by archaeologists today.
List two dating techniques used in archaeology. What kinds of remains can they date, and over what time periods? What would be an appropriate dating technique for hominin remains and artifacts from 1.5 million years ago? What techniques might be more useful in the Holocene (the last 10,000 years)?
Radiocarbon dating was developed in the 1940s by Willard Libby. Remains like charcoal, bone and shell were able to be dated. This technique is good for dating after 40,000 years ago. This technique would be good to identify things during the Holocene. The other type of dating technique is called Potassium-Argon dating. This measures the decay of potassium. Potassium has a half life of 1.25 billion years so identifying hominid artifacts would be possible with this technique.
What are the four stages of Archaeological Research?
Rationale (a goal, research question, problem), Fieldwork (survey, excavation), Analysis, Sharing results
What is the difference between relative and absolute (or chronometric) dating?
Relative dating: Putting objects into relative temporal order, with this only know if something is older/younger but not by how much - seriation, stratigraphy, fluorine dating (bone chemistry) Chronometric/Absolute: Giving objects and deposits age estimates - gives actual age in measure increments (radio carbon years)
In what ways did the European Renaissance pave the way for new ways of thinking about human evolution?
Renaissance, expansion of wealth tide to colonialism and extraction of materials like Africa and Americas, all of this expansion fueled wealth that allowed for development of curious educational class and exposure to all of these different cultures and prehistoric monuments that differed from Europe. Exploded their small world, new information. In the process, collected objects and antiquities and asked how this all fit together in the world. Sense of superiority and everyone else must be primitive and less evolved (social idea) - survival of the fittest. Thought it was their duty to look over them because they are less than, must educate them. Louis Morgan wrote a book called Ancient Society. In the book he came up with the idea that you can understand modern people as cultural fossils of a unilineal through evolution. Hunter/gatheres of world were in a stage of evolution called lower savagery. Middle savegery who could fish and fire, Bow and arrow were in the upper savagery. Iron - upper barbarian
What is Rising Star Cave? How was it found?
Rick and Steve found it, it was a well known cave and they crawled down a place called dragons back. There is a hidden chamber found by accident and it was littered with bones
Did early tool users hunt or scavenge?
Scavenged: evidence shows cut mark distribution on meat shows that they scavenged
Why was the discovery of Australopithicus sediba important to filling in the story of Hominin evolution? Head vs. hand
Sediba was different than other Austras. It is 1.97myo and was the last of their kind before homo came about. It was ape like but unique because its arms were long but it's hand was human like - had opposable thumbs. Could have been a tool user.
Define some Key terms (Site, Deposit, Sediment, Artifact, Ecofacts, Feature, Structure, Occupation, Component, Context, Provenience)
Site: place where artifacts, buildings, etc can be found Deposit: stuff that people left behind Sediment: Anything from clay to boulders, anything that gets deposited Artifact: Something made by people Ecofacts: Object that is naturally made, like a rock, whale bone Feature: Composed of things, like a fire place, organization of chairs Structure: Buildings, large features, houses, roads Occupation: Refers to a time period when people were living somewhere Component: Single component site, one group of people for one period of time Context: Information, relationships of space and time between objects, features, structures to tell a story Provenience: The three dimensional location of an archaeological observation - by mapping it in 3D
How can we detect bipedalism from fossils? What hominin fossil species shows earliest facultative (optional) bipedalism... first obligate bipedalism?
Skeletal features such as long, narrow pelvis, femur angled out, rotated hip joint, spine attaches to skull further forward. Sahelanthropus was the first facultative bipedalist - 6-7 may
Homo floresiensis/Homo luzonensis
Small body and increased brain size
How does naledi fit new theories of human evolution related to cooperation and sociality?
Small brain hominid that has signs of burials is surprising. Shows close bonds and shows cooperation and socialization.
Was the eruption of Mt. Toba significant in the evolution of modern humans?
Steve Ambrose argues that Anatomically modern Humans took over because of volcanic Eruption Toba. He claimed the winners of the lottery had characteristics of modern humans and took over but this is unlikely to have happened. Evidence using argon-argon dating shows population did not die off, and the same stone tools were found before and after the eruption.
How do archaeologists decide where to dig?
Surveying
What do you think of your author's argument? What about the argument seems most intriguing, what surprises you or do you find questionable?
The Author's main argument in this reading is that there are two distinct differences between humans and animals. One being the human ability to prepare and plan for future events by manipulating scenarios and building virtual sets in our heads. The other one is the want to share knowledge and thoughts with people to expand our individual thinking. With these two we were able to split from our chimpanzee cousins and create a complex society. What I found most intriguing was when they said "Science is the disciplined use of our collective wit, and we can deploy it to better understand the origin of our place in nature. We can further use it to model the future systematically and ever more clearly." Science is based on factual evidence that a collection of people have put together over time. New data is found all the time and our knowledge on the past, and our ability to model the future grows constantly. The author also said that animal species are separated into two categories, specialists or generalists, and us humans are both. We have the ability to adapt to things quickly, even to anticipate events/demands, and we benefit from collbatory work, while animals show no evidence of the ability to do such mental time travel.
What hypotheses have been proposed to explain emergence of bipedalism?
The jungle --> Savanna theory Dawin's hunting hypothesis Threat model (predation) Thermoregulation - mid-day scavenging/endurance hunting The (male) provisioning model
What is the social brain hypothesis and what does it suggest about the evolution of larger brained hominin?
The prefrontal cortex is critical for social skills, cooperation and negotiation. It wasn't about effectiveness of tools that turned us into modern humans, but our ability to cooperate and engage in collective activities. Also levels of intentionality
What is paleoanthropology?
The study of the evolution of earliest humans through fossil remains
What is archaeology?
The study of the human past through the material remains people left behind, artifacts, structures, dirt, garbage, tracks, etc
What causes the Milankovitch cycles? How have they affected African vegetation, global sea levels, and glaciers?
There are three processes in the astronomical position of the Earth relative to the sun that generate predictable variability in climates over different time scales. Precession (wobble of Earth), Tilting, Eccentricity which has to do with the track of the orbit of the earth around the sun (circular or oval) - periods of extreme variability and low variability. Can accurately predict these patterns in Earth's climate history. African climate driven be monsoonal system, a shift in moisture patterns in Africa are important for jungles because it drives what lives there. Africa had a green Sahara because of this. Lakes, patches of vegetation allowed hominids to live there. Could have allowed hominids to travel out of Africa when sea levels were lower.
How might people have migrated from/to Africa? (routes and conditions)?
There are two likely possibilities of dispersal routes. The Levant corridor and the Bab-el-mandeb. These have opposite climates, in order to get through the Levant corridor it needs to be warm, green Sahara, moisture - this allowed hominids to flourish and live and also cross the land bridge created during the warm climate. Bab-el can only be crossed during cold climates when sea levels are low.
Why does the possibility of intentional deposition of the deceased in Rising Star Cave challenge preconceived notions about non‐Homo sapien hominins? In what ways does the Homo naledi assemblage from that cave look more like a "cemetery" population compared to a natural mortality population?
There were no animal fragments found, only hominids. Could have been intentionally placed like a burial. Skull shaped like homo was put there most likely.
How do we think the individuals from Malapa Cave died (A. sediba)? What evidence supports this interpretation?
They were prey and killed, dragged in by predators or fell? Bone fractures consist with falling. Most likely a death trap.
What does it mean to be a "Modern Human?"
To have a certain level of cognitive ability to communicate, socialize, cultural and symbolic communication, technological sophistication, coverage of large distances, adaptation to different climates, larger brains
Examples of Absolute Dating
Tree-ring dating Radiocarbon dating: decay method, half life of 5,700 years Luminescence dating: a trapped charge method - measure trapped light Historical dating: coin with a date on it, pipe diameter changed over time Potassium - Argon dating: decay of radioactive material Argon-Argon dating: more precise variant (measures amount of 40ar in a sample) half life of 40K is 1.25 bil yrs old
How "human" were Neanderthals? What evidence suggests that they were more like us?
Very human like, shorter and larger heads though. Lower/larger cranium, larger brow ridge, larger nose, larger shoulder joint, larger/broader shoulders, shorter forearm, longer thicker patella
What was Homo habilis?
We don't necessarily have a clear definition, but Habilis represents multiple species - we don't know if it's multiple species
What about the process of remembering the past does Cronon claim gives us moral bearing... a sense of place or even purpose?
We use our memories to remember the past, we use stories to remember the past, we have recorded history that makes us remember the past and how we got to where we are today. Without memories, stories and history, all future generations would not know the past. Without knowing the past, mistakes, discoveries, breakthroughs, vaccinations, etc would never happen or would take a while. Shared memories and experiences is what gives us a sense of home, a sense of moral bearing and comfort. All of our big moments in history that we proudly share gives us a sense of purpose and unity. The past is what has created our sense of morality because over generations and generations we have learned from our memories as to what is right and wrong. Our memories create stories which create relationships and connections which would all be lost without the process of remembering. Remembering the past is what allows us to make better decisions in the future regarding everything in life such as behavior, ethics, economic advancements and politics. Without memory there would be pure chaos around the world because no one would have any moral bearing.
How does fossilization occur?
When all organic material is replaced by minerals
What role did climate change play in hominin dispersals?
When sea levels were low and the Sahara was lush and green it allowed hominids to travel out of Africa.
When was fire first used? How important was cooking?
Wrangham hypothesis: fire around 2-1.8 mya led to brain growth in Homo ergaster/erectus. If food was cooked around this time it would have allowed for access to more energy.
Homo habilis
extinct species of upright east African hominid having some advanced humanlike characteristics - Handyman, used tools, controversial, filled in gap for evolution
In 1924, what did Raymond Dart study and claim? Why was this revolutionary?
he found a skull of a small ape-like child - thought to be Austra Africans which is proof they evolved in Africa
What is Geoarchaeology?
multi-disciplinary approach which uses the techniques and subject matter of geography, geology and other Earth sciences to examine topics which inform archaeological knowledge and thought.
