Chapter 12

defining Anatomically Modern Homo Sapiens

archaic H. sapiens are intermediate between classic H. erectus and anatomically modern H. sapien, modern H. sapien: skull large 13500 cc, bulbous, gracile, muscular ridges on cranium not strongly marked, brow ridges not strongly developed (or absent), occipital region of cranium is rounded, no occipital torus or bun, forehead rounded and vertical mastoid process is large and pyramidal, jaw and teeth small, chin, canine fossa, archaic H. sapien, mosaic of h erectus and h sapiens, larger cranial capacity and shape more similar to anatomically modern h sapiens

Postcranial skeleton of Neandertals

massive compared to modern humans, although N are on average shorter than late Pleistocene humans, chest barrel shaped, limbs short, physically demanding lifestyle, anatomy of the pubic bone, upper part of pelvis was longer and more gracle in N,

Stone tools

middle pleistocene archaeological sites yield the same stone tool styles the characterized the early Pleistocene, developments, prepared core technologies require that the toolmaker modify the original core by a number of flake removal steps in order to prepare it to produce a flake of a prescribed size and shape, great control of production of a main tool type, increasing forethought, greater reliance on soft hammer techniques, bones, antlers or limestone were used as hammerstones, stylized, different kinds of scrapers, given amount of raw material

African Archaic Homo Sapiens

4 crania that are generally regarded as archaic H. sapiens because of large cranial capacities, massive but more arching non-bar0liek supraorbital tori, and less angular vaults, cut marks on face (looks like a tool) prognathic mid faces (BODO), not very reminiscent of Neandertal

Growing up Neandertal

children's remains of all ages, from newborn to adult, found infants all the way up, in different areas, only fossil hominid group for which detailed studies on growth have been made, N children grew faster than Human children but general growth rates similar,

benefits of sociality

Discourage Predators, Access to mates, Shared food supply: distribution of roles, Killing Larger Animals: carry back, butchering

History of Neandertal Discovery

core of fossil record, caveman became synonymous, first was found in Velgium, cranium of a small child who even at that young age shows slight development of dole arched brow ridge, second discovery was nearly complete cranium from Gibraltar, then limestone quarry, bones including a skullcap and partial skeleton, distinguished specimen from modern human, had low shape of skullcap, large brow ridges and development of occipital bun, post cranial bones were robust with marked ridges for attachment of large muscles, ribs rounded, people thought it was just a deformed human, the scientist who found it thought it was a new species

Asian Archaic Homo Sapiens

differ from H. sapien with vault shape, and size and supraorbital total shape, difficulty dating in Asia,

Burials

discovery of Spy skeletons in Belgium, found complete and fully articulated, could have been intentionally buried, found at a single cave site, multiple graves, goat horns? ritual? could flowers have been put (evidence of pollen?) could the burials just be a way to get rid of bodies?

Phylogenetic and taxonomic issues

Neandetal and archaic homo sapiens are not taxonomically formal designations, both these groups possess features that clearly distinguish them from H erectus and anatomically modern H. sapiens, differences not profound enough to warrant species designations or that using such designations would arbitrarily impose separations on a continuous evolutionary lineage and thus be misleading, these groups could have been an interbreeding species: LUMPERS PERSPECTIVE, SPLITTERS PERSPECTIVE N is different than other group, N is extinct,

occipital bun

a backward-projecting bulge on the occipital part of skull

Levallois technique

a middle paleolithic technique that made use of prepared cores to produce uniform levallois flakes

Mastoid process

a protrusion from the temporal bone of the skull located behind the ear

Juxtamastoid eminence

a ridge of bone next to the mastoid process, in Neandertals it is larger than the mastoid process itself

fire, campsites and home sites

evidence of the use of fire and campsites is rare, no proper hearths, there are ash deposits and charred bones recovered from a number of sites indicate that fire may have been used by H. erectus and H. sapiens,

Neandertal Anatomy and DNA built for the cold

neandertals posses some derived features that not present in either anatomically modern juan or archaic H sapiens, vault is long and low, size and shape are quit different than H. erectus, cranium is large much larger than H. erectus or sapiens, maximum cranial breadth in Neandertals tends to be in the middle of the cranium giving it an oval appearance when viewed from rear, mastoid process smaller than in modern humans, juxtamastoid eminence is larger, mid facial prognathism, cheeks are swept back, face is quite tall, no development of chin, inner ear has fluid and rings for balance, but kind of different than modern humans, (clear cut differences in ear anatomy)

DNA of Neandertals

it all changed when DNA was extracted, ancient mtDNA, evolved phenotypic adaptations to low UV radiation including skin depigmentation as modern human populations have

Geographic and Temporal Distribution

largest number of Neandertal sites found in western Europe, fossil bearing sites plentiful in Germany, ITS EVERYWHERE

Neandertals

late Pleistocene fossil hominins informally known as Neandertals complete partial remains of several hundred Neandertal individuals have been discovered dating between 27000 and 150000 years ago, extreme oscillations in the temperature caused by glacial and interglacial cycles,

Ritual and Symbolic behavior

little way to indicate this, small number of incised bones have been recovered from different sites but what these scratches might mean is beyond scope of science, they could have had a language, strongest evidence is of personal adornment items (pierced animal teeth) plaque or incised plate of a mammoth tooth,

Health and Disease

recognition and interpretation of pathological conditions in bone, could have biases, found a skeleton "old man" was severely damaged, was it because of problems, what happened, evidence of traumatic injuries, so many N exhibit healed fractures that their cause has been sought, getting close to dangerous prey?

Upper Paleolithic (Later Stone Age)

stone tool industries that are characterized by the development of blade-based technology

Middle Paleolithic (Middle Stone Age)

stone tool industries that used prepared core technologies

midfacial prognathism

the forward projection of the middle facial region, including nose

Prognathic faces of Neandertals

the nose warmed cold air before it reached the respiratory system and brain, however among modern humans, cold dwelling populations have long and narrow noses to restrict cold airflow to the brain, broad noses found in more tropical climates, another theory is that it could help dissipate heavy biting on the anterior dentition, but not the case

Material Culture

N fossils found in association with middle paleolithic tools, builds on past cultures such as the Achulean by using some similar tools, systematic tool variation in complexity, found with the Upper Paleolithic (Later stone afe(m blade based technology, anterior dentition is a tool? large and heavily worn compared with the back teeth, both animal and vegetable matter held,

Hunting, Subsistence and Cannibalism

N heavily reliant on animal resources, used hunting strategies by archaic H. sapiens and early hominins, used a variety of subsistence strategies depending ob local conditions, although they may have scavenged meat opportunistically, little evidence that N engaged in scavenging on broader scale, capable hunters, distribution of burned bones==> cooking, also evidence of possible cannibalism, political or ritualistic context, hole in the cranium, to get brain, bones split open to get marrow

posterior

back

Tools from organic materials

based on behavior of living nonhuman primates and humans, assume they made tools using organic materials (rarely preserved), indirect evidence of use of bones, wooden spears, throwing stick, could have handles made of wood, evidence of large game hunting?

latter half of Pleistocene

beginto find fossils that exhibit features often interpreted as being more advanced or derived in the direction of H. Sapiens than was H. erectus, informally laved archaic homo sapiens or advanced H. erectus

Blades

flakes that are twice as long as they are wide

anterior

front

Archaic Homo Sapiens

important transitional period during human evolution, diverse, larger brains than H. erectus, more parallel-sided, taller, and less angular cranial vaults, robust but arching rather than straight supraorbital tori,

European Archaic Homo Sapiens

oldest hominins in Europe found in Sierra in Spain, there was a mandible found in Germany, assigned to middle Pleistocene age, quite robust, lacks a chin, Homo Heidelbergensis, largest number of archaic fossils found n Spain in the cave, differ from classic H.erectus in vault shape and size, brow ridge conformation and facial morphology, larger brains, strongly buttressed pelves and strong robust ones, NEANDERTAL LIKE: have double arched supraorbital torus and mid facial prognathism,

DENISOVANS

pinky child, finger bone yielded a complete mtDNA sequence that stunned community, dating to 30-48000 years ago, differs by 365 bases from that of modern humans, more than N do, 3rd hominid living in Siberia? cave: Denisova in mountains, descendants of a hominid that left Africa

Coping with the cold

typical of cold-adapted populations, one way to cope is through use of fire, charcoal deposits and ashy dump spots are commonly found in Middle Paleolithic sites, bone needles found, living spaces (made from bones), to avoid it by migrating over long distances or by moving as overall conditions get colder, 5 prominent cave sites

Chatelperronian

upper Paleolithic tool industry that has even found in association with later Neandertals

3 prominent features characterize Neandertal teeth

upper incisors had built up ridges of enamel on the side nearest the tongue, shovel shaped appearance, had expanded pump cavities and fused roots (TAURODONTISM), anterior teeth show an unusual amount of wear that is much greater than that on the molars and is greater than among modern human populations, (teeth as a third hand to hold objects)

Big Game Hunting

would be advantageous for H, sapiens occupying northern latitudes in Europe or Asia, seasonal dependence on animal food and ability to hunt big game would have made it easier to expand into colder areas even if scavenging were still done, acheulean artifacts found with large game, is this good enough evidence? spears found in direct association with the butchered remains of ten horses and flake tools that could be used to deflesh the carcasses, stone tool marks always underlay carnivore teeth marks, and butchering marks indicate that eyes and tongues were removed by hominins ahead of birds,