Early Species of Genus Homo

Homo habilis

found in Africa. Ape-like limb bones (Suggests a greater tree-climbing ability than later hominins). Not as modern looking. Good at climbing trees to get away from predators

3 distinct hominin groups

early homo, late gracile australopithecines, Paranthropus

glacial

major advances of continental ice sheets

interglacials

warm intervals between periods

Neanderthal Technology

Middle Paleolithic tool tradition called Mousterian. Used flake tools Knock flakes off of big pieces to make different sizes

Best known tool in the Acheulean stone tool industry

"hand ax" but they have found other core tools, such as scrapers, choppers, cleavers

Upper Paleolithic

Core-and-blade industries. anatomically modern humans (AMHs) and Neanderthals

Narokotome boy

11 year old boy from homo erectus. Would've grown to be 6 ft. Shows that from the neck down they look like humans (modern humans). May have used fire to cook food, hunted and gathered plants and may have had less hair than earlier humans

Lower Paleolithic

Acheulean tool industry. Tools look more like something humans would make. Some used elephant bones, which means they hunted large animals. Homo erectus, homo habilis, homo heidelbergensis

4 periods of the paleolithic

Basal, Lower, Middle, Upper

The Neanderthals

Burry their dead. Stalky, large trunks. They looked different than us. Debate as to whether they are a separate species or not. Big nasal cavities to deal with cold air. Have features that suggest they adapted to cold. Mostly found in Europe and middle east. They were able to extract DNA from some so that they can compare to modern humans

Life as a Neanderthal

Care for the disabled, burial of dead, some language. Cooperative hunting. Some cannibalism. No evidence of long-distance trade. Seem to have been less willing to borrow or innovate

The Denisovans

Found in Siberia. Almost exactly contemporary Neanderthals, but some differences. Most likely interbreed with modern humans. very cold adaptive, but wondered down to Melasia because some Melanesians have 5% denisovan DNA (which is more than most people today)

Homo rudolfensis

Found skull in kenya. brain size closer to homo than austrolopithecus. Molars like austrolopithecus

Fire

Hard to tell if they used fire for cooking or just to scare away other animals. For protection from predators. To survive winter cold. For cooking food

Adaptive strategies of homo erectus

Interrelated changes in biology and culture increased human adaptability. Improved tools helped increase range. Biological changes permitted long-distance stalking and endurance during the hunt. average cranial capacity doubled the australopithecine average. face, teeth, and jaws were smaller. Hearths confirm fire was controlled by them. Might have had language too

Language

It is plausible to assume rudimentary speech. For cooperative hunting. We don't know when language came about, but Neanderthals had a voice box, like humans so they had the capacity for speech.

Archaic homo sapiens

Lived in Arago cave in southeastern France during the Elster glacial period when Europe was bitterly cold. They adapted to many different environments. Have mixed features that are between erectus and neanderthals

Middle Paleolithic

Mousterian tool industry. Tools designed for specific jobs. Neanderthals, early modern humans.

Paleolithic

Old stone age

Basal Paleolithic

Oldowan tool industry. Australopithecus and early homo species

Ice Ages of the Pleistocene

Series of glaciers. Period of time we're talking about. Upper and Middle Paleolithic times. glacials in Europe and North America during the Pleistocene

Homo Floresiensis

Small version. Bones and tools of groups of tiny humans. As they go to warmer places their body size decreases because of lack of food. Made and used fire. Smaller skulls. Tools found were more sophisticated than known Homo erectus tools. Apelike features, flat feet, walked upright. Maybe have died before humans got to the island, so we don't know if they interbreed

Theory about how Neanderthals came about

Some say that Homo erectus split into separate groups, one ancestral to Neanderthals, the other ancestral to anatomically modern humans (AMHs)

Neanderthals vs. Us

They had bigger brains than we do. More sexual dimorphism. We know a lot about them because they buried their dead. We have evidence of some interbreeding with AMH

Evolution and Expansion of erectus

They may have just followed the other animals that were leaving Africa. Their biological and cultural changes allowed them to improve their gathering and hunting strategies and move out of Africa into Asia and Europe

Earliest homo

evolved into Homo erectus. hunted large animals to supplement the gathering of vegetation and the scavenging of dead animals. They were also the longest living species, had some kind of adaptive advantage

Neanderthal front teeth

extremely large, show evidence of wear, may have been used for many jobs later done by tools

Homo heidelbergensis

fossils found in Heidelberg, Germany—sometimes classified as either late Homo erectus or archaic Homo sapiens

First hominin to spread out of africa

homo erectus

Significance of hunting

improved cultural means of adaptation, and better tools created a new niche for Homo erectus that separated them from others. Get more protein for growing brains. Used sharpened sticks as spears. More use of tools (for taking apart and butchering meat). Fire

Homo erectus

neck down no difference between them and humans. Cranial capacity of 900 cm3. Larger brains, more sexual dismorphism. They used acheulean stone tools (hand axes and flake tools). They were the first homing to spread out of africa

Oldowan

oldest tools. Cobble and flake tools that were produced by direct percussion flaking with a hammerstone. Produced by homo hablis, homo erectus, and gracile australopithecus.

Sima de los Huesos

pit that contained 32 complete skeletons. First evidence for burial. They were tall—males averaged about five feet, seven inches, and like the Neanderthals, they were robust. Several of the individuals suffered from disease or injury

Homo antecessor

possible canibal ancestor of Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans (AMHs). good evidence they were cannibals. different species because they are cannibals. cut mark bones like they butchered them

Terra Amata

southern France, where bands of 15-25 people made regular visits to the Mediterranean coast during the late spring and early summer. Evidence that they were in Europe

Archaic Homo Sapiens

the earliest members of our species. They lived at the same time as Neanderthals. They look a lot like us, but not exactly. Brain size was modern human range.