Evolution Final

Index fossil

A fossil that can be used to determine the age of the strata in which it is found and to help correlate between rock units (pigs, rodents)

Diastema

A gap between the teeth, especially that between the biting teeth adn grinding teeth

What does Wrangham suggest about social structure and hunting?

A lot of time hunting and fail need to catch up and eat net deficit Hunter gather system works because they know that if they fail at hunting still get food

Actualistic study

A method of inferring nature of past events by analogy with processes observable and in action in present

Cusp

A pointed end where two curves meet, in particular

Dominance hierarchies

A ranking of dominance relationships within social groups

Fission or fusion

Action of dividing or splitting something into two or more parts

Coalition

An alliance for combined action

Brachiation

Arm swinging and arm hanging is peculiar in primate movement and posture relative to hind limb dominated primates Have wider backs because of the change in placement of the scapular

What does multiple species of hominin coexisting at the same time mean for the way we draw/reconstruct our lineage?

Becomes a bush because it's not linear

Implicit bias

Bias in judgement and or behavior that results from subtle cognitive processes

What is the difference between a cast and actual fossilized material?

Casts Occurs when decaying remains dissolve completely and leave a space that becomes filled in or replaced by sediment which becomes rock Helps protect and preserve Fossilized material is the actual bon

What are the features that characterize each of the two subfamilies of OWMs?

Cercopithecinae Simple digestive system Cheek pouches Colobinae Guts anatomically specialized for feeding on leaves

Depositional environment

Certain place where sediments are deposited

What two patterns does the ecological shift toward technology generate?

Changes in form or complexity of the tools can be studied largely independently of nay aspects of the creatures that produced them Technological evolution is progressive

Homology

Character state that is inherited by ancestor

Gregarious

Characterized by a high motivation to interact socially; engaging in frequent social interactions with other members of one species

Extra pair mating

Copulations with individuals outside of the pair bond

bifacial tools

Flaked in such a way as to produce a cutting edge that is sharp on both sides. Used of a stone tool.

Describe Ardi's foot.

Foot that could grasp and walk

How does cooked food relate to brain size expansion?

For a given body shape the human brain is large because when asleep energy needs to be given all the time Gut because can afford to get small gut and energy is allowed to go to the brain

Why do we have virtually no fossil record for the living apes?

Forest was a less conductive environment to the fossilization process than the drier open savanna

What other bones, besides those of H. naledi, were found in the chamber? Why was this strange?

Found oil bones, rodent incisors No predation No water transport Entered one at a time

Why do researchers think Lucy might have died from falling out of a tree?

Fractures on bone shows on her bone that you get from falling from high places Compressed fracture

Why was the media coverage of the new Laetoli footprints problematic?

Headlines stated oldest early human footprints suggest males had several wives Wives are a social category, not a biological one Possessive verb had suggests a kind of ownership that implies both male domination and a degree of long term pair bonding Headline leaps from the data, no facts

What does Marks consider the critical issue in understanding the fossil record?

How do we interpret the anatomical variation we encounter

What does cooking mean for human reproduction (and, ultimately, fitness)?

Humans have high rate of reproduction, eating raw can't fit in and don't get enough energy if cooked it helps digest and get energy

What do Proconsul, Afropithecus, and Morotopithecus suggest about early hominid evolution?

Large body size, enlargement of the anterior dentition, and subtle changes in the posterior dentition (e.g., more elongated molars and changes in molar cusp placement and cingulum development) suggest occupation of fundamentally different ecological niches than those of stem catarrhines. Large canines function in both food procurement and in sexual selection, with pronounced dimorphism suggesting the latter was a factor. Large size allows access to new foods and improves foraging flexibility (Wheatley, 1987), decreases predation risks, promotes survivorship and, coupled with factors such as habitat stability, may be linked to delayed maturation. Analysis of the dental development pattern of Afropithecus (and possibly Proconsul) suggests delayed maturation relative to other anthropoids (Kelley, 1997, 2002), making slow life history another possible stem hominoid synapomorphy. By the early Miocene, there is at least modest locomotor and dietary diversity among the large bodied probable stem hominoids, indicating the beginnings of a true adaptive radiation, with increasing body size, increasing locomotor novelty and more specialized exploitation of arboreal food sources evolving concurrently. It is not currently resolvable which anatomical features associated with orthogrady and joint mobility in modern apes are homologous or homoplastic This debate has implications for interpreting the evolutionary position of purported stem hominoids, and for reconstructing the pattern and timing of the emergence of modern ape adaptations. For example, postcranial similarities between Morotopithecus and living apes could be interpreted a number of ways. If the living apes acquired their orthogrady through parallel evolution, then Morotopithecus represents the earliest known instance of a transition that occurred several times in hominoid evolution. This is of great adaptive interest, suggesting that some underlying developmental or genetic propensity (see below) kept steering the hominoid evolutionary response in the same direction. It would also mean certain postcranial traits must be used cautiously in phylogenetic analysis (Sanders and Bodenbender, 1994). On the other hand, if these locomotor similarities were inherited from a common ancestor, Morotopithecus would be more closely related to crown hominoids than Proconsul (and possibly Afropithecus). Yet another possibility is that Morotopithecus was an independent "experiment," and that the common ancestor of crown hominoids was nevertheless orthograde. As discussed above, despite differences in locomotor specializations and long periods of independent evolution, all surviving hominoid taxa share a similar body plan that differentiates them from other primates (with the exception of some ateline monkeys, which have convergently evolved torsos and forelimb specializations similar to those of apes (Erikson, 1963; Larson, 1998). The basic anatomical underpinnings of the ape body plan have led to remarkable locomotor diversity and versatility, enabling large bodied primates to move effectively arboreally (through climbing and suspension) and terrestrially (using knucklewalking and bipedalism). Such locomotor innovation, tied to features such as orthogrady, likely underlies the evolutionary "success" of all living hominoids, and seems to have been present to some degree in stem hominoids. Developmental work by Young and colleagues (2010) has shown that extant apes have reduced integration between the fore and hindlimbs compared to quadrupedal monkeys. Relaxation of this genetic constraint has been interpreted to have allowed the limbs to evolve more freely in different ways in response to selection pressures (ibid.). Inferred differential limb use in Morotopithecus (MacLatchy et al., 2013) and younger Miocene taxa (e.g. Moya Sola and Kohler, 1996; Moya Sola et al., 2004; Nakatsukasa and 1/10/2017 8/14 Kunimatsu, 2009) provisionally supports Young and colleagues' (2010) supposition that limb "evolvability" may be an ancestral hominoid trait, but more fossil material and a better understanding of the genetics underlying this trait, are needed.

Platyrrhini

New world monkey

Can you make assumptions about social organization from social structure? What about assumptions about mating system from social system? Why or why not?

No because it might not be apparent immediately No must be careful because observing because one size doesn't fit all

What are the two major differences between the ways non-human primates organize themselves socially and the way that humans do?

Non human primates can't easily adopt individuals into the group need to do it naturally; humans can do this naturally Social bonds are different; we have providers, husband, wife, sexual partner

Allopatry

Occurring in separate, non overlapping geographic areas. Allopatric populations of related organisms are unable to interbreed because of geographic separation

Gracile

Of a hominid species of slender build

Radiocarbon dating

Radiometric dating technique that uses the decay of 14 C in organic material, such as wood or bones, to determine the absolute age of the material

Three process of determining age of fossils

Relative dating Age of fossil or geological area surrounding fossil numerically Magnetism : estimate the age of fossil site by looking at the magnetic field

Transients

Repetitive, high impact forces

Polygynandry

Sexual sharing among two or more females and two or more males

Where was this fossil species found? When is it dated to?

South Africa from the Dinaledi Chamber of the Rising Star cave system

How old is the earliest known crown primate? What does that suggest about our lineage?

Teilhardina asiatica part of the haplorhines and strepsirrhines 56 million years ago Hints that primates were one of the many mammal lineages which proliferated in the wake of the end cretaceous mass extinction which wiped out the pterosaurs, mosasaurs, ammonites, and various other forms.

What did they conclude about how the H. naledi fossils got into the chamber? Why was this surprisingly?

Thought that it was a human body disposing site Took away the idea that humans are the only ones that disposed their own bodies

What are Plesiadapiforms?

Tiny mouse like creature lived 10 million period between extinctinction of dinosaurs and primates Diverse group with more than 120 species

What surprising bony structure did Silcox find when she CT scanned the fossil skull?

Tiny tube in the ear

What was the locomotor regime of the early Miocene apes?

Travel along tree branches on all fours

Laws of association

Two artifacts found in the same geological layer or stratum are about the same age.

Why were the Homo fossils from Koobi Fora, Kenya, considered to be two different species? What are the names of those species?

Two distinct facial morphologies and although the larger faces could have belonged to males, and smaller to females, of the same species, differences unlike those we have seen in males and females of modern humans and apes Called it H. rudolfensis

Hyoid bone

U shaped boned in the neck that supports the tongue

Orthography

Upright trunk posture associated with suspension, vertical climbing, bipedalism, etc

Why is the carnivory of hominins unique?

Use of flaked stone tools to acess animal resources Acquisition of resources from animals much larger than the hominins themselves Procurement of animal resources by scavenging

What size do colobine home ranges tend to be?

Vary depending on diet and productivity some have small and other have a bunch <1km^2 or >10km^2

What do you think Marks is trying to say about culture in the final section of this chapter?

We are not natural, not human nature, culture affects us biologically and is part of who we are

facultative biped

When both climbing and walking

Why might bipedalism have evolved in a taxa that was still partially arboreal?

a s a way to walk along branches that would otherwise be too flexible

What features distinguish NWMs from Old World monkeys (OWMs)?

broad , flat nostrils Three premolar teeth Lack bony ear tube (ectotympanic tube) Have a prehensile tail

extrasomatic

of, relating to, or being something that exists external to and distinct from the individual human being or the human body.

If we were an ape of our body size, about how much of the day would we spend chewing? How much time do we (as modern humans) actually spend chewing?

½ our day chewing Today we spent less than 1 hour a day

When is Nariokotome Boy dated to?

1.56-1.51 My

How geologically old were the original H. habilis fossils?

1.75 million

What might some of the factors be that contribute to the huge variety seen in group size and composition among the cercopithecines?

10-100 individuals can surpass more Have a hierarchy Has more of a socializing time, need to travel can have protection, easier to care for offsprings

What are some of the unique features of the human brain and what might a large brain be good for?

1500 cubic cm. Volume Growth of cerebrum Neocortex highly folded Ability to manipulate others strategically in a complex network of primate social relations

What makes this find extraordinary?

1550 hominin bones and teeth in the assemblage- the largest single species assemblage found anywhere in Africa 15 individuals represented in assemblage and multiple copies so can look at variation

On what continents are colobines found? What kinds of environments do they typically prefer?

3 African and 7 Asian forest, lowland tropical to montane, moist, scrub, conifer forest, gardens, temples

How old are the original Laetoli footprints? What features suggest they belong to bipeds?

3.8 million years ago Heel, arch, ball, and enlarged and aligned big toe, no evidence of the limbs touching the ground

From where and when, and in what species, is the earliest unambiguous evidence of bipedalism?

4.2 million years old, from Kenya

How old is Ardipithecus ramidus and where was it found?

4.4 million years old Afar region in ethiopia

What percentage of Lucy's skeleton was preserved?

40% of the skeleton

What is the earliest evidence for hunting and when is it dated to? When are the earliest hearths dated to?

500,000years ago Hearths 790,000 years ago

Using this same method and comparing him to chimpanzees, what is the likely lower age limit for Nariokotome Boy?

6-7 years old

How tight is the tightest squeeze to get down to the Dinaledi Chamber?

7 ½ in wide

Zona conoidea

A gutter adjacent to the capitulum on the distal humerus that serves to buttress the margin of the proximal radius during forearm rotation

Bilophodont

A molar feature in old world monkeys in which the front and back pairs of cusps are connected by ridges or lophs

endocasts

A natural fossil cast formed within the endocranial space of a skull. When present, endocasts provide some resolution on the size, shape, and surface structures of the brain in fossil taxa

Social bonds

A term used for social relationship, usually referring to relatively strong social relationships

What hominin species was found at Malapa? Where is Malapa? How old are the fossils from this site?

A. Sediba South africa 1.977 plus or minus .0002 million years ago

What fossil taxa were contemporaneous with the evidence for carnivory? Which taxa does the author suggest was most likely responsible for this activity and why?

A. africanus or P. aethiopicus Homo erectus shows most because of the tooth and gut size and shape

Cathemeral

Activity pattern in which an animal is neither prescriptively nocturnal, nor diurnal, nor crepuscular, but irregularly active at any time of night or day

What NWM is NOT diurnal?

All New world monkeys except the owl monkeys

Home range

An area over which an animal or group of animals regularly travels in search of food or mates, and that may overlap with those of neighboring animals or groups of the same species

Which fundamental human adaptation arose first? How might this process have taken place?

Bipedalism, reduction of canine teeth and expansion of the brain came around but bipedalism was the very first Binary switch because the bipedal posture is unstable; most likely a behavioral option was what switched the ancestor which facilitated by spread of mutations that affected growth and modeling of bone under new sets of stresses caused by the adoption of the new posture and locomotor habits

Subfossil

Bone or other part of organism that has not fully fossilized. May not have had enough time

What was Homo habilis like morphologically, compared to Homo erectus?

Brain of H. havilis was smaller than H. erectus Rest of skelton more ape like

What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of studying primates in the wild and in captivity? What does each type of study tell us?

Captive studies Primates are studied under conditions that are highly constructed: zoo and laboratories What they are capable of Advantage Cheap and convenient Know where they are Study under controlled condition Disadvantage Can be different from wild conspecifics (have more food, less exercise, group size affects behavior wild studies Primates studied under conditions of minimal disturbance as they are naturally What they can do State of wildness is an illusion because humans come into contact sometimes for bushmeat etc. Also need primates to withstand human presence in order to fully study them Advantages Glimpse of behavior of primates under normal conditions Disadvantage Creatures are not happy when humans come to their living environment Expensive, poor area can be dangerous, hard to keep track, long time working

Why might group life be disadvantageous?

Competition Share food resources, water resources, sleeping sites, and mates Even though there is dominance hierarchies, aggressive behavior for food and mates are common Not energetically costly but can lead to injury and death High amounts of chronic stress Can affect health and reproduction Infanticidal (infant killing) behavior by males or immigration increases stress hormones Close living has increased in potential transmission of pathogens

Sperm competition

Competitive process between sperms of two ro more different males to fertilize same egg during sexual reproduction

Synchronic

Concerned with something, especially a language, as it exists at one point in time

Diachronic

Concerned with the way in which something, especially language, has developed and evolved through time

What is context and why is it so important?

Context includes data like the location sedimentary matrix, and taphonomy and age of specimen Change over time needs to be understood They are meaningless once touched

What was the "conventional wisdom" of the change in diet from australopithecines to Homo erectus? What does Wrangham suggest are the problems with this hypothesis? What does he propose as his alternative hypothesis and what evidence exists for this?

Conventional wisdom is that homo erectus ate a bunch of protein and became smarter Wrangham Believes its because the food was cooked Teeth and guts are small and they have to cook in order to succumb to gut

How does Marks think we should approach using non-human primates to understand our own evolution?

Correlation or what we might think is a selective explanation might not be correct because we really don't know if it is and don't know how to prove it Need to look at the bio social trait and then relate to human evolution instead of focusing on the similarities of the monkey group to human Primates show diversity and leads to believe that they are not related as much as we think we are

Thermoluminescence

Dating method that uses heat to measure the amount of radioactivity accumulated by a rock or stone tool since it was last heated

Homoplasy

Defines character state that has independently evolved two or more times, and therefore does not have a unique origin

Time-averaging

Denotes temporal mixing (or age mixing) of fossils. Fossil found together within a single stratum need not be contemporaneous with one another, but may represent mixed remains of organisms that lived at different times and never interacted with one another

Strata

Distinct layers of sediment that accumulated at the earth's surface

Quadrupedalism

Divisions Arboreal (most common) Terrestrial versions Have Fore and hind limbs of relatively equal length Tend to lower their centers of gravity toward the branch by bending their elbows and knees Arboreal primates Supinate hands (to rotate the hand laterally or on its back surface) and feet toward curve of the support Terrestrial (mostly old world monkeys) have reduced joint mobility throughout limbs and they utilize more pronated hand positions

What argument does Marks make about infanticide and about the use of these kinds of terms in primates?

Do it for a certain reason but we don't know why could be a cure

What does cooking do to the digestibility of protein?

Easily chewed but the denaturing of the food (protein) are accessible to digestive enzyme of the small intestine Takes less energy to digest food so better to digest

Frugivory

Eating fruit

Insectivory

Eating insects

Folivory

Eating leaves

Carnivory

Eating meat

What features are shared by Lucy and chimpanzees?

Elongated skull with small brain case Face and jaws that jut out from braincase Shoulder blades and joints that are suited for climbing trees Long arms and hands with curved fingers

How can Earth's magnetic field be used for dating?

Every Time that the magnetic reversal occurs it can be dated

What are some of the characteristics of primates with one-male groups? What are some examples of primates with this type of system?

Ex. colobine monkeys, most guenons, patas monkeys, howler monkeys, some gorillas Single resident adult male defends a group of usually philopatric, related females from other males and while his tenure lasts, enjoys exclusive mating access to hose females (polygyny) Sometimes called harems Run risk of takeover by non resident male, who form all male groups while waiting to be chance to be resident male Takeovers usually accompanied by infanticide Can cause mothers to go into estrus early (sexual receptivity)

What are some of the characteristics of primates with a pair-bonded social system? What are some examples of primates with this type of system?

Ex. titi monkeys, owl monkeys, callitrichidae (marmosets and tamarins) and many hylobatids (gibbons and siamangs) One adult males and one adult female form a social group and defend a territory from other pairs Monogamous; extra pair copulations have been observed Males participate in offspring care

Who made up the team of six excavators? How were they selected?

Facebook post Asked for phd paleoanthropologist, that fit the small built and to drop everything and be ready for 3 hours 6 young scientist Application process

Kinorhyncha

Faces is normal

Airorynch

Faces that tilt up

Primates are (all helps with living in trees)

Fantastic leapers Swift arboreal quadrupeds Arm swingers Vertical clingers Hind limb dominant Have a diagonal couplet gait Tend to bend elbow and feet

What are the evolutionary trade-offs in growing up quickly? In growing up slowly? What is the ultimate evolutionary benefit to the prolonged childhood seen in modern humans?

Faster grows sooner to reproduce Higher chance of dying and getting diseases if live longer Can grow bigger putting off puberty Can set aside energy

Where was the first australopithecine fossil found and what were its distinguishing features?

Founded in 1924 Vertical position of the brainstem indicated that it carried itself upright Rear teeth were very large, and front teeth including the canine teeth were very small Not what we find in living apes, most teeth were deciduous, and only the first adult molar had erupted

What are some of the proposed explanations for why bipedalism arose?

Freed up hands for tool use Doesn't work because tools were used after bipedalism Arose as an adaption initially for wading or swimming, rather than for walking and running Bipedal habit was founded.

Affiliative

Friendly or non threatening

What do the size and composition of primate groups depend on?

Genetics: some species naturally associate in very small groups or considerably larger groups. Food preference, habitat, kinds of predators in area, activity patterns

Laws of superposition

Geographically recent materials generally found physically on top of older materials,

How did Lucy get her name?

Girlfriend suggested to name her lucy by the beatles lucy in the sky at diamond

What are the three steps we take to understand our biological history?

Grouping them according to the distribution of synapomorphies, the derived traits or evolutionary novelties that come passively along with descent from a recent common ancestor Once adding dimension of time, able to eliminate at least one of the alternatives. Adding temporal dimension allows us to produce chart with additional inferences Fleshing out the phylogeny with adaptive scenarios about the key features divergences, and lifestyles of the animals

What are the estimated brain sizes given for OH7 (H. habilis), A. afarensis, and H. erectus? What was the "cerebral Rubicon?"

H. habilis 647 cc A. aferensis 450 cc Cerebral rubicon minimum amount of size for it to be a certain genus 700 to 800 cc

What was the diet of H. habilis like compared to that of H. erectus?

H.erectus Eats a broad range of hard, brittle foods, such as nuts, seeds, and fibrous meat H. habilis Ate softer foods like fruits and tender leaves Ate narrow range of foods

Where was Lucy found?

Hadar, Ethiopia

What does "Homo habilis" mean and why was it given that name?

Handyman Found near stone tools

What are some of the aye-aye's adaptations to its diet?

Has a long finger that taps to find the insects

Precocial

Hatched or born in an advanced state and able to feed itself almost immediately

Altricial

Hatched or born in an undeveloped state and requiring care and feeding by parents

Cosmopolitan

In many different countries and cultures

Normal polarity

Interval of time when earth's magnetic field is oriented so that the magnetic north pole is approximately in the same position as the geographic north pole

Reversed polarity

Interval of time when the earth's magnetic field is oriented so that magnetic north pole is approximately in the same position as the geographic south pole

What are the two unanswered questions about H. erectus? What evidence would you want to find to answer these questions?

Levels of sexual dimorphism within the lineage and the capacity for language If there is a large range of skeletal size variation, at least equivlent to that observed in human population Size of vertebral canal and endocast

How can developmental age be determined using the bones of the skeleton? What are some factors that can introduce uncertainty into this estimate? Using this method, how old was Nariokotome Boy estimated to be using modern humans as a reference? Using chimpanzees?

Looking at fusion of element's of bones Ossification center in long bones of body typically have at least 3 cm of ossification As child grows ossification center grows towards each other Malnutrition throw off balance becasue can effect the rate that tissue is gown 12-15 and 14-16 years so 13-13.5 years humans 7.5 years old for chimpanzee

What does processing do to food?

More digestible

What are some of the potential reasons for excluding H. habilis from the genus Homo?

Moved less human and more like australopithecines Dietary range more like australopithecine

What are some of the characteristics of primates with multi-male multi-female groups? What are some examples of primates with this type of system?

Multiple individuals of each sex form large social groups Mating system is usually polygynandrous (both males and females are polygamous) Largest groups of primates Complex socially Differentiated social and kin relationships Ex. macaques, most baboons, vervet monkeys, mangabeys, capuchins, squirrel monkeys, wooly monkeys, and some colobine monkeys, some lemurs, and sifaka Females are philopatric and males disperse

When is Au. sediba dated to and how was it dated?

Murky period just after the rise of Homo and the demise of Au. africanus Measured the decay of isotopes of uranium into lead in a flowstone that capped the fossil bearing layer and go precise date of 1.977 million years ago.

What features of Ardi's face and teeth link this taxon to later hominins?

Muzzle just out less than a chimpanzee does Even males of her species lacked the large sharp, daggerlike upper canines seen in chimps Base of skull is short from front to back, rather than elongated in quadrupeds

Catarrhine

Old world monkeys and apes

What are the earliest stone tools called and what do they look like? When do they occur in the fossil record?

Oldawan Small rocks on which another rock has been used to knock off a few pieces thus forming a sharp edge 2.5 million years ago

Ghost lineage

Phylogenetic lineage that is inferred to exist but has no fossil record

What are the other species names that some researchers would assign to particular regional/temporal variations of H. erectus?

Pithecanthropus erectus Upright ape man Indonesian fossil Sinanthropus pekinensis Zhoukoudian, China

Polyandry

Polygamy in which females have more than one male as mate

How does this fossil conflict with genetic dating of our lineage?

Problem is that it tells us that primates existed before the cretaceous mass extinction

What is relative dating?

Puts geologic events in chronological order without requiring that a specific numerical age be assigned to each event

How are New World monkeys (NWMs) thought to have gotten to the Americas?

Rafts of vegetation or via island hopping

What are the downsides to eating raw foods and the benefits of cooking?

Raw food Hard to digest and chew Harder to get energy Cook Freeze up humans to hunt in social structure can grow a bigger brain Can have more energy for immune system and to walk around Time spent chewing less time

What might canine reduction suggest about the social system of our ancestors? Are there other explanations for canine reduction?

Reduction in kind of competition for access to mates that characterizes other great apes Cultural changes such as multifaceted and universal cultural institution of marriage, which binds families of male and female together in a long term commitment or fashion in which competition was displayed (wealth, class, and etc affects choice of mate so maybe that's why it reduced)

What are some possible sources of assistance for a mother with two young offspring?

Relatives or grandmother figure Adult males

What are some of the consequences of our delayed maturation (relative to other apes)?

Saddled down by the children can't find resources as easily need to be helped by relatives

How do we know that Lucy is female?

Small size Knew that like primates, hominids tended to be sexually dimorphic

What features are shared by Lucy and modern humans?

Spine connection beneath the skull to keep head steady Robust and broad basin shaped pelvis to support the upper body and hold it upright Angled thigh bones that place the weight directly over strong knee joints Compact and arched feet that support the full body weight with each step

Extant

Still in existence, surviving

Alloparenting

System of parenting in which individuals other than the parents act in a parental role

What is more likely to be preserved in the fossil record: bones or teeth? Why?

Teeth are better preserved because has a durable mineral called hydroxyapatite, makes teeth much better than bones at withstanding chemical and physical degradation

Oldowan

The earliest well characterized hominin stone tool industry, present in the terminal Pliocene and Lower Pleistocene. This tool complex is characterized by a simple core flake set of tools

What is strange about the preservation/fossilization environment of H. naledi, relative to other South African fossil sites?

The fossil was just lying on the ground Everyone is hominid Just lying in dirt Skull just sitting in dirt on a floor

Foramen magnum

The hole in the base of the skull through which the spinal cord passes

How is sociality particularly beneficial to infants/juveniles?

The infants and or juveniles play with one another, developing motor skills as well as social skills to survive and reproduce in a social setting

Occlusion

The interdigitation or fitting together of opposing upper and lower teeth

Dentin

The mineralized hard tissue that comprises most of the root and the crown underlying the enamel cap

Enamel

The mineralized hard tissue that comprises the outer cap of the tooth crown for most mammals

Secondary morphology

The teeth function most efficiently when worn

What are some of the ways dental enamel varies? What can this tell us about the food a primate might have been adapted to eating?

Thicker enamel Should prevent a crown from flexing and cracking in a high stress environment Microstructure of the enamel can affect the strength and resistance to breakage Enamel is structured like parallel rods or prisms , the pattern by which these undulate and interweave can help slow or stop the spread of cracks through the enamel layer

Sex biased dispersal

Where individuals of one sex stay or return to their natal site or group to breed while individuals of the other sex are prone to disperse

What do the bones of Ardi's hands and feet suggest about her locomotor repertoire?

Wrist joints wre not stiff as those of african apes, and bones of palm were short Meaning no knuckle walk or swing beneath tree branches Foot more rigid than chimp Meaning upright walking and careful climbing and walking on branches Long curving fingers and opposable big two suggest tree grabbing

Fission fusion society

individuals from a large community associate on daily basis in small flexible parties that change size and membership frequently

How long is Lucy's femur? How tall was she?

1 meter or 3 and ½ ft tall 12 in, 280 mm

What are the various estimates of the dates during which the last common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees/bonobos lived? What are they based on/why do they differ?

8 and 5 Ma and probably closer to 5 than to 8 Ma. and 8 to 13 MA( this consideres mutation but not as likely at the 8 to 5 estimate) If the observed genetic differences are calibrated using paleontological evidence for the split between the apes and the old world monkeys, and if make the assumption that DNA differences are neutral

Approximately when does Begun believe the ape ancestor of the great ape and human lineage returned to Africa?

9 million year ago

Grooming

A characteristic primate social behavior in which the hands are used to search through the fur for ectoparasites and debris which are then removed

What are some of the problems with identifying the earliest fossil apes?

A deficient fossil record. There are few Oligocene sites in Africa that represent the appropriate time period, and although there are several early Miocene sites, many of their catarrhine taxa are poorly represented, particularly in the postcranium. The length of time since the origin of Hominoidea. Basal members of a taxon may bear little resemblance to extant forms because they often retain numerous primitive features. For example, a very early ape could have been pronograde even if the last common ancestor of living apes had evolved adaptations for upright posture. Potential synapomorphies between stem and crown hominoids are thus expected to be few. The long periods of evolution in extant lineages may have been individually unique such that modern taxa retain few defining synapomorphies, or some of their presumed synapomorphies may be parallelisms. The evolutionary history of morphological transformation may not be appropriately resolved, leading to conflicting phylogenetic interpretations.

Synapomorphy

A derived character state shared by multiple lineages. To be contrasted with symplesiomorphy: a primitive condition shared by multiple lineages

Diagenesis

A general term variably used to describe the conditions and processes involved in turning biological and geological matter into rock or into a different rock

Persistence hunting

A hunting technique in which the hunters use walking, and tracking to their prey to the point of prey exhaustion

Age graded dominance structure

A pattern in which the oldest and most dominant male in a group prevents the younger, subordinate males from copulating with females and thus achieves a reproductive monopoly

Why is "virtual anthropology" a potentially important advance for the field of paleoanthropology?

Able to touch the real thing All have the ability to make more production and to have access

What is numerical or absolute dating? What are some methods used for absolute dating?

Absolute dating Provide chronological estimates of the age of certain geological materials associated with fossils, and even direct age measurements of the fossil material itself Radiometric dating methods Based on natural radioactive decay of certain elements like potassium and carbon as reliable clocks to date ancient event Electron spin resonance and thermoluminescence Assess the effects of radioactivity on accumulation of electrons in imperfections or traps in crystal structure of a mineral

What are some of the characteristics of primates with a solitary social system? What are some examples of primates with this type of system?

Adult male's territory overlaps the territory of one or more adult females, but each individual forages along and maintains social contact mainly through vocal and or olfactory communication Nocturnal Polygynous (each male mates with multiple females) Ex. galagos, lorises, some lemurs, some tarsiers, and orangutans

How old is Ardipithecus ramidus and where were these fossils found?

Afar depression of Ethiopia, 4.4 million year old

Approximately when has it been suggested that apes first migrated into Eurasia, how did this take place, and along what route did they travel?

Afropithecus from kenya made its way 16.5 million years ago Gloval sea levels dropped exposing a bridge between africa and euroasia Many other creature traveled, basically exodus Passed through Saudi Arabia

Describe a multi-level society and provide some examples of primates with this type of system.

Aka hierarchical or modular society Ex. baboons, geladas, snub nosed monkeys, few other mammals like elephants Three levels of social structure One male unit (the band and troop and herd) Reproductive unit and consists of one leader male, sometimes as follower male, and several females Ecological unit that forages and sleeps together and is temporary aggregation at sleeping site or foraging area At risk of takeover by bachelor males who may commit infanticide

What does an understanding of primate teeth and plant fracture properties allow us to do?

Allow to teach about the diets of our distant ancestor

What are some of the issues other researchers have raised about Ardi's place as an upright walker and/or a hominin?

Among primates and only humans and our close relatives were habitual bipeds and because of lucy its shaky Because pelvis was crushed people think that traits of the foot and the original pelvis is the evidence not the reconstruction

Ethmo-frontal sinus

An epithelial lined cavity of the ethmoid bone that extends into the frontal bone

What did Sargis contribute to the interpretation of the fossils that Bloch found?

Anatomical data on the tree shrew close relative of primates

What type of environment did Ardi live in?

Ancient floodplain covered in sylvan woodlands, climbing among hackberry, fig, and palm trees, and coexisting with monkeys, kudu antelopes, and peafowl

Hominoid

Any member of family hominidae, comprised of orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos and humans, as well as extinct relatives

Hylobatids

Any member of family hylobatidae, comprised of gibbons, siamangs and their extinct relatives

How many NWM families are there? What is a distinguishing feature of each (you can write down more than one if you choose, especially if the different subfamilies vary a lot from each other)?

Aotus (owl monkeys or douroucoulis) Single genus Aotus 13 taxa Panama to northern argentina Only nocturnal anthropoids Small, round head, large eyes, inconspicuous ears, forelimbs are shorter than hind limbs and have long bushy nonprehensile tails, quadrupedal locomotion Frugivorous, sometimes consume leaves, insects and flowers Socially monogamous 4-6 individuals group: adult pair, infant, juvenile and one or two subadults Atelidae Largest NWMs Two subfamilies Alouatta One genus (howler monkey) More folivorous than most NWMs and minimize energy expenditure through slow quadrupedal locomotion and low levels of activity Small groups that include different species exhibiting different mating systems Loudest terrestrial mammals, modified larynx, cup shaped hyoid bone. Atelinae More energetic that other subfamily Largely frugivorous Use long limbs to travel rapidly over long distances by brachiation Bigger brains than alouatta 4 genera Spider monkeys (Ateles) Live in fission fusion societies- individuals from a large community associate on daily basis in small flexible parties that change size and membership frequently Woolly monkeys (lagothrix), yellow-tailed wooly monkeys (oreonax), and muriquis (Brachyteles) Live in large groups (up to 50 individuals) contains multiple reproductive males Long prehensile tails Callitrichidae Smallest of NWMs 7 genera and 62 taxa From Panama to southern Brazil. Small and has claw like nails except on the big toe Use for vertical clinging on tree trunks Long trunks, limbs, and tails, quadrupedal running and jumping Frugivores and small animal predators Consume plant exudates Marmosets Specialist feeders exhibit adaption to ferment and digest gum Live in larger groups compared to tamarins Tamarins Live in social groups of up to 20 individuals Exhibit monogamy, polygyny, polygynandry, and polyandry Cebidae Two subfamilies ( Cebinae (capuchin monkey) and Saimiriine (squirrel monkey) ranging from Central America to Argentina Small to medium sized monkeys Cebids Arboreal quadrupeds Tail is semi prehensile Insectivore-frugivores Large brains for body size Large home ranges Smaller groups 10-27 Saimiriinae Tail is not semi prehensile Large groups 15-75 Pitheciidae Two subfamilies, 4 genera and 51 taxa Predominantly herbivorous Quadrupedal locomotion and lack prehensile tails Sakis (chiropotes) Range in size Elusive and little known primates that live in small groups and specialize on fruit and seeds Bearded Sakis (pithecia) Extraordinary bouffant hair and pronounced beard Bigger bodies Specialized seed predators Wedge shaped canines and powerful jaws Larger groups 20-30 individuals Uakaris (Cacajao) Similar to sakis in body size, group size and having specialized teeth for diet of seeds and hard fruits Short tail Two types of uakaris: black headed and bald with bright face Titis (Callicebus) 31 species smaller bodied than other pithecines Small family groups of single monogamous adult pair Eat fruits, leaves, flowers, insects, bird eggs and small vertebrates

What are some of Australopithecus sediba's human-like features? What about the ape-like ones?

Ape Foot Tiny brain, long arms Chimpanzee size body Narrow birth canal Human Ankle joint Short fingers, long thumb that may be used for precision gripping Brain that begun to reorganize more like a human's

How do arboreal and terrestrial quadrupeds use their hands differently? How does knuckle-walking differ from both of them?

Arboreal Hands help them to crawl and grab branches Terrestrial Helps walk on ground and get food Knuckle walking is used to actually walk

What species is the likely ancestor of Australopithecus sediba?

Australopithecus africanus

What are some of the digestive specializations of folivorous primates?

Biochemical convergence in the structure of the enzyme lysozyme which breaks down the cell walls of plants that gives their enzyme some of the properties of the cows version of the enzyme. Symbiotic bacteria in their stomachs to help detoxify food Extended passageways for food to maximize ability to extract nutrients

What are the different species concepts discussed by the authors and how can they be divided into two types?

Biological species concept (BSC) Stresses reproductive isolation, so not a stand alone Evolutionary species concept (ESC) To add temporal dimension to BSC, a species is an ancestral descendant sequence of populations evolving separately from others and with its own evolutionary role and tendencies Recognition species concept (RSC) Shuns reproductive isolation and instead focuses on process that promote inbreeding Two main pattern based species concepts Phenetic species concept (peSC) Gives equal weight to all aspects of phenotype by assembling matrix of characters and then uses multivariate analysis to detect clusters of individual specimens that share similar phenotypes Phylogenetic species concept (pySC) Emphasizes only the diagnostic aspect of phenotype Smallest aggregation of population diagnosable by unique combination of character states

Where and when does the first well-accepted evidence for hominin carnivory come from? Where and when does the oldest disputed evidence come from?

Butchery marks found on bones 2.6 MA at the site Gona

What are shearing quotients and what can they tell us about diet? What is their limitation when it comes to the fossil record?

Calculation of summed length of crest running up and over individual cusps relative to the mesiodistal length of the tooth as a whole Longer the crest (taller or sharper the cusps) higher the shearing quotient Folivores have higher shearing quotients than frugivores Eating harder foods mean smaller shearing quotient Problem is that it works well with unworn molars but not with worn down

What are the benefits of carnivory?

Calorie dense resources with essential amino acids and micronutrients Aquatic fauna offer resources rich in nutrients needed for brain growth

Why/how might infanticide be a reproductive strategy?

Can find the most strong mate and father for babies

How can the different types of variation (from question 3 and others) be used to understand the fossil record?

Can tell about age from teeth and brain Sex can be determined by the pelvis Flat or bridged faces tell the areas or part of the land people came from Can tell by the damage to the skeleton how they died, types of food, diseases and or broken bones, or stress etc Temporal Geographic Sexual dimorphic Teeth Maturity Normal range within organisms Abnormal range of variation

What is the compromise between fossil and genetic dating? What does it rely on?

Can't study the DNA or proteins of the earliest primates but the skeletal traits might signal how fast or slow molecular rates of change were progressing. Rely on body size, absolute endocranial volume, and relative endocranial volume

How is chronological age determined? What was determined to be the chronological age of Nariokotome Boy?

Checking the enamel thickness 8 years old

What caused the extinction of most of the Miocene apes and what allowed the survivors to persist?

Climate changes Sivapithecus and dryopithecus survived by moving south of the tropic of cancer, into southeast asia from china and into the african tropics from europe

Assemblage

Collection or gathering of people or things

Analogy

Comparison between two things typically for purpose of explanation or clarification

Summarize the argument between Coyne and Dunsworth. Given what we know about primates, why was Coyne's argument problematic?

Coyne Evolutionary geneticist Proximate cause of argument was from friend: Primacy of culture over biology-specifically differential levels of testosterone in males-in explaining patterns of human violence His argument: differences in male body size, relative to females are clear product of evolution and an aspect of biology, and are clearly not just correlated but also causal of aspects of male behavior, particularly elevated rates of male aggressive behavior These characteristic differences between human males and females are almost assuredly result of sexual selection Holly Dunsworth Framing the narrative of human body size dimorphism strictly from the perspective of selection on male body size and male reproductive behaviors are biasing ourselves towards male centric hypotheses Male aggressive behavior is to create a dominance effect and not all primates have that effect Females can be dominant in certain cases

What are the steps a fossil goes through on its way to becoming a fossil (what conditions are favorable for fossilization)? What can happen at each stage to derail this process?

Death Primate dies, might happen in a habitat Neglect Carcass is largely neglected until buried Not entirely destroyed by predators and scavengers, trampled by other organisms, washed down riverbed, not completely recycled into ecosystem More favorable rather than very dismantled bones Burial Buried by geologic process Sediment can't be too acidic Places where lack microorganisms Chances of fossilization improves if: water and air are moving or other events like volcanic eruption deposit soil, sand, mud, ash, or dust on the landscape Fossilization Once buried the matrix of organic materials that comprised the living primate can begin to disintegrate or to chemically change along the matrix Process is called diagenesis

Basin (tooth)

Depressed area or hollow on the occlusal surface, often enclosed or surrounded by cusps or crest

What are the two main reasons that many NWM taxa are endangered?

Destruction of habitat hunting

Radiometric dating

Determination of the absolute age of rocks and minerals using certain radioactive isotopes

What is dental topographic analysis, how does it work, and what can it tell us about diet?

Developed keeping in mind that most teeth are worn and that wear in ways that keep them functionally efficient Occlusal surfaces are represented as clouds of points using laser scanner or other device and these point clouds are imported to geographic info systems software packages Can be compared to primates with known diets

How did researchers decide to create a new species in which to include Lucy?

Did not recognize the species Fragmentary bones of the hindlimb were sufficiently similar to the knee joint to support hypothesis that she was a biped. Teeth and pelvis demonstrated that she was hominin Found other hominids around the area and looked closely at the variation, but still found nothing

Polyspecific group

Different species stick together Permits greater predator protection without competition Mutual defense, finding food resources, scrounging

Leaping

Different varieties Strepsirhine Tarsiers Known for forceful upward parabolic leaps Have Long femora Knee is tall antero posterior height and High lateral patellar rim

Sexual dimorphism

Distinct difference in size or appearance between the sexes of an animal in addition to difference between sexual organs themselves

Autapomorphy

Distinctive feature, known as a derived trait, that is unique to a given taxon

Do non-human primates have language and/or culture?

Don't have linguistic capabilities, trait is polymorphic meaning some will have so its not generalized so no evidence Same with culture, highly debated about and takes away from what primates do have

Which of the fossils was the most primitive? What single primate feature did it have?

Dryomys, had the shape of the teeth of primates

What living genera of apes have Dryopithecus and Sivapithecus been linked to?

Dryopithecus Related to ape known a ouranopithecus from greece and that one of these two european genera was likely ancestor of african apes and humans Sivapithecus Asian genera

Where are the earliest H. erectus fossil sites and how old are they? Where is the earliest H. erectus site outside of Africa and how old is it? Where is the youngest H. erectus fossil site and how old is it?

Earliest in Africa Koobi Fora, Kenya 1.9-1.2 million years ago Earliest outside of Africa Dmanisi, Georgia 1.8-1.7 million years ago Youngest Ngandong, Indonesia .2-.05 million years ago

What was one of the key adaptations of Homo? What does this type of diet allow for?

Eating broad range of food was an adaption Flexibility to thrive in many different environments

Gumnivory

Eating sap or gum of tree

What types of environments are cercopithecines found in? Where, geographically, are they found?

Ecologically flexible, widespread More arboreal and semi terrestrial Open habitat, forest dwellings, sub saharan forests, geladas, lowland rainforest, mountains, temples and cities, tropical, can occur in snowy areas

What differentiates fission-fusion communities from multi-male multi-female groups? What are some examples of primates with this type of system?

Ex. chimps, bonobos, spider monkeys, some other dateline monkeys Less cohesive than typical multi male multi female groups Occupy large home ranges Temporary foraging parties cleave and coalesce over time with changes in resource availability and female reproductive condition Typically characterized by female dispersal and male philopatry

Encephalization

Expansion of the brain relative to body size. Encephalization represents an increase in proportional resources dedicated to the growth, development, and maintenance of brain activities

How do we know that Lucy's skeleton is that of a single individual?

Expect to find more fossils if it was more than one individual Had the same type of color Skeleton fossil fragments had similar appearance

How can one best generalize about cercopithecine diets?

Flexible with diet can eat anything

What features might have allowed early Eurasian apes to diversify rapidly?

Food processing abilities, massive jaw and big teeth

Foraging theory

Foods in optimal diet set are expected to be consumed whenever encountered

What are some of the morphological adaptations of humans for bipedalism?

Foot redesigned for bearing weight: ankle or tarsal bones themselves large, and ligaments binding the forming rigid arch Metatarsal bones straight and stout, end is extended into a ball Hallux aligned with the rest of toes Distal phalanx is enlarged Kees facing forwards, inner part is larger (bearing body's weight to a much greater extent), entire joint rotated inward (orienting hip, knee, and ankle in same direction. Tibia is longer and twisting or torsion of tibia helps Hip socket larger and rounder, neck of femur is thicker, pelvis itself assumes a bowl shape with blade of ilium being more short and broad Extra curve in lumbar region, realigning the sacrum so that it lies in front of the hip socket Rib cage positioned fully in front of vertebral column Smaller spinous process on cervical vertebrae

Is the hominin fossil record always likely to underestimate or overestimate the number of species that actually lived? Why?

Fossil record is predominantly confined to remains of hard tissues. We know from living animals that many uncontested species are difficult to distinguish using bones and teeth so reason to suspect the fossil record is confined to hard tissues. Which because of differential preservation focuses on cranial and dental evidence, is always likely to underestimate the number of species 1

What features unite living hominoids?

Habitual orthograde and below branch behaviors: broad torsos with widely spaced shoulder joints, stiff backs, long forelimbs, mobile limb joints, strong grasping ability, and absence of a tail Wide anterior palates and relatively large brains Extended life spans with delayed maturation

What type of social system do the tamarins and marmosets have? What are its features?

Have one female multi male groups characterized by cooperative breeding One female breeds and that female suppresses the reproduction of any subordinate females via aggression and or pheromonal signals Polyandrous- more than one breeding male Participate in offspring care This is also called cooperative polyandry

What are the traits that unite the authors' definition of "archaic hominins?"

Have relatively larger chewing teeth (premolars and molars) and primitive postcranial skeleton than premodern Homo Predominantly bipedal, but upper limb suggest they were regular climbers

How does paleontological discovery take place?

Have to look for rocks dated back to the time period Takes pics of the area If free of vegetation usually the area

Why might having a prehensile tail be advantageous in an arboreal environment?

Helps stabilize when moving between trees and during large gaps

Why is knowing the age of a fossil important?

Helps to determine context Must be determined to be compared to other fossil species from the same time period Helps piece together the evolutionary history of a group of organisms

What adaptations do colobines have for folivory?

High cusped molars and multi chambered stomachs housing mutualistic microbes that digest cellulose and detoxify plant defensive compounds

Anthropoid

Higher primate, especially an ape or apeman Resembling a human being in form

Describe Ardi's pelvis. Why do some scientists think it is was a facultative/transitional biped?

Hip bone Short and broad key indicating bipedalism Lower half is much longer than a human suggesting climbing Think that she was a creature in transition because of this but she could not walk as well as us

Would you call Ardipithecus a hominid or a hominin? Why?

Hominin If you think it's a hominid Ecological divergence of the human is biologically more significant than the temporal divergence of the orangutan Genetic similarity between human and ape is outweighed by the behavioral, anatomical, and ecological differences, then you should call it hominid too so both?

What are the various different ways proposed that the hominin tree can be redrawn to incorporate Au. sediba?

Hominin with australopithecines rather than with Homo Can be a probable ancestor to homolate member of Au. africanus If au.africanus lead to au. Sediba, both were probably ancestral to homo and au. Africanus would be restored to its old branch on the human family tree leading directly to humans

When was the hominoid-cercopithecoid split? When was the hylobatidae-hominoid split?

Hominoid-cercopithecoid 29.6 Ma Hylobatidae-hominoid 18.8 Ma

What features of A. sediba are australopith-like? What features are Homo-like?

Homo Shape of pelvis and ankle joint Long thumb and short fingers

What is "human nature?" Can we disentangle this from outside (social, political, cultural, economic) forces? What does Marks say about this and what do you think?

Human characteristics, the uniqueness about us and attributes We can disentangle from outside forces Marks says that from an epistemological standpoint we can't accurately say that certain attributes or action is due to human nature... because we can't explain why the 15% let's say of people who don't follow that action. It's more based on the culture than anything

Eugene Dubois

Identified and described new human like set of indonesian fossils at the end of 19th century naming it pithecanthropus erectus or upright, ape man

What is one of the most reliable ways to determine developmental age for a subadult individual? Using this method (and comparing him to a modern humans, to produce an upper age limit), approximately how old was Nariokotome Boy when he died?

Identifying changes that occur at predictable rates or ages Eruption of teeth most reliable Eruption for certain teeth occur in a regular pattern 10-11 years old

Why do Berger and colleagues suggest that A. sediba could be the ancestor to Homo? Why are they unlikely to be correct?

If it gave rise to homo species

What is wrong about the idea of a "missing link?"

Implies there is one ancestor that uniquely forms the bridge or link between our common ancestor with the african apes and ourselves.

What are the four derived traits associated with H. erectus discussed in the article? What do they suggest about this species?

Increased body size That they are similar to humans in the idea that we have growth spurts Increased brain size/encephalization Slightly bigger head compared to earlier hominins Increase technological/ecological intensification Needed more energy and thus more food compared to previous homins Making tools to kill for food Reduced postcanine dentition size Ate varied amount of food Did not have to be robust

Agonistic

Involving aggression, or the threat of aggression, and submission

Matriline

Is a line of descent from a female ancestor to a descendant of either sex in which the individuals in all intervening generations are mothers- in other words a mother line.

Climbing

Is an ancient arboreal adaptation for primates Some divide climbing into two locomotor categories: vertical climbing and clambering Climbing is restricted to ascending or descending a vertical support whereas clambering is moving obliquely through a network of smaller branches (this is more popular among primates. Bridging Unusual movement pattern often associated with climbing movements

Matrix

It is the sediment or the rock surrounding bones or fossils

Primate Grasping

Key components Nails instead of claws Several large intrinsic and extrinsic muscles devoted to digital flexion and grasping Mobile joint surfaces that allowed hand and foot rotations Opposable first digit Wide fingers and toes Broad palms or soles Palmigrade hands (all parts of the palm of a hand are flat against a substrate during locomotion) Active grasping and climbing structure Can have different types of posture of hands Digitigrade, knuckle walking, fist walking, suspensory hand positions.

What features characterize the premodern Homo grade?

Lack derived and distinct size and shape of modern human cranium and the gracility of the modern human postcranial skeleton, but all of the included taxa have limb proportions that resemble those of modern humans, and postcranial morphology that is consistent with obligate bipedalism Teeth a little larger and jaws are somewhat more robust thant those of anatomically modern Homo

Below branch behaviors/suspension

Locomotor or postural behaviors in which the bod is suspended under a substrate by the hands, feet or tail

What are some of the characteristics that Dryopithecus (which has been split into several different genera since this article was published) and Sivapithecus share with living great apes? Where have each of these fossil genera been found?

Long, strongly built jaws that housed large incisors, bladelike canines, and long molars and premolars with relatively simple chewing surfaces, possess shortened snouts, reflecting reduced importance of olfaction in favor of vision Sivapithacus thrived in Asia, producing offshoots in turkey, pakistan, india, nepal, china, and southeast asia Dryopithecus evolve and span the region from northwestern spain to the republic of georgia

Acheulean

Lower and middle pleistocene homin stone tool industry. The Acheulean tool complex is often characterized by high percentage of bifacially flaked stone cores and presence of tear drop shaped tools referred to as hand axes

Compliance

Lowering of body's centre of mass relative to the force of the impact

What tool type emerges around 1.4 million years ago?

Make a special triangular type of biface known as a handax

Polygyny

Man has more than one female mate

Monogamy

Mated with one animal for life

What two things make up a social system? What is a mating system?

Mating system Pattern of mating among members of each sex Social structure Size and composition of a typical group of that species Social organization How those individuals are organized (agonistic and affiliative, philopatry, and dispersal)

What features unite the megadont and hyper megadont archaic hominin grade?

Megadont Criterion for inclusion in this grade ar e postcanine tooth crown that are either large, both absolutely and relatively or excessively large. Hypermegadont Postcanine teeth of Paranthropus robustus are not larger than those of Au. Africanus, but those of East African taxa are substantially larger, hence they hypermegadont

Electron spin resonance

Method of measuring the change int he magnetic field or spin, of atoms; the change in the spin of atoms is caused by the movement and accumulation of electrons from their normal position to positions in imperfections on the crystal structure of a mineral as a result of radiation

What is group size and composition like in colobines? And what might this suggest about social interactions in Asian colobines?

Moderate size (10-20) Multiple adult females 1-2 adult males Asian colobines Live with large groups of males 25-50 or 20 male units Suggest that Males take care of the young and no competition for females

What were some of the pressures that likely drove the adaptive radiation of primates?

More amount of fruit in the world

What observations can you make about the way Lucy walks compared to the chimpanzee and the modern human?

More sway of the hips compared to human Bipedal compared to chimp More outward pointed toes

Why is it important, as good scientists, to be aware of our own potential blind spots?

More than just passive accumulation of observations and methodological interpretation Good is aware and constantly attentive to our own role and biases as observers, and our obligation to convey the knowledge we produce hand in hand with limitation Practices work to ensure that knowledge science produces really is giving us a better understanding of the world

What feature suggested to Bloch and Boyer that they were looking at an early primate?

Nail like structure

Endemic

Native or restricted to a certain country or area

What is the conclusion (hint: in a nutshell) of the journal article that this write-up is about?

Need to know how to define the species There is a hypothesis that there are two parallel lineages

What NWMs are terrestrial?

None all are arboreal

Why was the discovery of Lucy important? What can you tell if you have numerous skeletal elements from a single individual? What are some of her human-like features? What about ape-like ones?

Notable for being the clearest and oldest evidence of bipedalism, and therefore, of the origin of the human lineage The body proportion Ape Long arms and short legs Brain Toes and fingers were long and curved like an apes Human Structure of knees and pelvis told us she walked upright Molar teeth were large and had thick enamel

Post depositional variation

Post archeological use so

Pronograde

Posture in which the trunk is positioned approximately horizontally

What are some of the practical and social considerations involved in paleoanthropology?

Practical Process Die Not be eaten or attacked by other creatures Fossilize Needs to be covered up in not too acidic dirt And be found Most likely found in remote areas Needs to be meaningful Paleontology need to be informed by anatomy and geology but by archeology, paleoecology and taphonomy Social Global political issues to be considered Some regions seems like colonization Governments insist that fossils remain in country sabotage

Bush meat

Primate meat eaten by poor people

What do you think Mark is getting at in the first section of this chapter (What primates can and can't tell us)?

Primates have had impact on humans in good ways and bad ways That we aren't really figuring out if chimps are actually behaviorally and mentally acting like humans. That is why it is important to separating the animals from human contact. Problem is they are going extinct because of deforestation, bushmeat, cannibalism Captivity helps because it protects their population and shows how certain diseases work

How does radiometric dating work?

Radiometric dating Based on natural radioactive decay of certain elements like potassium and carbon as reliable clocks to date ancient event All element's have protons and neutrons some isotopes are not stable meaning changes number of protons and neutrons which is radioactive decay

Potassium-argon dating

Radiometric dating technique that uses the decay of 39K and 40 Ar in potassium bearing minerals to determine the absolute age

What are the three common lines of evidence for suggesting that Sahelanthropus tchadensis, Orrorin tugenensis, Ardipithecus kadabba, and Ardipithecus ramidus are hominins? Which taxa are supported by which lines) of evidence? How strong is each case?

Reduction in size and change in morphology of the canines, which is linked with partial or complete loss of upper canine or lower first premolar honing, and reduced canine sexual dimorphism Location and orientation of the foramen magnum and inferences about posture and gait Involves feature of pelvis and other preserved postcranial elements that imply a dependence of bipedalism. Ar. kadabba: weak because it has sparse fossil record, its teeth are apelike, and there is not enough evidence to be sure it is committed to biped O. tugenesis: evidence from internal morphology of femoral neck is equivocal. S.tchadensis and Ar. ramidus is stronger but not compelling: age could also be aginst them being hominins

What makes this fossil taxon morphologically interesting?

Represents hominins experimenting with different modes of bipedal locomotion. Had australopithecine sized brain, but a body size similar to that of small bodied populations of modern humans Postcranial morphology includes mosaic of primitive and derived features. Trunk, shoulder, pelvis, and proximal femur more like australopith like Wrist, foot, and lower limb are more human like

What are some of the suggested reasons for why Lucy (and her species) might have come down to the ground?

Savannahs were gradually opening up, so trees were spaced further apart. Search for food

Active/confrontational scavenging

Scavenging from a carcass that involves confronting or chasing a predator in order to obtain resources from that carcass. Can yield a variety of amounts of different carcass resources (meat, marrow, brains) depending on whether another predator(s) had access to that carcass first and the sizes and species of other predators) and prey carcass. Often (incorrectly) assumed to yield more resources than passive scavenging.

Passive scavenging

Scavenging from an animal carcass that was killed by another predator, or that died of natural causes. Can yield a variety of amounts of different carcass resources (e.g. meat, marrow, brains) depending on whether another predator(s) had access to that carcass first and the sizes and species of the predators) and prey carcass.

What does Marks mean when he says "the present is the key to the past?"

Scientific inferences based on phenomena that are observable and manipulable (such as the muscles involved in movement and how they relate to the form of different parts of the body) are what permit us to understand things that happened long ago (such as inferring bipedalism from the form of the australopithecine pelvis)

What are some of the postcranial features of Proconsul?

Several partial skeletons and has been reconstructed as an above branch quadruped, with pronograde trunk, but seems to have lacked a tail. Enhanced grasping ability, greater mobility in joints like elbow, relative to primitive catarrhines and cercopithecoids,

What are the different types or causes of variation that we see in the human skeleton?

Sexual dimorphism Male and female have different sizes and can cause changes in the skeletal make up by making bigger or smaller bone structure Pelvis can give it away too Ontology Sutures of the brain becomes obliterated during course of life Teeth growth changes Geographic variation Skull traits that show geographic locations Paleoanthropology Damage to the bone

Where on the foot contacts the ground first in RFS, MFS, and FFS? What happens in these different running styles? Which seems to better protect against injury?

Shod runners today make initial contact with the ground heel first (RFS) Barefoot runners land on the ground in many ways depending on conditions Sometimes RFS, but more often avoiding landing heel first because it hurts owing to repetitive, high impact forces (anterior landing on flat foot mid foot striking MFS Most runners run on forefeet FFS FFS protects from most injury because of the less force

What might drive the difference between sifaka and tarsier leaping?

Sifaka Longer legs Seems like it just relies more on legs and they use less hands Tarsier Smaller Equal leg parts Can change and stay on trees more

Approximately when did the last common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees live?

Six million to eight million years ago

What might the social system of Australopithecus afarensis been like?

Small social group

What are some of the chewing adaptations of Paranthropus?

Smaller canines, smaller incisors, thick molar enamel, and a much greater emphasis on the rear teeth Immense rear teeth, the muscle to drive them, and the jaws to hold them Robust head

What are some of the benefits of living in a social group?

Social group living Coordinate activities, communicate with one another, interact in both affiliative (friendly) and agonistic (aggressive or submissive) ways. Gregarious- forming social bonds and interacting with each other frequently Grooming is a common social activity that helps with hygienic function Living in big groups decreases risk of falling victim to predation More individuals looking out for predators Living in a group decreases each individual's chance of being preyed upon due to effect called geometry of selfish herd (larger group, lower chances of dying from predation) Can drive predators away with numbers Will have easier time finding food because so many looking at once and will be in the same area Defense for food or water or sleeping sites Easier to find mates Can help with fitness benefits and longevity

Dominance hierarchy

Social structure within a group of animals in which certain individuals are dominant over others, and are therefore able to claim access to better resources in the form of food, mates, shelter, and other desirable commodities

How does Marks explain the current trend toward splitting in paleoanthropology (both in terms of the "moral economy" and in terms of cladistics)?

Splitter Interpreting the variation between the fossil as being indicative of different species splitting fossils into too many distinct taxa Moral economy The professional assets and liabilities Allows people to have found the first something Because it's good if you acknowledge or find something that is new for yourself to get somewhere in life Cladistics Based on the idea that sharing a derived trait is indicative of a recent common ancestry Most favored Doesn't work below the species level Derived trait can be transmitted through comon descent Requires that parallel evolution be rare in relation to divergent evolution, so shared derived trait reflects the intimacy of common ancestry rather than coincidence of similar environmental pressures or similar mutation Lumpers Tend to lump the fossils into too few distinct taxa

What is the principle of faunal succession? How can it be used to date fossils?

States that different fossil species always appear and disappear in the same order, and that once a fossil species goes extinct, it disappears and cannot reappear in younger rock Unidentified fossil is found in same rock layer as index fossil, two species must have existed during same period in time. Which means strata in each area were likely deposited at the same time.

What might cheek pouches be used for?

Storage of food

What are the principles of original horizontality, superposition, and cross-cutting relationships, and how do they enable the relative dating of strata? (Feel free to draw a picture.)

Strata Horizontal layers Sediment from rivers etc laid down in layers Principle of superposition Builds on principle of original horizontality Undeformed sequence of sedimentary rocks, each layer of rock is older than the one above it and younger than the one below it Principle of cross cutting relationship Geologic features that cut across strata must have formed after the rocks they cut through This all allows events to be ordered at a single location Tells the age by where it is located

What are the differences between stress-limited and displacement-limited foods? What are some examples of each?

Stress-limited foods Hard brittle items which require substantial stress to initiate a crack, once cracked its easy Nuts and palm frond Displacement limited foods Typically tough items that may require little work to start a crack, but substantial energy to spread the crack through Raw meat and many mature leaves

Primate locomotion

Study of movements and postures in arboreal and terrestrial environments.

Palynology

Study of pollen grains and other spores, especially as found in archeological or geological deposits

Stratigraphy

Study of strata and their relationship

What can only be deduced and inferred from the fossil record?

Superposition Geographically recent materials generally found physically on top of older materials, Association Two artifacts found in the same geological layer or stratum are about the same age. By using these two laws can make up the fossil record by establishing relative dates of fossils and artifacts Radiocarbon dating

Philopatry

Tendency of an organism to stay in or habitually return to a particular area.

Position behavior

Term primatologists use to describe body postures with movements Resting positions When primate is static where they are sitting, standing or lying down Cantilevering When primates are vertical clinging, tail suspension, or foot hanging

Half life

The amount of time it takes for half of the parent isotopes to radioactively decay to daughter isotopes

Ontogeny

The branch of biology that deals with ontogenesis Development or course of development especially of an individual organism

Ossification

The hardened into a bony substance Natural process of bone formation

Why might some primates consume items that we would not typically think of as food (e.g., their own feces or charcoal)?

The only thing that they can eat with the recourses surrounding them

ecological niche

The overall set of relations that defines the place of a species within its environments. This includes the other organisms a species interacts with, such as prey or predators, as well as the physical habitats a species utilizes in its existence

Mating system

The patterns of sexual behavior characterizing a given species

Reciprocity

The practice of exchanging things with others for mutual benefit, especially privileges granted by one country or organization to another

Polytypic

The presence of multiple forms of a lineage across a species range

Radioactive decay

The process by which unstable isotopes transform to stable isotopes of the same or different element's by a change in the number of protons and neutrons in the atomic nucleus

Acetabulum

The socket of the hipbone, into which the head of the femur fits Cup shaped structure

Homology

The state of having the same or similar relation, relative position, or structure

Why might the stakes be symbolically so great in this field?

The worth you get when you find the information

Why do cercopithecines generally range farther than colobines?

Their food is scattered Spend more time socializing

Body size is complicated for locomotive studies

There are small and large brachiators, and small and large primates Can say though Larger primates are at greater risk to injury if they fall relative to smaller primates Frequent leaping seems to disappear above 10 kg, best primate leapers tend to be small Climbing is universal across primates, no matter their size

How do we know that Lucy was an adult when she died?

Third molars, or wisdom teeth had erupted and were even a little bit worn at the same time she died Usually taken out after being mature Between 12 and 18 years old Left os coxa (hip bone) and her limb bones show her maturity

What are prehensile tails used for?

To grasp, suspension and arboreal locomotion

Eco tourism

Tourism directed toward exotic, often threatened, natural environments, especially to support conservation efforts and observe wildlife

What is taphonomy?

Translated as laws of burial in greek Steps of fossilization

Old World Monkeys:

Two subfamilies Colobines Primarily arboreal Leaf eating with high cusped molars and multi chambered stomach Cercopithecines Old world monkeys difference to new world monkey Nostrils point downward and have only two premolars

What features suggest that Ardi walked upright?

Upper blades of ardi's pelvis are shorter and broader than in living apes, lowering her center of gravity so she could balance on one leg while walking. She was goof for climbing and upright walking making her facultative biped

How does the facultative bipedalism of the bonobo differ from the way that you walk upright?

Uses more to climb more vertical We use to walk horizontal

Trace fossil

When impressions of the once living organism are left behind, often preserving behavior such as locomotion and posture (foot and body prints) and diet (tooth pits on bones)

Why is understanding human size dimorphism so complicated?

When we look at fossil evidence for human body size/skeletal size dimorphism in our evolutionary past, evidence is incomplete Arguments about characteristic differences between different categories of things, like males and females, in a fossil context, are particularly sensitive to issues of sample size Number of fossils that come from same, time constrained geological layers, is even smaller, adding additional degree of uncertainty associated with time averaging Potential error that gets introduced when using limited samples to simultaneously infer multiple distributions of variance inferring human behavioral correlates with estimates of body size dimorphism in our past is difficult because humans are outliers to many larger primate pattern Anthropoid primates tend to be more dimorphic the larger they are, as a species, in terms of body size Human groups are quite a bit more variable than most well studied primate groups in both morphological end of things and behavioral end of things

What is the endurance running hypothesis?

Where Lucy, australopithecus afarensis had longer hind limbs and shorter toes with arched foot, suited to heel to toe walking and short rapid burst of sprinting , but was not a marathon runner

Why is it important to think about Piltdown Man as more than a whodunit/hoax? How did it affect the development of the field of paleoanthropology?

Whodunit aspect misses the important point. It was successful because it played to nationalistic expectations, scholars became heavily invested int he specimen to regard it skeptically, and nobody dared to challenge the authorities, sent the scholarly commity thinking incorrectly about human origins Our knowlege of differences from apes, order in which they eolved, and their plausible survival value for our ancestors Allowed to connect the dots

What anatomical features help gibbons brachiate?

Wider shoulders

What was the paleoenvironment where Ardi lived like? Why was this surprising?

Woodland not open savannah, small and a good climber Transition to bipedalism evidence

Coalition

a n alliance for combined action, especially a temporary alliance of political parties forming a government or of states

What makes Oreopithecus so unusual?

bipedal

Robust

strong , thick