What is a Hominin?
Bipedalism; Larger brain size; Dental/Dietary characteristics
3 big characteristics of hominins
Energy efficiency; Predation avoidance; Feeding from tall grass; Heat dispersal
4 theories of bipedalism
Hominid
All great apes
multiple
Because babies are born dorsally, the birthing process suggests ________ hominins
Convergent phallux
Big toe in line with other toes to provide balance
flexible
Changes in dental features allows for a _______ diet
Radiocarbon; K-Ar
Examples of absolute dating
Stratigraphy; Biostratigraphic
Examples of relative dating
Carrying angle
Femur is at an angle to knee so as to allow for stable balance (apes teeter-totter bc they don't have this)
Stratigraphy
Fossils from deeper depths are older than earlier layers
Framun magnum
Hole that connects spine and skull
dorsally
Hominin babies are born ________
Miocene; Pliocene; Pleistocene; Holocene
Hominin evolutionary epochs
Hominin
Humans
20,000
K-Ar dating is best used for samples older than __________ years
Molecular Clock
Location of genome where not a lot of selective pressure occurs; Accumulation of random mutation; Used to compare primates
inferior (beneath)
Location of hominin framun magnum
Bipedalism
Most definitive characteristic of a hominin
center of gravity
Muscles attach from hip to femur in order to shift ________ __ _______ while walking
Aligns center of gravity w/ skull, hips, and legs
Purpose of S-Curved spine
S-Curve; C-Curve
Shape of hominin spine vs. ape spine
anatomical changes
Shift from quadrupedalism to bipedalism leads to lots of _________ _________
Heel strike; Rotation; Toe off
Three stages of weight dispersion during walk
Occasional ; Habitual; Obligate
Three types of bipeds (order of development)
Curved arch; Reduced size of cheek teeth
Two dental characteristics
juvenile; post-productive
Two prolonged time periods in hominin life
Absolute
Type of dating in which age of fossil is a specific, numeric age
Relative
Type of dating in which age of fossil is relative to other fossils
Form-function complexes
Use living hominin anatomy to understand historic ancestors
Potassium Argon Dating
Used on volcanic rock
horizontally wide; vertically short
pelvis shape of hominin
