Study Outline for Test #3

Study Outline for Test #3

test 3 study outline, page 1

STUDY OUTLINE FOR TEST #3

(not guaranteed to be all inclusive)

(not guaranteed to be an all inclusive coverage of the material)

I. HOMINIDAE OF THE PLIO-PLEISTOCENE

bipedalism (see your notes and lab work for anatomical details) is the result of a set of derived feature shared by all hominids relative to other hominoids. It is present in all species of Australopithecus and Homo. Probably Ardipithecus too)

6 mya: Orrinturgenensis, earliest clearly hominid species to be given a formal name.

4.4mya Ardipithecusramidus, recently discovered, very primitive early hominid,

with an extremely chimp-like dentition. Evidence for bipedalism? see your notes.

4 to 3mya 1 species is known to be present in East Africa (Laetoli and Hadar)

Australopithecus afarensis. Combines apelike and humanlike features (see your notes, labs for details). Can be considered a "gracile" australopithecine

Kenyanthropusplatyops? (E. Turkana) Just announced and described last Spring. Meave Leakey says it indicates that the Homo lineage lineage was contemporary with and had already split off as a separate lineage by this time.

3 to 2mya At least two (possibly three) species are present in Africa.

Australopithecusafricanus in South Africa (Sterkfontein and Makapansgat). (see notes, labs for morphological details). Is considered a "gracile" australopithecine. Possible ancestor of Homo.

WT-17000 from West Turkana dated at 2.5 mya (based on comparison with Omo Pig fauna). It appears to represent an early form of robust australopithecine in East Africa. Robust mandibles from Omo at same time interval probably also belong to this species. The "Black Skull" has a mixture of A.afarensis and robust features (see notes, labs for details) it is a new species, the name would be A. aethiopicus.

A.africanus; or Homosp. There is some gracile hominid present in East Africa (Omo, East Turkana) during this time range. Known mostly from isolated teeth and mandibular fragments. It may be the same species as the Makapansgat and Sterfontein hominids. It could represent a transition between A.afarensis and Homo (which is presently documented at just prior to 2mya). See also Kenyapithecus above. It could represent an unknown species. Whatever it is, there is a high probability that it is the ancestor of Homo.

2.5 to 2mya Stone tools begin to show up at Omo, Hadar and Turkana. Crude but effective bashing, cutting and perhaps even woodworking implements were being produced by some hominids. Tools appear to become more common around 2mya. Associated with Australopithecusgahri?

2 to 1.6 mya at least 3 species of hominid are present in Africa.

Australopithecusrobustus A 'robust" hominid from South Africa (Swartkrans and Kromdraii) see your notes, labs for morphological traits.

Australopithecusboisei A 'robust" (actually “hyperrobust”) species from East Africa (Olduvai, East Turkana, Omo and other sites).

Homohabilis, Big brains, some with an australopithecine-like face. (see your notes for anatomical details). Often referred to as "early Homo", Either very

dimorphic or there may possibly be more than one species (Homorudolfensis is suggested name for other forms which have smaller brain but more Homo looking face) Associated with Olduwan tools.

1.6-1mya Three species of hominid are present in Africa.

A.robustus in South Africa.

A. boisei in East Africa.

Homoerectus in South and East Africa. What do some argue it was not present in Africa but rather a species called Homoergaster (see notes, labs for morphology). Easily derivable from early Homo. Associated with Achulean tools. Around 1mya ago or perhaps earlier, Homo spreads out of Africa into other parts of the old world and continues to evolve anagenetically for the next 700,000 or so years. Thus, the early part of hominid evolution involves a considerable amount of cladogenesis. The latter part of hominid evolution appears to involve more anagenesis but there is controversy about this.

PLIOCENE/PLEISTOCENE ADAPTATIONS:

What is the evidence for bipedalism in early hominid species?

What primitive, apelike features are found in the early hominids A. ramidus and A. afarensis?

What are some of the suggestions about why bipedalism evolved? What do the morphological and environmental evidence during the Plio-Pleistocene suggest about the adaptations of sepcies of Australopithecus and early Homo?

CULTURAL EVOLUTION:

What does the archaeological record at Turkana and Olduvai suggest about the technological skill and behavior of early Homo? How can we distinguish between home base sites, death sites, waterborne collections of bone, carnivore accumulations and hominid processing of bone? What is the characteristic tool of the Olduwan industry? Is there any evidence for cultural evolution represented in the Olduvai sequence? How does this compare with the evidence for morphological evolution in the same stratigraphic sequence? How is the archaeological record biased toward evidence for consumption of animal foods or exploitation of certain habitats? What does a skeptical approach suggest about "living floors" and "kill sites" as evidence for behavior in Homohabilis that was similar to modern hunter-gatherers? What is Potts' "Stone Cache Hypothesis"?

II. LOWER AND MIDDLE PLEISTOCENE HOMO MORPHOLOGY:

What are the diagnostic features of Homoerectus? (see notes for details)

How does it differ from earlier hominids? How does it differ from early forms of Homosapiens? See your notes, labs for details.

GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION: Where are remains of these hominids found? What does the distribution of Lower Paleolithic archaeological industries suggest about their distribution?

DATING; What are the relative (and if available the approximate absolute) dates of the most important hominid bearing sites?

EVOLUTION; Given the information above, what are the evolutionary trends through time within this species, if we divide the sample into early and late Homoerectus?

ARCHAEOLOGY; What are the differences between the divisions of the Pleistocene and the divisions of the Paleolithic? What are the characteristic tools of the Achulean? Did all Homoerectus groups make Achulean tools? How does the Achulean compare with the Olduwan in terms of technological skill, tool types, and manufacture. What does this suggest about adaptation, mental awareness and possibly even linguistic ability? Is there any evidence that Homoerectus may have had some adaptations that are similar to those of modern hunter-gatherers? What is the nature of the evidence for the earliest use of controlled fire by hominids? What is the adaptive significance of fire? What about evidence for cannibalism or other ritual behavior? Are there any burials associated with these hominids? What about hunting? A few key sites have been presented as examples of various behaviors.

III. RANGES OF VARIATION IN CRANIAL CAPACITY.

Pan 300-500ccGorilla 400-550cc

A.afarensis 400ccA.africanus 400-500ccA. aethiopicus 390cc

early Homo 550-800ccA.robustus and A.boisei 450-550cc

Homoerectus 650-1200ccHomosapiens 1200-2000cc

IV. GEOLOGIC AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL PHASES.

A. Archaeological periods. Know the dates of the following.

Lower Paleolithic, Middle Paleolithic, Upper Paleolithic.

B. Geologic Time periods. Know the dates of the following.

Lower Pleistocene, Middle Pleistocene, Upper Pleistocene,Holocene(Recent)

C. Cultural trends in human evolution. What are the characteristic tools of each phase? What new types of tools or means of manufacturing tools occur in each phase? When is the first burial of the dead, evidence for ritual, good evidence for cannibalism, production of art, food production etc.? What is the earliest evidence for the development of more complex societies above the band level? What trends are there in human evolution with respect to numbers of different types of tools, local and regional diversity of tool types, selectivity and efficiency in the use of raw materials? do any of these cultural developments appear to be connected to observed biological changes like dental reduction, facial reduction or a reduction in sexual dimorphism?

D. Geographic distribution of archaeological traditions.

What is the geographic distribution of the following: Achulean, Mousterian, MSA, Aurignacian, Chatelperonian and the more general archaeological categories listed above? What does the evidence suggest about the earliest spread of man to Australia and the New World

E. Know what hominids are associated with the stuff listed above. (i.e. Homoerectus, early archaic Homosapiens, neandertals, anatomically modern Homosapiens.

V. HUMAN BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION.

A. Compare the morphology of Homoerectus and early archaic Homosapiens.

B. When do the earliest archaic Homosapiens occur?

C. What is the biological meaning of the term 'neandertal"? When and where are they found? What unique, derived features are found in neandertals that are not found in other populations of Homosapiens? (including other archaic Homosapiens)

D. Compare the morphology of archaic Homosapiens and "anatomically modern" Homosapiens.

E. When and where do the earliest "anatomically modern" Homosapiens occur in a well dated context? Is there any evidence that they may have occurred earlier somewhere else?

F What 2 major views are held concerning the origin of modern Homosapiens?

G. What evidence is there for and against these ideas? What does each imply about the origin and nature of the variation found in living humans today? What does each imply about the meaning of the term "neandertal"?

H. Are "anatomically modern" Homosapiens really that modern? In other words, has morphological evolution ceased since the Upper Paleolithic?

VI. IMPORTANT PALEOLITHIC SITES.

What is the importance of the following as evidence for biological and/or cultural evolution of human populations?

Hadar, East and West Turkana, Sterkfontein, Swartcrans, Java, Zhoukudien (Choukutien), Yunxian, Steinhein, Atapuerca, Gran Dolina, Broken Hill, Shanidar, La Chapelle aux Saints, Tabun, Skuhl, La Ferrassie, Krapina, Vindija, Border Cave, Florisbad, Solo (Ngandong), Predmosti, Cro-Magnon, Qafzeh, Saint Cesairé.