Anth 111 : Chapter 6, Part 2 -The Earliest Human Ancestors

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Hominin

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A categor of primates that includes modern humans and all the extinct species that are more closely related to modern humans than to chimpanzees and bonobos.

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Exposure

Back 2

A place where rocks of the right age or finding fossils have been revealed by water and wind erosion.

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Rift valley

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A geological formation consisting of a sunken floor and elevated walls created by tectonic action.

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Taphonomy

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Scientific study of the processes by which organisms are preserved after heir death and how these processes affect the fossil and archaeological records.

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Differential preservation

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The fact that some types of organisms and some parts of organisms are more likely than others to be preserved in the fossil record, thus creating a biased fossil record.

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Cladistic analysis

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The use of recently evolved morphology to determine how a fossil hominin taxon is related to other fossil hominin taxa.

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Convergent evolution

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The process by which different lineages evolve similar morphology independently.

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Homoplasy

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Similar morphology that is not inherited from a recent common ancestor.

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Primitive hominin

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A hominin taxon close to the branching point of the chimpanzee and human lineages that is still ape-like but is more closely related to modern humans.

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Archaic hominin

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A hominin taxon that retains some ape-like charateristics but are more evolved than primitive hominins.

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Bipedalism

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Upright locomotion on two feet.

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Sahelanthropus tchadernsis

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Probable primitive hominin, known from fossils dated 7 to 6 million years ago from a site in Chad.

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Orrorin tugenensis

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A primitive hominin, known from fossils dated at 6 million years ago from sites in Kenya.

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Ardipithecus kadabba

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A primiive hominin, known from fossils dated at 5.7 to 5.2 million years ago from the Middle Awash regions of Ethiopa.

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Ardipithecus ramidus

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A primitive hominin, known from fossils dated at 4.5 million years ago from the Middle Awash regions of Ethiopa.

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Australopith

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A shorthand term for species in the genus Australopithecus.

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Australopithcus anamensis

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An archaic hominin, known from fossils dated at 4 to 3 million yearsago from sites in Ethiopa and Tanzania.

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Australopithecus bahrelghazali

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An archaic hominin, known from fossils dated at 3.5 million years ago from a site in Chad.

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Australopithecus garhi

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An archaic hominin, known from fossils dated at 2.5 million years ago from Ethiopa.

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Paleolithic period

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The era during which stone tools are made and used, beginning about 2.6 million years ago. Also called the the Old Stone Age in Africa.

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Australopithecus africanus

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An archaic homnin, known from fossils dated at 3 to 2.4 million years ago from sites in southern Africa.

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Paranthropus robustus

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An archaic hominin, known from fossils dated at 1.9 to 1.5 million years ago from sites in southern Africa.

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Parathropus boisei

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An archaic hominin, known from fosils dated at 2.3 to 1.3 million years ago from sites in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Malawi.

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Sagittal crest

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A ridge of bone that runs lengthwise along the middle of the top of the skull, indicating exceptionally strong chewing muscles in the jaw.

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What is Auslese?

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A degree of ripeness in 'Pradikat' wines (QmP).
Selected bunches of over-ripe grapes, some are botrysised.
Many are dessert wines only.
->K S A B E T

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functional morphology

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The use of morphology (form) to make inferences about the function of a particular body part.

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Behavioral morphology

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The use of fossil morphology to make inferences about behavior.