Anthropology Test 2

Front 1

Acheulean tool tradition

Back 1

The prevalent style of stone tools associated with Homo erectus remains and represented by the hand axe

Front 2

Archaic Homo sapiens

Back 2

A loosely defined group within the genus Homo that "lumpers" use for fossils with the combination of large brain size and ancestral features on the skull

Front 3

Denisovans

Back 3

A newly discovered group of archaic Homo sapiens from southern Siberia dated to between 30,000 and 50,000 years ago

Front 4

Experimental archaeology

Back 4

The recreation of ancient lifeways by modern paleoanthropologists in order to test hypotheses, interpretations, and assumptions about the past

Front 5

Homo

Back 5

The genus of bipeds that appeared 2.5 mil years ago, characterized by increased cranial size and skull shape.

Front 6

Homo erectus

Back 6

Upright human. A species within Homo that first appears just after 2 million years ago in Africa.

Front 7

Homo habilis

Back 7

Handy human. First appear 2,5 million years ago. Larger brains and smaller face than the australopithecines

Front 8

Levalloisian technique

Back 8

Toolmaking technique by which 3 or 4 long triangular flakes are detached from a specially prepared core. Developed by genus Homo transitional from H erectus to H sapiens

Front 9

Lower Paleolithic

Back 9

The first part of the Old Stone Age beginning with the earliest Oldowan tools spanning from about 200,000 or 250,000 to 2.6 million years ago.

Front 10

Marrow

Back 10

Fatty nutritious tissue inside lone bones where blood cells are produced

Front 11

Middle Paleolithic

Back 11

The middle part of the Old Stone Age characterized by the development of the Mousterian tool tradition and the earlier Levalloisian traditions

Front 12

Mousterian tool tradition

Back 12

The tool industry of the Neandertals and their contemporaries of Europe, Southwest Asia, and North Africa. 40,000-125,000 years ago

Front 13

Neandertals

Back 13

Within genus Homo. Europe and Southwest Asia. 30,000 to 125,000 years ago

Front 14

Oldowan tool tradition

Back 14

The first stone tool industry, beginning between 2.5 and 2.6 million years ago.

Front 15

Percussion method

Back 15

A technique of stone tool manufacture performed by striking the raw material with a hammerstone or stone anvil to remove flakes.

Front 16

Tertiary Scavenger

Back 16

3rd to obtain animal meat from a kill made by a predator. (Ex. Lion, vulture, human)

Front 17

Cro-Magnons

Back 17

Europeans of the Upper Paleolithic after about 36,000 years ago

Front 18

Upper Paleolithic

Back 18

The last part (10,000- 40,000 years ago) of the Old Stone Age, featuring tool industries characterized by long slim blades and an explosion of creative symbolic forms

Front 19

Multiregional Hypothesis

Back 19

The hypothesis that modern humans originated through a process of simultaneous local transition from Homo erectus to Homo sapiens throughout the inhabited world.

Front 20

recent African origins hypothesis

Back 20

The theory that modern humans are all derived from one single population of archaic Homo sapiens who migrated out of Africa after 100,000 years ago, replacing all other archaic due to their superior cultural capabilities; Also called Eve Hypothesis and the Out of Africa Hypothesis.

Front 21

Aurignacian tradition

Back 21

Toolmaking tradition in Europe and Western Asia at the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic

Front 22

Blade Technique

Back 22

A method of stone tool manufacture in which long parallel-sided flakes are struck off the edges of a specially prepared core.

Front 23

Pressure Flaking

Back 23

A technique of stone tool manufacture in which a bone, antler, or wooden tool is used to press, rather than strike off small flakes from a piece of flint or similar stone.

Front 24

Burin

Back 24

A stone tool with chisel-like edges used for working bone, horn, antler, and ivory.

Front 25

Entoptic Phenomena

Back 25

Bright pulsating forms that are generated by the central nervous system and seem in states of trance.

Front 26

Sahul

Back 26

The greater Australian landmass (Australia, New Guinea, Tasmania)

Front 27

Sunda

Back 27

The combines landmass of (Java, Sumatra, Borneo, and Bali)

Front 28

Paleoindians

Back 28

The earliest inhabitants of North America

Front 29

Cognitive capacity

Back 29

A broad concept including intelligence

Front 30

Foramen Magnum

Back 30

The large opening at the base of the skull through which the spinal cord passes and connects to the brain.

Front 31

Arboreal Hypothesis

Back 31

A theory for the primate evolution that proposes that life in the trees was responsible for enhanced visual acuity and manual dexterity in primates

Front 32

Savannah

Back 32

Semi-arid grasslands environment, as in eastern Africa

Front 33

Obstetric dilemna

Back 33

The concept that the pelvis has competing demands for locomotion and childbirth in hominins

Front 34

Ardipithecus

Back 34

One of the earliest genera of bipeds that lived in eastern Africa, divided into two species: the older, which dates to between 5.2 and 5.8 million years ago, and the younger, which dates to around 4.4 million years ago.

Front 35

Sagittal Crest

Back 35

A bar of bone running from front to back on the top of the skull along the midline to provide a surface of the large temporal muscles for chewing

Front 36

Gracile Australopithecines

Back 36

Members of the genus Australopithecus possessing a more lightly built chewing apparatus: likely had a diet that included more meat than that of the other australopithecines; best represented by the South African species A. africanus

Front 37

Hominins

Back 37

A term that comes from the subfamily name for humans and ancestors

Front 38

Visual Predation Hypothesis

Back 38

A theory for primate evolution that proposes that hunting behavior (e.g. for insects) in tree dwelling primates was responsible for their enhanced visual acuity and manual dexterity

Front 39

Laetoli

Back 39

A site in Tanzania, Africa where footprints of hominins have been preserved for 3.6 million years

Front 40

Law of Competitive Exclusion

Back 40

When two closely related species compete for the same niche, one will out-compete the other, bringing about the latter's extinction

Front 41

Adaptive Radiation

Back 41

Rapid diversification of an evolving population as it adapts to a variety of niches

Front 42

Robust Australopithecines

Back 42

Several species within the genus Australopithecus, who lived form 1.1 to 2.5 million years ago in eastern and southern Africa; known for the rugged nature of their chewing apparatus (large back teeth, large chewing muscles, and a bony ridge on their skull tops to allow for these large muscles)

Front 43

Australopithecus

Back 43

The genus including several species of early bipeds from southern and eastern Africa lving between about 1.1 and 4.3 million years ago, one of whom was directly ancestral to humans

Front 44

Pangea

Back 44

The name of the land mass that existed before continental drift separated the continents

Front 45

Diastema

Back 45

A space between the canines and other teeth allowing the large projecting canines to fit within the jaw

Front 46

When does bipedalism appear in Human Evolution?

Back 46

Definitely by 3.6 million years ago, possibly as early as 6 million years ago. This is based on fragmentary fossil evidence and footprints preserved at Laetoli in Tanzania.

Front 47

Description of the Footprints of Early Hominins found in Laetoli:

Back 47

The footprints were made by 2-3 Australopithecus genus individuals, preserved in volcanic ash. The shape of the footprints and heel strike-toe off distance is human.

Front 48

How old are the footprints of early hominins in Laetoli?

Back 48

3.6 million years

Front 49

What year were footprints of early hominins discovered in Laetoli?

Back 49

1978

Front 50

What geological era began 65 million years ago and continues to the present?

Back 50

Cenozoic Era

Front 51

What major changes in climate and life forms occurred during the Cenozoic Era?

Back 51

1. Glaciation: glaciers expanding and receding several times over northern hemisphere

2. Diversification of mammals, birds and plants

Front 52

What was a major contributing geological factor to the changes in climate and life forms during the Cenozoic Era?

Back 52

Continental Drift: the movements of land masses

Front 53

What are the Epochs of the Cenozoic Era:

Back 53

Pretty Eager Old Men Play Poker Hard

1. Palocene: 65 mya, Primates Appear

2. Eocene 55 mya, Prosimian fossils

3. Oligocene 34 mya, Anthropoid fossils

4. Miocene 23 mya, Apes and humans diverge

5. Pliocene 5 mya, Early hominins

6. Pleistocene 1.8 mya Early Homo

7. Holocene, 11,700 years ago. Current Epoch

Front 54

What major events occurred during the Paleocene Epoch?

Back 54

1. Catastrophic Event (meteor crash) cooled global temperatures and caused the extinction of the dinosaurs

2. Adaptive Radiation of Mammals, including primates

3. Tropical and subtropical Forests spread around the earth. primates move into arboreal niches

Front 55

What are the two models of primate evolution?

Back 55

1. The Arboreal Hypothesis

2. The Visual Predation Hypothesis

Front 56

What are the major events of the Eocene Epoch?

Back 56

1. Warming trend caused the extinction of some mammals

2. The first well preserved fossils of true primates are from this Epoch

3. Over 50 prosimian fossil genera have been found in Africa, N America, Europe, and Asia

Front 57

What characteristics were found in the prosimian fossils of the Eocene Epoch?

Back 57

Enlarged braincases, slightly reduces snouts, more forward eye orbits

Front 58

Where died primates die out at the end of the Eocene Epoch due to cold climates?

Back 58

North America

Front 59

What major events occurred during the Oligocene Epoch?

Back 59

1. Climates cooled further and resulted in the formation of the icecap over Antarctica

2. Anthropoids diversified and fewer prosimian forms can be found

3. The Old World Monkey, Ape, and Human Dental Formula Appears

Front 60

What is the Dental Formula of the Old World Monkeys, Apes, and Humans?

Back 60

2-1-2-3

2 incisors

1 Canine

2 premolars

3 molars

x 4

remember: 2-1-2-3 Biting People is Crazy

Front 61

What are the general characteristics of Oligocene Primates?

Back 61

1. Evidence that they were diurnal and quadrupedal

2. Mixture of monkey and ape characteristics

Front 62

What were the characteristics of aegyptopithecus, the Egyptian Ape, from the Oligocene Epoch?

Back 62

About the size of a house cat, with large canine teeth, and was sexually dimporphous

Front 63

In what Epoch were the first fossil remains of New World Monkeys found?

Back 63

Oligocene epoch

Front 64

How are New World Monkeys related to Old World monkeys?

Back 64

New world monkeys are assumed to share a common ancestor with Old World Monkeys

Front 65

What are the major Events of the Miocene Epoch?

Back 65

1. First fossil appearance of Apes

2. Hominins divere from the common ancestor with apes

3. Africa, Europe, and Asia landmasses connect and allow migration of apes across all three continents

Front 66

What Epoch is known as the "Golden Age of Hominoids?"

Back 66

Miocene epoch

Front 67

What hominid characteristics are found in hominid fossils of the Miocene Epoch?

Back 67

2-1-2-3 Dental formula, Y-5 molar pattern, no tails, flexible shoulder joints

Front 68

What are the notable characteristics of the proconsul of the early miocene epoch?

Back 68

dated 17-21 mya in east Africa, these had no tails, the Y-5 molar pattern, but were still quadrupedal, and had a mixture of ape and monkey traits

Front 69

When does genetic evidence indicate hominins split off from chimpanzees and gorillas?

Back 69

5-8 million years ago

Front 70

What significant fossils were found in 5-8 mya in the Late Miocene Epoch?

Back 70

1. Sahelanthropus tchadensis (6-7mya)

2. Orrorin tugenensis (6mya)

These genii were possibly bipedal

Front 71

What is Sahelanthropus tchadensis claim to fame?

Back 71

it is possibly the earliest ancestor of humans, there is no direct evidence of bipedalism at this time

Front 72

What is significant about the Pliocene Epoch?

Back 72

1. 1st indisputable evidence of hominins: fossils and footprints from Laetoli

Front 73

What genii of hominins arise in the Pliocene Epoch?

Back 73

1. Ardipithecus (4.4-5.8 mya east Africa)

2. Australopithecus (1.1-4.3mya east and south Africa)

3. Homo habilis 2.4 mya

4. Homo erectus 1.5 mya

5. Homo

Front 74

What is known about Ardipithecus?

Back 74

1. There are two species, found in the 90's and 2009 in eastern Africa

2. 4.4-5.8 mya

3. Lived in forest environments

4. Were quadrupedal in the trees, bipedal on the gound

5. size and morphology are similar to a chimpanzee, but bipedalism is more human

Front 75

What are some of the reasons australopithecus is significant?

Back 75

1. Shows marked sexual dimorphism

2. appeared 4.2-3.9 mya

3. Early australopithecines have a diastema

Front 76

What famous fossil is of an australopithecus?

Back 76

"Lucy", australopithecus afarensis, is 3.9-2.9 mya.

Front 77

Where was the first australopithecene found?

Back 77

in 1924 by Raymond Dart in South Africa, face, lower jaw and endocast of a ~6 year old individual ofAustralopithecus africanus "the southern ape of Africa" were found. dated 2.1 mya

Front 78

What are the two major classifications of australopithecenes?

Back 78

gracile and robust

Front 79

What is the major distinction between Robust and gracile australopithecenes?

Back 79

Robust australopithecenes have larger chewing apparatus and notable sagittal crest

Front 80

What are the current ideas about the relationship of the australopithecenes to the genus homo?

Back 80

1. It is possible that the genus homo arose from australopithecenes

2. Australopithecenes overlapped with the genus homo for 1.5 million years during the Pliocene Epoch

Front 81

While the theories of human and hominin evolution are varied, what are two generally agreed upon ideas?

Back 81

1. Ardipithecus is ancestral to the australopithecenes

2. The robust australopithecenes are an evolutionary side branch

Front 82

With the African Landscape becoming more savannah in the time of early hominins, how was their diet affected?

Back 82

They ate seeds, grasses, and roots. eventually stone tools were made and allowed processing animals for meat

Front 83

Why were early hominins more at risk from predators than their ancestors?

Back 83

They lived in the open grasslands, and had reduced canines. hands had to take over defense functions.

Front 84

What is Wheeler's hypothesis?

Back 84

as the hominin brain expanded, it was more important to be able to release heat from the body to protect the brain

Front 85

Did bipedalism develop before or after brain expansion?

Back 85

before

Front 86

When did the genus homo first appear?

Back 86

2. 5 mya

Front 87

From its first appearance, how did the genus homo evolve?

Back 87

Brain expansion for the next 2.3 million years. First stone stools were made by hominins

Front 88

What was found by the Leakeys at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania?

Back 88

Homo Habilis, the handy man. This species showed marked sexual dimorphism, and the fossils could possibly represent multiple species

Front 89

Beginning 2.4 million years ago, how did australopithecus and homo begin to evolve differently?

Back 89

1. The body size of homo and australopithecus were similar but the brain capacity of homo was considerably enlarged

2. Brain anatomy and a cooling mechanism in homo resembles modern humans more than apes

3. Tooth size in homo is smaller

4. The offshoot robust australopithecenes specialized for plant diets

Front 90

How were the earliest stone tools made?

Back 90

The percussion method

Front 91

What age is marked by the appearance of stone tools?

Back 91

The lower Paleolithic: begins from Oldowan tools 2.6 mya to 200,000 years ago

Front 92

What site is rich in Paleolithic Remains?

Back 92

Olduvai gorge

Front 93

The development of Oldowan tools allow what?

Back 93

Oldowan tools allowed the consistent addition of meat to the diet, satisfying the protein requirements on the savannah

Front 94

What are the requirements for stone tool making?

Back 94

1. Abstract thinking

2. consistency in technique

3. skill

4. knowledge of raw materials

Front 95

Does fossil evidence suggest early Homo were hunters or scavengers?

Back 95

It is thought that they were tertiary scavengers, 3rd in line after the predator who made the kill and primary scavengers

Front 96

What was an important factor of the success of early homo?

Back 96

Division of labor by sex and cooperation in the quest for food

Front 97

How much did the brain size of the genus Homo change between its appearance 2.5 mya and 200,000 years ago?

Back 97

tripled in size

Front 98

What aspects of the changes in the brain of hominins are just as important as size?

Back 98

reorganization of the brain and its complexity:

language, abstract thinking, cognition

Front 99

What did meat eating provide the early hominins?

Back 99

Meat provided more energy, and more leisure time to explore the environment

Front 100

What is known about Homo Naledi?

Back 100

1. Homo naledi was a smallish hominid that roamed 1-3 mya

2. looks like one of the most primitive members of homo, with an orange sized brain atop a very slender body

Front 101

When did homo erectus appear?

Back 101

just less than 2 mya in Africa

Front 102

What is particularly significant about homo erectus?

Back 102

Homo erectus migrated throughout the Old World, and spread hominins throughout Western Europe and across Asia.

Front 103

How does homo erectus compare to the earliest hominin species?

Back 103

1. An increase in brain size

2. A reduction in molar size relative to jaw size

3. vertical shortening in the face

4. Shortening of the arm bones with more modern limb proportions

5. nearly modern human size in terms of height

6. reduced sexual dimorphism

(note: continuation of trends seen in homo habilis)

Front 104

How is the skull of homo erectus described?

Back 104

1. Large face with a low, sloping forehead, a massive brow ridge (supraorbital torus) and a broad, flat nose

2. Skull was broad and long with sharp angles at the rear

3. Bones of the skull were very thick and form a central ridge, a "midline keel"

Front 105

When was homo erectus first discovered?

Back 105

In 1887, Eugen Dubois found fossils on the island of Java.

Originally he named them Pithecanthropus erectus

Front 106

Where was the second discovery of homo erectus?

Back 106

The "Peking Man" was found in a cave outside Beijing in the 1920's

Front 107

What is the most complete homo erectus skeleton found?

Back 107

The "Nariokotome Boy", a 12 year old who died 1.5 mya at Lake Turkana, Kenya. The boy was aged at 12 based on tooth eruption and long bone development.

Front 108

Where have homo erectus been found in Asia?

Back 108

1. Indonesia, fossils from around 40 individuals have been found in Java dating 500,000-1.8 mya. Earliest have teeth and jaws very similar to h. habilis

2. China: fossils here are younger than indonesia and have a larger cranial capacity (1,000cc), smaller teeth, and shorter jaw

Front 109

Where have homo erectus been found in Europe?

Back 109

1. Fossil evidence from 800,000 years ago, suggestive of continued gene flow from northern Africa

2. A new find in Dmanisi that may be homo erectus from 2 mya

Front 110

What is the most characteristic tool of the Acheulean Tradition?

Back 110

the hand axe

Front 111

How do tools of the Acheulean tradition differ from the Oldowan tradition?

Back 111

Acheulean tools are more standardized, sharper points, more and more regular cutting edges. preconceived designs

Front 112

How did tool kits begin to diversify in the Acheulean Tool Tradition?

Back 112

hand axes, scrapers, points, and burins are now used along with choppers

Front 113

What hominin developed the use of controlled fire?

Back 113

Homo erectus

Front 114

Why was controlled fire a significant advancement?

Back 114

Controlling fire provided control over the environement: thawing carcasses, protection, warmth, light, and possibly cooking food

Front 115

What finds are early evidence of controlled fire?

Back 115

1. South Africa: bones heated to high temp 1.1 mya

2. Circular arrangement of fire-cracked rocks in Thailand 700,000 ya

3.