Physical Anthropology Final Review

Front 1

Explain the geographic migration pattern and distribution of Homo erectus, and give possible explanations.

Back 1

Most important – the move from (sub)tropical Africa to colder regions of the Northern Hemisphere in Eurasia and the Far East. Slightly before the rise of H. erectus the world was undergoing major changes; forests diminished, replaced with open grasslands, hence more grazing ruminants. Erectus likely took advantage of new opportunities by using Oldwan tools to access the animal resources it was not previously physically capable of. The resulting higher quality animal diet allowed growth of bigger bodies, more capable of dealing with mid day heat. Shift from foraging strategy to higher quality diet made it possible for erectus to follow the animals when they migrated. This created a new niche for erectus

Front 2

List the morphological characteristics of H. erectus

Back 2

Height = 4.2 – 5.8 feet
Physique = robust but human skeleton
Cranial Capacity = 750 – 1250cc
Date = 1.8 – 1.2 MYA
Distribution = Africa into Asia

Front 3

Discuss the Dmanisi fossils in Eastern Europe in terms of relative age, morphology, cranial capacity, and stone tool technology.

Back 3

Contain a mixture of anatomical features from erectus and habilis. The most primitive individuals so far attributed to H. erectus. Could be considered a primitive H. erectus (or H. ergaster), or to a new species. More australopith-like than human-like in upper limb morphology, the upper body and skull very apelike, but humeral and femoral lengths together support human-like leg bones. The stone tools associated with Dmanisi are crude, no more sophisticated than those associated with H. habilis.
Cranial Capacity = 650 – 780cc
Height = 4.8 feet
Body weight = 105 lbs
Date = 1.7 – 2 MYA

Front 4

Explain the Levallois technique of the Mousterian tool industry, the cultural period it is associated with and what tools were involved.

Back 4

Prepared Core Technique associated w/ the Neanderthal Mousterian industries of Mid Palaeolithic, found in Eurasia, the Near East and Africa, dated at 200 000 – 30 000. Stone tools of the tradition include; triangular points made on flakes, triangular bifacial hand-axes. The sophisticated Levallois technique of working flint was extensively used, involving the striking of flakes from a prepared core. This method provides much greater control over the size and shape of the final flake, which would then be employed as a scraper, knife or projectile points.

Front 5

What is meant by "Archaic Homo sapiens," or “premodern humans”— their geographic distribution, general characteristics, and phylogenetic relationships.

Back 5

Refers to the earliest Homo sapiens, may have been similar to modern humans with general tendencies toward features of earlier Hominina species, like Homo heidelbergensis. Lived during the Pleistocene (300,000 to 30,000 B.P.) and were well adapted to different environmental stresses. Larger brains than Homo erectus, and were comparable in size to those of modern humans. Remains from Homo heidelbergensis have been found in a variety of places starting from Germany to Bodo to Africa.

Front 6

Explain the characteristics of early Homo Sapiens during the Upper Paleolithic/Late Stone Age and the advantages they may have had over the Neanderthals.

Back 6

Homo sapiens of Upper Paleolithic/Late Stone Age was essentially modern in appearance and behavior. Did not extend to Neanderthals. A behavioral explanation for their modernization is that changes in social relations, such as development of the nuclear family, played a key role in bringing about the transformation.

Front 7

Primate studies as they apply to the evolution of childbirth.

Back 7

Evolution from quadruped to biped requires, among other things, the human pelvis, and birth canal, to narrow. Caused complications with the birthing process, and as a result, human birth requires social intervention. Unlike primates, the baby is born face up, which renders the mother incapable of assisting. In addition, due to extensive human encephalization, babies evolved to be born early, to avoid the death of the mother. Humans have maintained a gestation length comparable to that of chimpanzees, despite the fact that the young are born in such different stages of development relative to their adult selves. Birth evolved from a private to a social process in order to increase the rates of survival for both mother and child.

Front 8

Primate studies as they apply to the evolution of sexual dimorphism.

Back 8

Sexual dimorphism is common is most primate species, as it relates to mate preferences. Patterns of social organization reflect the level of sexual dimorphism. For example, the intensity of male-male competition for mates and the degree of female choice in male traits. Monogamous species have the least sexual dimorphism, while polygynous species have the highest.
Sexual dimorphism decreases as a species engages in collaborative multi-male kin groups, like chimps for example, which exhibit less dimorphism than other primate species. Chimpanzee males defend territory and engage in cooperative, coalitionary behavior. Perhaps, then, the social organization of late hominids might be best characterized as multi-male, cooperating (generally noncompeting) kin groups as a adaptive fitness measure. This could explain the general evolutionary decline sexual dimorphism.

Front 9

Important hominid fossil sites.

Back 9

"Turkana Boy", Homo erectus (or Homo ergaster) -
 Lake Turkana in Kenya
Almost complete skeleton of 5 foot, 12 year old boy, dated at 1.6 MYA. Cranial capacity of 880 cc. Surprisingly tall, indicating erectus may have been as large as modern humans. Most striking difference is that the holes in his vertebrae, through which the spinal cord goes, have only about half the cross-sectional area found in modern humans. One suggested explanation for this is that the boy lacked the fine motor control we have in the thorax to control speech, implying that he wasn't nearly as fluent a speaker as modern humans are

Front 10

Important hominid fossil sites.

Back 10

“Old Man,” Homo sapiens neanderthalensis
- La-Chapelle-aux-Saints in France.
50,000 years old, cranial capacity of 1620 cc. Reconstructed by Marcellin Boule, resulting in erroneous exaggerated anatomical popularizing the “ogre-like” characteristics that became synonymous with Neanderthal. In reality, the specimen had endured many injuries throughout its long hard, indicating that Neanderthals must have had a complex social structure