1. What is the difference between a referential model and a conceptual model?
Referential models and Conceptual models are two models that scholars continuously debate on which model is the most useful in the reconstruction of the history of hominin evolution. In the article, Pickering and Domínguez-Rodrigo used Jim. Moore’s interpretation of a referential model. Moore stated that in referential model there is no single typological modern species, but a set of differences is observed between populations of the highly variable species. Paleontologists use referential models to reconstruct extinct species by comparing similar features of the extinct species to the living one. Thus, referential models have become useful in reconstructing the …show more content…
Research shows that chimpanzees did not live in open grass lands, but there is a possibility of ecological similarity between certain chimpanzees and early hominins based on newly reconstructed paleohabitats. The newly reconstructed paleohabitats represent a savanna and a relevant to the type of savanna that extant chimpanzees currently occupy. Modern chimpanzee populations habitats range from uniformly dense rainforests to open savannas. Therefore, Pickering and Domínguez-Rodrigo concluded that by understanding the variation in hunting behavior of savanna and forest dwelling chimpanzees, one can begin to model the hunting behavior of hominins. Pickering and Domínguez-Rodrigo also deduced that chimpanzees and early hominins share a similar aspect of ecology, which is seasonality. For chimpanzee hunting, research indicates that the frequency of chimpanzee hunting varies and there are currently differing opinions on why chimpanzees hunt. However, Pickering and Domínguez-Rodrigo maintain that chimpanzee hunting coincides with the protein compensation hypothesis, even though the hypothesis lacks sufficient data. Pickering and Domínguez-Rodrigo note similarities between Mio-Pliocene hominin hunting and chimpanzee hunting, which included early hominins like chimpanzees occupied seasonal savannah habitats, and these paleohabitats would have experienced seasonal fluctuation, which would have caused protein/nutrient availability to fluctuate as well. Therefore, hominins would have consumed animal carcasses to gain proteins, which is similar to the protein compensation technique found in chimpanzee hunting. Lastly, early hominins and chimpanzees used similar hunting mechanisms for smaller prey, for since there is no record of hominins having hammering tools prior to 2.6 Ma, hominins hunting likely
Referential models and Conceptual models are two models that scholars continuously debate on which model is the most useful in the reconstruction of the history of hominin evolution. In the article, Pickering and Domínguez-Rodrigo used Jim. Moore’s interpretation of a referential model. Moore stated that in referential model there is no single typological modern species, but a set of differences is observed between populations of the highly variable species. Paleontologists use referential models to reconstruct extinct species by comparing similar features of the extinct species to the living one. Thus, referential models have become useful in reconstructing the …show more content…
Research shows that chimpanzees did not live in open grass lands, but there is a possibility of ecological similarity between certain chimpanzees and early hominins based on newly reconstructed paleohabitats. The newly reconstructed paleohabitats represent a savanna and a relevant to the type of savanna that extant chimpanzees currently occupy. Modern chimpanzee populations habitats range from uniformly dense rainforests to open savannas. Therefore, Pickering and Domínguez-Rodrigo concluded that by understanding the variation in hunting behavior of savanna and forest dwelling chimpanzees, one can begin to model the hunting behavior of hominins. Pickering and Domínguez-Rodrigo also deduced that chimpanzees and early hominins share a similar aspect of ecology, which is seasonality. For chimpanzee hunting, research indicates that the frequency of chimpanzee hunting varies and there are currently differing opinions on why chimpanzees hunt. However, Pickering and Domínguez-Rodrigo maintain that chimpanzee hunting coincides with the protein compensation hypothesis, even though the hypothesis lacks sufficient data. Pickering and Domínguez-Rodrigo note similarities between Mio-Pliocene hominin hunting and chimpanzee hunting, which included early hominins like chimpanzees occupied seasonal savannah habitats, and these paleohabitats would have experienced seasonal fluctuation, which would have caused protein/nutrient availability to fluctuate as well. Therefore, hominins would have consumed animal carcasses to gain proteins, which is similar to the protein compensation technique found in chimpanzee hunting. Lastly, early hominins and chimpanzees used similar hunting mechanisms for smaller prey, for since there is no record of hominins having hammering tools prior to 2.6 Ma, hominins hunting likely