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Originate in Paleocene in 66-56 mya w/ grasping hands, petrosal bulla (bone in ear), and rounded molar cusps

Plesiadapids

Originate in Eocene (56-34 mya) w/ bony eye protection, nails on most digits, and larger brains.

Euprimates aka “True Primates”

Connected to Euprimates and originate in Eocene w/ postorbital bar, nails, and grasping extremities

Adapoids aka Strepsirrhines

Connected to Euprimates and originate in Eocene w/ postorbital bar, grasping extremities, long legs, huge eyes, and short snouts

Omomyoids aka Tarsiers

Originate in Oligocene (34-23 mya) w/ full postorbital closure and fused mandibular symphyses

Fossil Anthropoids

Connected to Anthropids From Late Eocene w/ 2.1.2.3 teeth, honing complex, and bilophodont molars

Oligopithecids

Connected to Anthropids from Late Eocene to Early Oligocene w/ 2.1.2.3 teeth, larger bodied, and reduced incisors

Propliopithecids

Connected to Anthropids from Late Eocene to Late Oligocene and is primitive w/ 2.1.3.3 teeth

Parapithecids

Originate in Miocene (23-5.3 mya) and are Frugivorous arboreal quadrupeds

Fossil Hominoids (apes)

Connected to from Early to middle Miocene and are “stem” apes, short faced, w/ generalized dentition, have no tail, have y5 mars, w/ absent diastema, and are large

Proconsul

Connected to Hominoids from late miocene and known as terrestrial apes and are less arboreal/more larger

Sivapithecus

Connected to Hominoids from Late Miocene to middle Pleistocene w/ rounded molars, and huge (600 lbs), and are bamboo specialists

Gigantopithecus

Which primates emerged in the Paleocene epoch?

Plesiadapids

Which primates emerged in the Eocene Epoch?

Euprimates

Which primates emerged in the Oligocene Epoch?

Anthropids

Which primates emerged in the miocene epoch?

Lesser and greater apes (hominoids)

Significantly hotter climate, warming trend, more water/less land, and tropical jungles

Paleocene climate

Less seasonal, little ice, more wetlands, and more methane

Eocene climate

Region of emergence of Plesiadapids

North America and Europe

Region of emergence of Euprimates

West North America and Europe

Region of emergence of Anthropoids

Africa and Asia

Region of emergence of Hominoids

Africa, Europe, and Asia

Primates evolved traits like grasping hands, forward-facing eyes, and flexible limbs because they adapted to living in trees. These features helped them climb and move along branches.

Arboreal Hypothesis

Primates developed stereoscopic vision and grasping hands to hunt insects and grab prey on small branches. This idea focuses on better depth perception and coordination.

Visual Predation Hypothesis

Primates evolved alongside flowering plants (angiosperms). Traits like grasping hands and good vision helped them gather fruits, flowers, nectar, and insects found on thin branches.

Angiosperm Radiation Hypothesis

Tribe Hominini

Evolutionary split in 7 mya

All ancestors of Tribe Hominini are extinct except for humans

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Earliest known hominins that lived before the australopithecines and show some early human-like traits, such as beginning adaptations for walking upright.

Pre-Australopiths

Connected to Pre-Australopiths from 350 cc w/ a pronounced brow ridge and is has an anteriorly placed foramen magnum

S. tchadensis

Connected to Pre-Australopiths from 350 cc w/ a sagital crest, u-shaped dental arcade, large incisors, and has no honing complex

Ar. ramidus

Early hominins that walked upright but still had small brains and some ape-like features

Australopithecus

Gracile Australopiths

Slender and light (Habitual Bipeds)

Robust Australopiths

Robust, thick, and heavy w/ larger/denser facial and cranial features, larger back teeth/mandibles/zygomatics, and has a sagittal crest (Habitual Bipeds)

Bipedal Hypothesis

Hypothesis as to why early hominins evolved bipedalism

Hypothesis that states that the expansion of savannah led away from arboreal life and led to bipedalism

Savannah Hypothesis

Hypothesis that climate change caused rapid animal extinctions and new species to appear, possibly influencing hominin evolution

Turnover pulse hypothesis

Hypothesis that states bipedalism was caused by evolution favoring hominins that could adapt to changing environments and conditions

Variability Selection Hypothesis

Hypothesis that says repeated climate shifts (wet and dry phases) in East Africa created changing lakes and barriers, causing species to adapt to bipedalism

Pulsed Variability Selection (EARS)

Types of bipedalism

Habitual, Facultative, and Obligate

Habitual Biped

Walking on two legs most of the time (humans)

Facultative Biped

Able to walk on two legs but usually uses other forms of movement (chimpanzees)

Obligate Biped

Permanently adapted to walking on two legs (fully committed form, like modern humans within habitual bipedal species)

Inferior (vs. posterior) foramen magnum, Short upper limbs, S-curved spine, Robust lumbar vertebrae, flexible lower back, Short/broad/robust pelvis and sacrum, Long/robust/stable lower limbs, Rigid/robust foot, non-opposable big toe

Obligate Biped morphology

Earlier Stone Age technology (ESA)

3 mya - 300,000

Lomekwian complex

From 3.3 mya used by Au garhi

Oldowon Complex

From 2.6 mya and used by Au garhi

Defining characteristics of Genus Homo

obligate bipeds, grasping hands, complex social behaviors, complex toolmaking

H Habilis regional variety

EARS and S. Africa

Erectus Grade regional variety

Africa, Asia, and Europe

Erectus Grade Hominins

H. Erectus, Homo ergaster, and H. Antecessor

Smaller molars, receding foreheads, sagittal keel, brow ridges, long craniums, occipital torus, and less prognathism

H. erectus

Occipital torus, sagittal keel, short arms w/ long legs, tall

Homo ergaster

Worked with oldowon tools, was a transitional species, and were early obligate bipeds

Homo Habilis aka Homo rudolphensis (“Handy man”)

Species that has characteristics of both an ancestral group and a later descendant group, showing an intermediate stage in evolution

Transitional species

Being able to recognize that something has a mind of it’s own and is capable of learning

Theory of mind

Climate from 7.3 mya to 10 kya with rapid cooling/warming, expansion/contraction of polar caps, and water bodies would shrink/return

Pleistocene Epoch “The ice Age”

2.8 mya to 1.4 mya species

H. Habilis

2 mya to 1.4 mya species

H. ergaster

1.8 mya to 50 kya species

Homo erectus

Earliest known tool industry from 2.5 mya to 1.7 mya

Oldowan Industry

More advanced and symmetrical tools from 1.6 mya to 200 kya

Acheulean Tool Industry

Simple stone tools with one sharp edge made by knocking flakes off a rock; used for chopping meat, plants, or bone from Oldowan Industry

Choppers

Thin sharp pieces broken off a stone core; used like knives for cutting and slicing from Oldowan Industry

Flakes

Large teardrop-shaped bifacial tools sharpened on both sides; used for cutting, butchering, digging, and chopping from Acheulean industry

Hand axes

The defining features of these are larger brain size, modern skull shape (still robust though), Reduced face/teeth, bipedal, advanced tools, and more social behaviors

Defining Features of Archaic Homo

Who are Archaic Homo?

Middle-stage members of the Genus Homo that come after erectus-grade hominins and before fully anatomically modern humans

Key species of archaic homo

Homo heidlbergensis, Homo neanderthalensis, H. Humans and Denisovans

Regions of Archaic homos

Africa, Europe, and Asia

Middle Paleolithic tool system focused on carefully made flake tools like scrapers and spear points

Mousterian Tool Industry

Mousterian stone tool-making method where a stone core is carefully prepared so that a single controlled strike produces a sharp, pre-shaped flake ready for use

Levallois technique

Sharp stone flakes intentionally shaped and retouched along one edge to remove fat, flesh, and hair from animal hides or to work wood

Scrappers

Sharp stone tools made from flakes, used mainly as spear tips for hunting

Bifacial points

Long, thin, sharp stone flakes used for cutting, slicing, and butchering tasks

Blades

Neanderthal adaptations

Species that was adapted to cold environments with strong, stocky bodies, large brains, and advanced hunting and tool-use abilitiespS

Neanderthal date range

Species that ranged from 430 to 30 kya

“Cave of Saints”

H. Neanderthalensis

H. ergaster

“Dmanisi”

H. erectus georgicus

Extinct Asian branch of archaic humans (300 to 50 kya) known mainly from DNA, closely related to Neanderthals, and likely adapted to diverse environments in Asia

Denisovans

Out of Africa Hypothesis

Modern humans, Homo sapiens, evolved in Africa and then migrated outward, replacing other archaic humans worldwide

Multiregional Continuity

Modern humans evolved simultaneously in different regions from populations of Homo erectus with ongoing gene flow between regions

Assimilation Hypothesis

Modern humans evolved in Africa, spread globally, and partially interbred with local archaic humans like Neanderthals and Denisovans instead of fully replacing them

rounder/globular skull, vertical forehead, expanded frontal/parietal lobe, tall/smooth occipital, gracile face/mandible, and chin

Cranial Traits

Thinner bones, smoother features, narrow pelvis, longer limb proportions, and adapted to longer distance running

Postcranial traits/Gracility

The set of advanced cognitive and cultural traits associated with fully modern humans and Homo sapiens including symbolic thinking, complex language, art, and sophisticated tool use

Behavioral Modernity

What are the traits of the cognitive abilities in the frontal lobe?

Cognition and emotion, personality, judgment and self control, muscle control, and ST memory

What are the traits of the cognitive abilities in the Parietal lobe?

Sensory processing and language processing

What are the traits of the cognitive abilities in the Temporal lobe?

Auditory processing, LT memory formation, and speech processing

Hypothesis that anatomically modern humans entered the Americas about 13 kya by traveling inland through a gap between the Laurentide and Cordilleran ice sheets.

Ice-Free Corridor Hypothesis

Hypothesis that anatomically modern humans entered the Americas around 16 kya by moving along the Pacific coastline using coastal resources and waterways

Coastal route hypothesis

Upper Paleolithic tool industries

Chatelperronian, Aurignacian, Solutrean, and Magdalenian

Long thin blades made of bone/ivory that could be used as needles from 45kya

Chatelperronian

Long thin blades made of bone/ivory for fishing weights from 43 kya

Aurignacian

Highly refined, symmetrical stone tools (especially leaf-shaped points made by pressure flaking) for advanced hunting weapons from 23 kya

Solutrean

Highly refined bone, antler, and stone tools, as well as extensive cave art and specialized hunting technology from 17 kya

Magdalenian

The shift when humans transitioned from hunting and gathering to farming and domesticating plans and animals around 10 kya

Neolithic Revolution

Stressors

Environmental pressures that force organisms to develop traits that improve survival and reproduction

Homeostasis

How the body keeps its internal conditions stable, like temperature and water levels, even when the outside environment changes

Levels of Adaptation

Genetic, Developmental, Acclimatization, and Cultural

Genetic Adaptation

Happens over generations in populations via natural selection and many years of evolution