Anthro Exam #3

Earliest evidence of people finding fossils

folktales!

rational interpretations

ex. cyclops, dragon myths

Engis 2

discovered in 1829 at Engis Cave by miners (Belgium)

neurocranium of infant

unusual bc elongated front-to-back

interpreted as pathological - evolution not a widely available concept

actually neanderthal

Gibraltar 1

discovered in 1848 at Forbes Quarry (Iberian peninsula)

adult face

large nasal cavity, large brow ridges, big brain

again interpreted as pathological

actually neanderthal

Feldhofer 1

discovered in 1856 in Neander Valley (Germany)

large brow ridges, long cranium

interpreted as pathological by some, but evolution as a concept starting to circulate

Neanderthal

Thomas Huxley

published book Evidence as to Man’s Place in Nature in 1863, which gave evidence about human evolution

Evidence as to Man’s Place in Nature

1863 book by Thomas Huxley

study of living primates: primatology

primate evolutionary history: closest relatives to humans

neanderthal skull studies —> human relative —> paleoanthropology

proposes chimps and gorillas as closest living human relatives

On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection year

1859

Trinil 2

discovered in 1891 at Solo River in Java (Indonesia)

Wallace suggested orangutan as human’s closest living ancestor —> Eugene Dubois felt inspired to go to Indonesia by joining Dutch army —> found what he called Pithecanthropus erectus —> ppl did not believe him, dismissed it as orangutan that looked different bc of pathology

skull cap: massive brow ridges, receding frontal bone, angle at the back, brain smaller than neanderthal/humans —> size between apes and humans

femur found later

Eugene Dubois

Dutch paleoanthropologist and geologist. He earned worldwide fame for his discovery of what he called Pithecanthropus erectus, or "Java Man"

Wallace suggested orangutan as human’s closest living ancestor —> Eugene Dubois felt inspired to go to Indonesia by joining Dutch army

ppl did not believe him, dismissed it as orangutan that looked different bc of pathology

Piltdown

discovered in 1912 in England

part of cranium, mandible w/ teeth, human-sized brain w/ ape-like jaw

forgery!

Taung

discovered in 1924 at Buxton Quarry in South Africa

child’s skull, imprint of inside of cranium

discovered by Australian anatomist Raymond Dart

snout and canines not as projecting

ape-like, chimp-sized brain

head sat on top of upright vertebral column —> upright walking

australopithecus africanus

leading naturalists dismiss as ape - except Robert Broom

Raymond Dart

Australian anatomist and anthropologist, best known for his involvement in the 1924 discovery of the first fossil found of Australopithecus africanus, an extinct hominin closely related to humans, at Taung in the North of South Africa in the Northwest province

Older Southern African Australopithecines

discovered by Robert Broom and Raymond Dart in South Africa from 1936 onward

adult fossils

small brains and walking upright

contradicts the Piltdown skull - forgery!

Standing upright on 2 legs came before larger brains!

Zhoukoudian

excavated between 1923 and 1937 by Davidson Black in Beijing

tons of fossil hominins - similar to those found by Debouis

homo erectus

Davidson Black

Canadian paleoanthropologist

Zhoukoudian excavated between 1923 and 1937 by Davidson Black in Beijing

Olduvai Gorge

excavated 1931-present

Tanzania

weird rocks - stone tools?

OH 5

Zinjanthropus boisei found in 1959 (now relegated to Paranthropus)

fossil hominins in Eastern Africa

Olduvai Gorge

OH 7

Homo habilis found in 1964

proposed as “tool maker”

finger, parietal bones, jaw —> not much found, so uncertainty

Olduvai Gorge

KNM-ER 1470

Homo habilis discovered in 1972 at Koobi Fora (Lake Turkana) by Richard Leakey

bigger brain

accepted as “tool maker”

Australopithecus afarensis

1973 at Hadar

Lucy

lots of fossils

skeleton demonstrate how bipedalism is 1st human characteristic to evolve

Evolutionary trends in hominoids and cercopithecoids

opposing trends in diversity

apes rare in late Miocene —> crisis

probably consequence of climate change

Change in mid-Miocene

steady decline of temps, drier conditions, forests shrinking

less fruiting trees —> ape populations under stress

colobines w/ dental adaptations for leaves do find

Why was there cooling during the Miocene?

Continental drift, formation of Himalayas

Continental drift

Atlantic ocean getting bigger and bigger —> continents on other side (Asia + North America) getting closer to each other —> opening b/w arctic + pacific oceans getting smaller —> arctic ocean increasing isolate —> water not circulating out of arctic as much —> water sits + gets colder —> colder climate

formation of Himalayas

India plate spams into bottom of Asia —> subduction zone —> Asian plate lifts up —> mountain range —> collect moisture off of Indian ocean —> reduce amt of moisture blown over/circulating around Africa —> drier conditions

Oscillations in temps

variation in insolation - orbital cycles

hot and cold periods

oscillations getting more pronounced bc take us across climate thresholds —> positive feedback loops (a little change —> a lot of change)

Northern hemisphere glaciation