ANTH 101 C FINAL

Pleistocene

An epoch from 2.6 million to 11,700 years ago characterized by repeated glacial cycles.

Glaciation

A cold period during an ice age with expanding glacial ice sheets.

Interglacial

A warm period between glacial cycles with retreating ice sheets.

Occipital bun

A prominent, rounded bulge at the back of the skull typical of Neanderthals.

Mousterian tool

A Middle Paleolithic stone tool industry associated with Neanderthals.

Levallois technique

A stone knapping method involving prepping a core to flake off a predictable shape.

Flexed position

A fetal-like burial posture with knees bent toward the chest, practiced by Neanderthals.

Denisovans

An extinct group of Asian archaic hominins that interbred with humans and Neanderthals.

Homo floresiensis

A tiny, extinct hominin species from Flores, Indonesia, known as the Hobbit.

Insular dwarfing

An evolutionary process where isolated island populations shrink due to limited resources.

Mauer mandible

The oldest known fossilized jaw of Homo heidelbergensis discovered in Germany.

Acheulean

A lower Paleolithic tool industry characterized by teardrop

Ethnocentrism

Judging another culture solely based on the standards and values of one's own.

Infraorbital foramina

Small holes below eye sockets that increased facial blood flow in Neanderthals.

Nasal aperture

The skull's nasal opening, which was large in Neanderthals to warm cold air.

Who is the Old man of Shanidar? What is his genus and species? Why is his fossil very unique?

An old Homo neanderthalensis from Iraq whose healed severe injuries prove his community cared for him.

What is Homo heidelbergensis? What types of stone tools did they use?

An archaic human ancestor that evolved from Homo erectus and used Acheulean handaxes.

Where is the "Pit of Bones" located and what fossils were found there?

Sima de los Huesos in Spain, containing thousands of Homo heidelbergensis fossil fragments.

What site did we get the sample to sequence the entire Neandertal genome?

Vindija Cave in Croatia.

Who studied the La-Chapelle-Aux Saints specimen? What was its genus and species? Did Neandertals talk?

Marcellin Boule studied this Homo neanderthalensis specimen; genetic and anatomical evidence confirms they did talk.

Which institute sequenced the Neanderthal genome?

The Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany.

Who is Dr. Svante Pääbo?

A Nobel Prize-winning evolutionary geneticist who successfully sequenced the Neanderthal genome.

Why did Neanderthals have large nasal apertures and large infraorbital foramina?

To warm inhaled cold air and increase facial blood flow to survive Ice Age climates.

What is Homo floresiensis? What is its genus and species? Where can we find it and what is its common name?

A tiny hominin species found in Flores, Indonesia, commonly called the Hobbit.

Upper Paleolithic

The final subdivision of the Old Stone Age marked by human tool innovation and cave art.

Gracile

Having a slender, lightweight, and less robust skeletal build.

Globular

A rounded, sphere-shaped skull structure characteristic of modern Homo sapiens.

Mental eminence

The anatomical term for a chin, unique to anatomically modern humans.

Microlith

A small, efficient stone tool component used to tip composite weapons like spears.

Megafauna

Large or giant Ice Age animals, such as woolly mammoths.

Subsistence strategies

The methods human societies use to obtain food and transform environmental resources.

Foraging

A subsistence strategy reliant entirely on hunting wild animals and gathering wild plants.

Horticulture

Small-scale, low-intensity plant cultivation using simple hand tools without permanent fields.

Agriculture

Intensive, large-scale cultivation of crops involving irrigation, plows, and domestic animals.

Band

A small, mobile, kinship-based foraging society with no centralized leadership

Egalitarian

A social structure where all group members share equal power, status, and wealth.

Holocene

The current geological epoch that began around 11,700 years ago after the last Ice Age.

Sedentarism

The practice of living permanently in one place rather than migrating seasonally.

Bergmann's rules

States that mammalian body mass tends to be larger in cold climates to retain heat.

Allen's rules

States that mammalian limbs and appendages tend to be shorter in cold climates to minimize heat loss.

Vasodilation

The expansion of blood vessels to increase skin blood flow, helping heat escape the body.

Vasoconstriction

The narrowing of blood vessels to reduce skin blood flow, retaining core body heat.

What is the difference between the Out of Africa model versus the multiregional hypothesis?

Out of Africa claims humans evolved only in Africa and replaced others; multiregional claims concurrent global evolution with gene flow.

Where can we find Cro-Magnon?

In France; it represents the first early modern Homo sapiens recognized in Europe.

Who is Kennewick man? What is its genus and species?

A 9,000-year-old Homo sapiens skeleton found in Washington State with an ancient spear injury.

What tools can you find in the Upper Paleolithic? What is an atlatl?

Microliths, bone tools, and burins; an atlatl is a specialized handle used to throw spears with high speed.

Where are the Lascaux and Altamira caves? Why are they unique?

Lascaux is in France and Altamira is in Spain; unique for their extraordinary, pristine Upper Paleolithic cave art.

Who are the Denisovans?

An archaic Asian hominin group adapted to high altitudes whose DNA persists in modern Melanesians.

What is the cranial capacity of Neandertals in comparison to Homo sapiens?

Neanderthal cranial capacity (~1600 cc) is on average larger than modern Homo sapiens (~1350 cc).

Why are humans gracile?

Increased reliance on complex cultural tool adaptation, projectile weapons, and cooked foods reduced the evolutionary need for heavy bones.

What are the four primary subsistence strategies practiced by human societies?

Foraging, Pastoralism, Horticulture, and Agriculture.

Subsistence strategies

The diverse methods human societies use to interact with the environment to acquire food and survival resources.

Pastoralism

A subsistence strategy centered on breeding, herding, and managing domesticated animals like sheep or horses.

What major lifestyle change occurred during the transition to the Holocene?

Temperatures rose, megafauna depleted, and Homo sapiens shifted toward plant domestication and basic farming.

What primary factor caused human populations to adopt sedentarism?

The development of horticulture and agriculture, because communities had to remain stationary to tend and wait for crops.

Slash-and-burn

An agricultural technique where wild vegetation is cut and burned to clear fields and enrich soil nutrients.

Tribe

A multi-band human society with an unofficial leader (headman) reliant primarily on horticulture or pastoralism.

Chiefdom

A politically complex society featuring centralized leadership under an official chief with inherited authority.

State

A highly stratified society with centralized leadership, written laws, formal legal codes, and permanent geopolitical boundaries.

How did tool development during the Upper Paleolithic affect human biology?

Advanced projectile weapons and microliths made hunting efficient, reducing evolutionary demands for robust bones and massive teeth.