Anthropology 3

What is the order of adaptations for humans?

Central foramen magnum, sigmodial spine, reduction in tooth size, medially angled femurs, and then bowl shaped pelvis

Where are fossils found in East Africa?

the great rift valley

Where are fossils found in South Africa?

in limestone layers and caves

Why was Eugene Dubois important

he was the first to study remains to talk about human evolution

What are the two pre-australopithecines?

Sahelanthropus tchadensis and ardipithecus

What was the significance of sahelanthropus?

earliest hominin ancestor who was bipedal and less prognathic

what was the significance of ardipithecus “Ardi”?

it was the most complete early hominin that had bipedal adaptations but was also arboreal

What is the significance of A. anamensis?

it is the ancestral forrm of Australopithecus

What were the examples of Au. afarensis?

Lucy, Selam, Laetoli footprints

Why was Lucy important?

most complete fossil at the time and showed bipedalism drove evolution

Why was Selam important?

it was the oldest infant, showed both terrestrial and arboreal traits, helped understand life history (same as chimpanzees)

What kind of fossil are the Laetoli footprints?

trace fossil

What are the examples of Au. africanus?

Taung Child and Mrs. Ples

Why is Au. sediba important?

they were the first stone tool users

What are traits of Paranthropus?

more robust, marked prognathism, large cheek teeth, saggital crest, evolutionary dead-end

What are traits of australopithecus?

more gracile, less prognathic, smaller teeth, no saggital crest, probably Homo ancestor

what were traits of Homo habilis

first of the genus, found with oldowan tools, short stature, smaller brain (600-700 cc), smaller body size, more chewing muscles

what were traits of Homo erectus

tall stature, larger brain (800-1100 cc), increase in body size, less robust, smaller teeth

Why was H. erectus important?

they had ashulian tools, fire, were the first to leave Africa, first obligate biped

What were the examples of H. erectus?

turkana boy, java man, pieking man

Turkana boy

suggested early adolescent, growth was incomplete, development slower than apes, faster than humans

Who has the diagnostic feature of a discontinuous brow ridge?

H. heidelbergensis

Who committed cannibalism? Give examples

Neanderthals, H. heidelbergensis, H. sapien; (heid: dali, bodo, pit of bones)

What was the technique that flakes off rock with an intentional shape?

Levallois technique

What are features of neanderthals?

occiptal bun, larger brains, barrel chests, no chins, large nose and sinus, facial prognathism, widest part of skill is low parietals, robust continuous brow, sloping forehead

What is the significance of La Chapelle and Shanidar 1?

showed intentional burial and communal care (la chapelle - old age, shanidar 1 - severe traumatic injuries)

What were the tools made with the levallois technique? Who used them?

mousterian tools; H. heidelbergensis and neanderthals

Who experienced island dwarfism?

H. floresiensis

Who was the first obligate biped?

H. erectus

what are features of modern humans?

high, vertical forehead, widest part of the skull is the high parietals, small brow ridge, small flat face, small teeth, presence of chin, overall more gracile

What tools did H. sapien use?

magdelinian tools

What does founders effect cause?

less variation as we move from the point of origin

What is domestication? Give examples

change from wild form; fertile crest (plants got larger) and dogs (got smaller)

what was the first thing to get domesticated?

dogs

What cultural effects did agriculture cause?

less varied diet (low protein, low nutrients, high carbs), sedentary lifestyle (decreased inter-birth intervals), more substantial houses, neighborhoods, trade, more specialized and diverse jobs

what biological effects did agriculture cause

more disease (from cities), less robust, lactace resistance, smaller faces, more cavities and plaque

What are the forms of adaptations?

physiological, developmental, genetic, cultural

what is acclimatization?

a physiological adaptation which is reversible, but takes longer to happen (adjusting to altitude sickness or getting tan)wh

what is acclimation?

a physiological adaptation that is short term (sweat, shiver, a burn)

what are the traits of physiological adaptations?

occur at any time, not inherited, can be reversed

what are traits of developmental adaptations?

happen during development, not inherited, not reversible

What are the developmental rules that talk about body and limb size?

Bergmann and Allen’s rules

what are traits of genetic adaptations?

microevolutionary adaptations, inhertible, not reversible, advantages over long periods in environment (skin color, sickle cell)

what are traits of cultural adaptations?

behavioral adaptation, clothing, shelter, diet

Who said race was biologically invalid?

Franz Boas

what are the fallacies of biological race in humans?

humans represent a biological continuum, not every population fits into a neat category, a group of traits used to define race don’t always appear together, the environment influences many characteristics, interbreeding is common, genetic inheritance is complicated, racial categories change with time and culture

What are the goals of forensic anthropology?

provide a positive ID, determine a cause of death, provide accurate physical evidence to be used by legal authorities, and to be a reliable witness

What are the different ways to get an analysis on a skeleton?

age, sex, cause of death, stature, ancestry

give examples of age analysis

dentition (under 18 or not), fusion of bone, degeneration of bone, suture fusion, pubic synthesis

give examples of sex analysis

pelvis shape, skull shape, robustness

give examples of ancestry analysis

geographic variation, genetic markers

give examples of stature analysis

long bone length

what are the timings of an injury?

antemortem (before), perimortem (during), postmortem (after)

How can you tell if an antemortem injury occurred?

signs of healing

how can you tell if a perimortem injury occurred?

no healing, clean breaks

how can you tell if a postmortem injury occurred?

more jagged, irregular, rough, possible discoloration

what is the name of the fracture that shows that a person was defending themselves?

parry fracture

what are traits of obligate bipeds?

central foramen magnum, non divergent hallux, bowl pelvis, medially angled femur, platform talus, robust calcaneus, s shaped spine