bio anthro

What is the Holocene?

The current geological epoch.

What is the Pleistocene?

Earlier epoch when most human evolution occurred.

What is radiometric dating?

Dating using radioactive decay.

What is radiocarbon dating (14C) useful for?

Dating organic remains up to ~55,000 years old.

What does Potassium-Argon dating date?

Volcanic material.

What is uranium dating commonly used for?

Dating cave material.

What is the osteological paradox?

Unhealthy-looking skeletons may represent people who survived longer.

What species made the Laetoli footprints?

Australopithecus afarensis.

How old are the Laetoli footprints?

3.6 million years old.

Who was Otzi?

Mummified human remains.

What is Homo habilis known for?

Earliest Homo fossils (~2 mya).

When do the earliest Homo sapiens appear?

Around 300 kya.

Where was Homo naledi discovered?

Rising Star Cave, South Africa.

What is the half-life of radiocarbon?

5730 years.

How did Charles Lyell influence Darwin?

Earth was very old and changed slowly over time.

How did Thomas Robert Malthus influence Darwin?

Populations grow faster than resources, causing competition.

How did Jean-Baptiste Lamarck influence Darwin?

Species change over time through adaptation.

How did William Paley influence Darwin?

Complex design exists in nature.

What were Lamarck’s main ideas?

Use/disuse, inheritance of acquired characteristics, individuals evolve.

What are the requirements for natural selection?

Variation, struggle for existence, and heritable traits affecting survival/reproduction.

What did Raymond Dart discover?
.

Taung Child

What species is Taung Child?

Australopithecus africanus.

Where was Taung Child discovered?

South Africa.

What are Louis Leakey and Mary Leakey known for?

Olduvai Gorge, Oldowan tools, Laetoli footprints, Homo habilis.

What did Donald Johanson discover?

Lucy.

What species was Lucy?

Australopithecus afarensis.

Where was Lucy discovered?

Ethiopia.

What is Ian Tattersall known for?

Human fossil record research.

Where did Ian Tattersall work?

American Museum of Natural History.

What is Erik Trinkaus known for?

Neanderthals and biological stress.

What is Chris Stringer known for?

Out of Africa hypothesis.

What is Svante Pääbo known for?

Sequenced Neanderthal genome, discovered Denisovans, Nobel Prize 2022.

What is the taxonomy order?

Kingdom → Phylum → Class → Order → Family → Genus → Species.

What family are humans in?

Hominidae.

What are key primate traits?

Forward-facing eyes, stereoscopic vision, opposable thumbs, grasping hands/feet, flat nails, large brains, clavicles, long infancy.

What are strepsirrhines?

Lemurs and lorises.

What are haplorhines?

Monkeys, apes, and humans.

Main difference between monkeys and apes?

Monkeys usually have tails; apes do not.

Which have larger brains: monkeys or apes?

Apes.

What are the four major hominin groups?

Ardipithecus, Australopithecus, Paranthropus, Homo.

What species was Lucy?

Australopithecus afarensis.

Key traits of Australopithecus afarensis?

Bipedal, small brain, East Africa, tree + ground movement.

Important features of Australopithecus afarensis?

Prognathism, small canines, thick enamel.

What is Australopithecus africanus associated with?

Taung Child.

What is Paranthropus boisei nicknamed?

Nutcracker Man.

Traits of Paranthropus boisei?

Huge molars, sagittal crest, tough plant diet.

Traits of Paranthropus robustus?

Dish-shaped face and large chewing muscles.

Skeletal signs of bipedalism?

S-shaped spine, bowl-shaped pelvis, angled femur, arched feet, foramen magnum underneath skull.

What is the foramen magnum?

Opening where the spinal cord enters the skull.

What is Homo habilis nicknamed?

Handy Man.

What tools are associated with Homo habilis?

Oldowan tools.

What behaviors are associated with Homo habilis?

Meat scavenging and larger brains.

Why is Homo erectus important?

First major migration out of Africa.

What tools are associated with Homo erectus?

Acheulean hand axes.

Traits of Homo erectus?

Larger body, modern body proportions, controlled fire.

Key Homo erectus fossils?

Java Man, Peking Man, Turkana Boy.

What is Homo heidelbergensis important for?

Ancestor of Neanderthals and modern humans.

What tool technique is linked to Homo heidelbergensis?

Levallois prepared-core technique.

What is Homo floresiensis nicknamed?

Hobbit.

Where was Homo floresiensis found?

Flores, Indonesia.

When did Neanderthals live?

200,000–40,000 years ago.

Neanderthal body traits?

Large cranial capacity, robust body, large nose, barrel chest.

What tools did Neanderthals use?

Mousterian tools.

Did Neanderthals possibly have language?

Yes.

What gene linked to language did Neanderthals have?

FOXP2.

What are Mousterian tools?

Prepared-core stone tools.

Theories for Neanderthal extinction?

Climate change, competition, disease, interbreeding.

Important early Homo sapiens sites?

Jebel Irhoud (Morocco) and Omo (Ethiopia).

Oldowan tools are associated with which species?

Homo habilis.

Acheulean tools are associated with which species?

Homo erectus.

Mousterian tools are associated with which species?

Neanderthals.

What is the Levallois method?

Prepared-core stone tool technique.

Important structures for speech?

Larynx, tongue, hyoid bone, Broca’s area.

What is the FOXP2 gene associated with?

Speech and language.

What is Bergmann’s Rule?

Cold climates favor larger bodies.

What is Allen’s Rule?

Cold climates favor shorter limbs and compact bodies.

What adaptation do Tibetans have?

EPAS1 gene adaptation.

What effect does EPAS1 have?

Lower red blood cell levels at high altitude.

What does the AMY1 gene do?

Helps digest starch.

What is red ochre associated with?

Burial practices.

Earliest cremation evidence?

Lake Mungo, Australia.

Examples of bog bodies?

Tollund Man and Lindow Man.

What is excarnation?

Exposure of bodies after death.

Example of excarnation?

Tibetan sky burial.

Who were Burke and Hare?

Murderers who sold bodies for anatomy study.

Who bought bodies from Burke and Hare?

Dr Robert Knox.

What was the Bertillon System?

Identification using body measurements.

Who created the Bertillon System?

Alphonse Bertillon

What was the Parkman Case?

Early forensic anthropology case using skeletal identification.

What is Clyde Snow known for?

Humanitarian forensic anthropology.