continuation of archaic homo + homo erectus descendants

H. heidelbergensis age

middle pleistocene

distribution of homo erectus

1Myr-500Kyr; spread across most of the tropical old world; europe/asia/africa/australia; successful population

what is a mauer

mandible species

H. erectus Trinil vs. H. heidelbergensis Petralona comparison

had complete craniums

H. erectus Zhoukoudian vs. H. heidelbergensis Petralona comparison

had complete craniums, no major difference between the distance between orbits, brain size is just slightly larger in heidelbergensis

H. heidelbergensis regions

Europe, Petralona (Greece), Asia, Dali (China), and Africa, Kabwe (Zambia)

H. heidelbergensis regions significance

some gene flow between difference regions evident from common anatomical features; didn’t behave radically different from H. erectus; some level of behavioral sophistication

what was the distribution of H. heidelbergensis

Africa 600-250 Kya; Asia 500-200 Kya; Europe 500-300 Kya

were H. heidelbergensis in indonesia

no, in indonesia there were still homo erectus 1.5mya to 200 kya

where were H. floresiensis found/isolated

only on island Flores (Liang Bua, Flores, Indonesia); must cross deep water

what did H. floresiensis look like when they found them?

LBI partial skeleton + skull; homo erectus-like, very small (less than 4ft), very small brains (went against trend of larger body and brain size)

what else was found at the site on flores

stone tools; confirmed that you don’t need large brains to use tools

H. floresiensis brain shape

resembled H. erectus rather than H. sapiens, Pan, and microcephalic humans

what did the H. floresiensis brain shape indicate

that there is some link between floresiensis and erectus; possibly due to insular dwarfism

what is insular dwarfism

organisms on an island tend to converge towards the same size

possible explanations for insular dwarfism

• if an organism is smaller, there’s more food and resources to go around

• small-bodied animals can increase in size due to lack of predators

• population of H. erectus could’ve shrunk bc of island isolation

what did the brain shape of H. floresiensis reveal

brain organization may be more important than brain size; biological processes affecting other animals can affect humans also

H. naledi region

rising star, South Africa; had very small tiny caves to crawl in

what was peculiar about the caves in Rising Star, South Africa

there were no animal bodies, only human; indicates potential intentional disposal of dead; no major openings, could have dragged dead bodies through tiny openings

world map during distribution of H. heidelbergnesis

european population undergoes decent amount of evolutionary change because of periodic environmental change

Atapuerca – Sima de Los Huesos

pit of bones found in Spain

what was peculiar about Atapuerca – Sima de Los Huesos

it was a cavern mostly horizontal but there’s a pit from water dissolving the limestone that drops down; people drop down the hole

what was speculated about the Atapuerca – Sima de Los Huesos

could have been a symbolic process or could have just disposed bodies there

Atapuerca – Sima de Los Huesos age

300-400,000 years ago in the middle of the pleistocene period

Atapuerca – Sima de Los Huesos fossil info

• 17 different crania constructed

• 80% of hominin fossils come from this pit (large brain hominins)

features of the skulls that came from Atapuerca – Sima de Los Huesos

• nose is really large as if the entire center part of the face hsa been pulled outward and forward

• M shaped eyebrow bones = double arching of brow ridges

• mandible has a distinct feature from the side = gap between last molar and ascending upper part of the mandible (retromolar gap)

• these are the primary features that represent European hominins t that come later on

what was the purpose of the retromolar gap

no functional purpose but shows that the face has been pulled outward

what do the 4 features that represent European hominins show

shows a population that is in transition