Bio Anth- Fossils and Bones

Holocene

The current geological epoch, which began approximately 11,700 years ago.

Pleistocene

The geological epoch before the Holocene, lasting from about 2.6 million to 11,700 years ago.

What taxonomy are humans part of?

Primates

Trachilos footprints

5.7 million years ago, Crete, Miocene hominin

Laetoli footprints

3.6 million years ago, Tanzania, Australopithecus afarensis

Eve’s footprints

117,000 years ago, South Africa, Homo sapiens.

archaeological record?

Body of physical evidence about the past

What can be seen in stratigraphic layers?

contents of lower layers is older than the contents of higher layers.

what is the law of superposition?

A sequence that has been accumulated through time, it is only a sequence of deposition, not timing .

index fossils?

fossils that are used to define and identify geological periods.

what is radiometric decay?

natural rate of radioactive decay of elements- Uranium, Potassium and Carbon.

what is radiocarbon dating?

determines the age of something by measuring carbon 14 content.

What is potassium-argon dating?

A method used to date rocks and minerals by measuring the ratio of radioactive potassium-40 to argon-40.

What is uranium-lead dating?

A dating technique that uses the ratio of uranium-238 to lead-206 to determine the age of rocks and minerals. uranium-238 decays into lead-206.

how does the bomb peak curve help in identifying bodies?

it helps to distinguish whether a body is pre or post 1950

what is tested when checking bomb peak bodies?

carbon-14 isotope that is extracted from dental enamel- helps to determine date of birth.