NCEA Level 3 Biology - Human Evolution

Foramen magnum

The name for the hole in the base of the skull, through which the spinal cord passes

Homo erectus

The first human to use fire and spread out of Africa

Oldowan

The earliest known stone tools. Used by H. Habilis

Hominin

The bipedal apes and their ancestors

Acheulian

The tool consisting of a core with a flattened stone with two faces made by Homo Erectus

Homo habilis

The first Hominin to use tools, also known as Handyman

Wernicke's area

The brain centre responsible for interpreting speech

Cultural evolution

The type of evolution where things are taught/learned and not passed on in the DNA

Tools better, use of shelter, abstract thought, imagination, domestication of plants/animals

Homo heidelbergensis

The group of Hominin that were initially called archaic Homo sapiens and was the first with firm evidence for systematic hunting

Biological evolution

The type of evolution that is passed on through our DNA

Mousterian

The name of the fine stone tools which include flakes, scrapers and spears with attached handles

Name for the Neanderthal tool culture

Homo neanderthalensis

The group of Hominin that first buried the dead and cared for the old

Dog

The first animal to be domesticated

Bowl shaped

Shape of pelvis in bipedal organisms

Sagittal

The crest along the top of the skull

Australopithecus afarensis

Scientific name for Lucy, first to probable walk upright

Lower Palaeolithic

The name for the culture that included the Oldowan and Acheulian together, also called 'Old Stone Age'

Upper Palaeolithic

The later phase of the Old Stone Age

Composite

A tool made of more than one kind of material

Multiregional

The view that modern humans evolved independently in Africa, Europe and Asia

Homo sapiens

The first species to make and use needles

Out of Africa

The theory that modern humans evolved in Africa and then migrated to Europe and Asia, displacing other earlier species
Another name for Replacement hypothesis

Brow ridge

Heavy bone over the eye which reduces the stresses in the skull and lower jaw involved with chewing

Prognathism

Having a snout or muzzle

Zygomatic arch

Gap through which large jaw muscles pass through

ice ages

Lowers water levels, creating land bridges between islands

Mitochondrial DNA

mtDNA passed on from mother to daughter only.

Autralopithecus diet

scavengers

Effect of cooking

Kills bacteria, softens food, supports change in jaw structure.

Effect of H.erectus discovering fire

Cooks food, hardens tools, lengthens day, kept warm, keeps predators away

Sexual dimorphism

Name for the differences observed between male and female skeletons

Bipedal characteristics.

Forward facing big toe, arched, big toe attached

c-shaped

Spine shape of modern apes

s-shaped

Spine shape of humans

Lower Palaeolithic-Acheulian

Tear drop shaped pebbles

Upper Palaeolithic tools

Complex tools such as: Needles, fish hooks made from bone and wood

Power grip

Type of grip used by all primates

Precision grip

Type of grip used by humans only

Shorter pelvic advantages

Stronger, able to tilt and rotate during walking

Arboreal

Living in trees

V- shaped law

Shape/dental arcade of jaw of humans

Middle Palaeolithic tools

Mousterian and scrapers axe heads

Lower Palaeolithic-Oldowan tools

Pebbles with flakes knocked off one edge

Domestication

Deliberately managing the reproduction of a species of plant or animal to make use of it for human benefit

Nomadic

A population with no fixed home.

Knuckle Walking

A form of quadrupedal locomotion in which the body weight of the individual pushed down on the ground with its knuckles

Brachiating

Locomotion accomplished by swinging by the arms from one hold to another

Broca's area

A part of the brain associated with the production of speech

Cranium

The part of the skull the encompasses the brain

Mandible

The lower Jaw or jawbone

Ardipithecus

Very early hominin, not fully bipedal

Paranthropus

Early hominin, very robust skull, massive teeth (molars), large jaw etc.. Represent a extinct branch of hominin evolution

Hunter-gatherer

Populations who were nomadic who would forage wild plants foods and actively hunt animals

Early Farmer

Populations who would live in settled societies, these groups cultivated crops and domesticated animals

Art

Represents a new-found ability to imagine things. Tools were no longer made by trial and error but by design