Paleoanthropology (Quiz 2 Prep)

Osteology

Study of bones

Paleontology

the study of fossils

Fluvial Deposits

sediment deposited in a stream channel, along a stream bank, or on a floodplain

Lake deposits

typically fine-grained, finely laminated silt-clay deposits, a lot of our ancestors lived lake side

66 million years ago

How long ago was the Paleocene Epoch?

56 million years ago

How long ago was the Eocene Epoch?

34 million years ago

How long was the Oligocene?

5.3 million years ago

How long ago was the Pliocene?

2.6 million years ago

How long ago was the Pleistocene?

12,000 years ago

How long ago was the Holocene?

Nicolas Steno

one of the first people to convincingly argue that fossils were the preserved remains of
once living organisms, and that those remains became buried in sediments before turning into rock. He also developed
important principles for determining the relative ages of rocks (Original Horizontality, Lateral Continuity,
Superposition).

Stratigraphy

the study of rock layers and the sequence of events they reflect

Absolute Dating

The way we put numbers on fossils

Radiometric Dating

the process of measuring the absolute age of geologic material by measuring the concentrations of radioactive isotopes and their decay products

Clock in a rock/potassium argon dating

can only use on minerals trapping argon - only minerals, not organic materials -- dating volcanic rocks in assocation with fossil material (decay is slower so need to test for things atleast 500,000 years old)

Paleoecology

the ecology of fossil animals and plants

Half-life

length of time required for half of the radioactive atoms in a sample to decay

Aegyptopithecus

A propliopithecid genus from the Oligocene, probably ancestral to catarrhines; the largest primate found in the Fayum, Egypt.

Morotopithecus

early miocene ape from E. Africa, stiff lumbar region, orthograde post cranial complex

Paleoanthropology

the study of the history of human evolution through the fossil record

Homology

similarity resulting from common ancestry

Volcanic Deposits

result of materials like rock and gases emitted from a volcanic eruption -- ash is really good at preserving bone

Miocene

23 mya - 5.3 mya: Continued radiation of mammals and angiosperms; apelike ancestors of humans appear.

Sivapithecus

A genus of Miocene sivapithecids, proposed as ancestral to orangutans.

Pierolapithecus

A middle Miocene ape that has wrists and vertebrae that would have made it capable of brachiation, but also has relatively short fingers like modern monkeys

Hispanopithecus

a middle Miocene ape from Spain. Shows "ape-like" limb proportions and skull morphology

Chororapithecus

10 million years old
Possible Gorilla ancestor
Diverged from the rest of the Miocene Apes

Darwin Descent of Man (1871)

Described sexual selection, whereby traits are selected by the choices of sexual partners

Savannah hypothesis

hominid have adapted to bipedalism as means of surviving in the Savannah

Thermoregulation

Process of maintaining an internal temperature within a tolerable range.

Sahelanthropus

Foramen magnum is located far to the rear, just like for all apes who walked on 4 legs

Orrorin

~6 MYA Kenya (Miocene): ~6 MY old (Miocene); Kenya (2001); femur suggests walked upright

Ardipithecus

earliest recognized hominin genus (5.8-4.4 m.y.a), Ethiopia

Femur

What part of the body suggests bipedality?

Ardipithecus Ramidus

A later pre-australopithecine species from the late Miocene to the early Pliocene; shows evidence of both bipedalism and arboreal activity but no indication of the primitive perihoning complex.

Lucy's baby

-3 yr old
-most complete infant
-actually older than lucy

Australopithecus Anamensis

The oldest species of australopithecine from East Africa and a likely ancestor to A. afarensis.

Lucy

A forty percent complete skeleton discovery of an Australopithecus afarensis, or a species within the category of hominid. She was rediscovered on November 24, 1974 in Hadar, Ethiopia.

hyoid bone

U-shaped bone at the base of the tongue that supports the tongue and its muscles

Australopithecus Afarensis

An early australopithecine from East Africa that had a brain size equivalent to a modern chimpanzee's and is thought to be a direct human ancestor.

Oldest stone tools

3.4 mya cut marks on bone, Oldo

Paranthropus Boisei

(East Africa): 2.4 - 1.3 million years, dished face, sagittal crest, very strong sexual dimorphism, visor-like cheek bones, brain size 500 - 530 cc, very small incisors, canines, huge molar teeth, large jaws, hard and tough objects, skeleton like A. afarensis.

Paranthropus Robustus

(South Africa): 1.8 - 1.5 million years, similar to A. boisei, but not quite as robust - possible southern variant.

Paranthropus

Genus of early hominins, contemporary with Australopithecus, that includes boisei and robustus as species

Australopithecus Africanus

A gracile australopithecine from South Africa that was contemporaneous with A. aethiopicus, A. garhi, and A. boisei and was likely ancestral to A. robustus.

Australopithecus Sediba

A late species of australopithecine from South Africa that may have descended from Au. africanus, was a contemporary of Au. robustus, and expresses anatomical features found in Australopithecus and in Homo.

Homo habilis

extinct species of upright east African hominid having some advanced humanlike characteristics

Homo Erectus

"Upright man" these hominids became skillful hunters and invented more sophisticated tools for digging, scraping and cutting. They also became the first hominids to migrate from Africa. Also were the first to use fire.

African Homo Erectus

Homo ergaster
Lake Turkana, Kenya
Dated to 1.7-1.5 mya
Most complete fossil found by Richard Leakey in 1984
AKA Turkana boy, Nariokotome skeleton

Narikotome Boy

HOMO EGASTER - 1.6 Mill. Yrs Ago;
- Turkana, Kenya = found
- 90% complete skeleton.
- First evidence of brain size expansion & body/brain ratios different from apes
- Foramen magnum
- Bipedal Running
- long legs
- Narrow waist (short gut)

Homo Florensis

Very small hominin found in Indonesia. They show a combination of modern and australopith characteristics. Small size could be due to island dwarfism or microcephalism

Sina de los Huesos

Most plentiful fossil site in the world

Neaderthals

These people lived about 35,000 to 130,000 years ago, during the Old Stone Age. They wore animal skins and used fire for warmth and cooking. Their tools were more advanced and they buried their dead.

Allen's Rule

mammals living in the cold have shorter faces and limbs than mammals living in warmer areas

Bergmann's Rule

Warm-blooded animals that live in cold areas are bigger than those that live in warm areas

Mousterian Culture

- Neanderthals and early Homo sapiens
- 300,000-30,000 years ago
- More sophisticated stone tools + bone tools

Neanderthal Diet

Large animals, mammoth, bison, elk, rhinoceros. Hunted with weapons. Required great skill in hunting, had no projectiles.

Neanderthal Language

-hyoid bone from Kebara, Israel
-been argued it is similar to our hyoid bone
-FOX2P gene is same as our gene for speech

Denisovans

A newly discovered group of archaic Homo sapiens from southern Siberia dated to between 30,000 and 50,000 years ago.

Extremely Low

Do humans have high or low genetic diversity?

Jebel Irhoud

Located in Morocco, fossils of anatomically modern Homo sapiens and Mousterian tools, 350 - 280 KYA.

Middle Stone Age

The name given to the period of Mousterian stone-tool tradition in Africa, 200,000-40,000 years ago.

Chauvet Cave

The earliest known painted cave, dated to between 38,000 and 33,000 years ago. It is located in France.