Biological Anthropology Study Guide Exam 3 Flashcards

Flashcards for Biological Anthropology Exam 3

Strata

Layers of rock

Taphonomy

The study of how organisms decay and become fossilized.

Eras

Major divisions of geologic time, such as Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic.

Epochs

Subdivisions of geologic time within eras.

Pangaea

A supercontinent that existed during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras.

Steno’s law of superposition

In a sequence of layered rocks, the oldest layers are at the bottom, and the youngest are at the top.

Fluorine dating

A relative dating method that measures the accumulation of fluorine in bone.

Chemical dating

Dating methods that use predictable chemical changes over time.

Dendrochronology

A dating method using tree rings to determine the age of wood.

Paleomagnetic dating

A dating method based on the shifting of the Earth's magnetic poles.

Biostratigraphic dating

A relative dating method that uses the associations of fossils in different strata to determine relative age.

Paleozoic era

An era of ancient life that began approximately 541 million years ago and ended about 252 million years ago.

Mesozoic era

An era of middle life that began approximately 252 million years ago and ended about 66 million years ago.

Cenozoic era

Relates to the extinction event 65 million years ago due to an asteroid impact, marking the boundary between the Cretaceous and Paleogene periods.

Arboreal hypothesis

Hypothesis that primates evolved due to life in the trees.

Plesiadpiforms

An extinct group of early primates.

Proconsulid

An extinct ape genus from the Miocene epoch

Dryopithecus

An extinct ape genus from the Miocene epoch

Sivapithecus

An extinct ape genus from the Miocene epoch

Gigantopithecus

The largest ape that ever lived.

Proprimate

Early ancestors to primates.

Visual predation hypothesis

The idea that primates evolved to predate insects.

Angiosperm hypothesis

The idea that primates evolved to eat angiosperms.

Orrorin tugenesis

Relating to Orrorin tugenesis

Ardipithecus ramidus

An early hominin species.

Australopithecus

A genus of extinct hominins.

A. afarensis

A species of Australopithecus.

A. africanus

A species of Australopithecus.

A. robustus

A species of Australopithecus with large teeth.

A. sebida

A species of Australopithecus found in South Africa.

Oldowan complex

The earliest stone tool industry.

Lower Paleolithic

The earliest part of the Paleolithic.

Homo habilis

An early species of Homo.

Mary & Louis Leakey

Pioneering paleoanthropologists who made major discoveries in Olduvai Gorge, including Homo habilis and Paranthropus boisei.

Patchy Forest Hypothesis

Proposes that early hominins adapted to fluctuating environments with mixed habitats.

Provisioning Hypothesis

Owen Lovejoy; male provisioning and pair bonding led to bipedalism and reduced canines.

Hunting Hypothesis

Charles Darwin; hunting drove tool use, brain development, and upright walking.

Toumai (Sahelanthropus tchadensis)

Found in Chad; 6–7 mya, Small brain (~350 cc), likely bipedal, reduced canines.

Orrorin tugenensis

Kenya; 6 mya, Bipedal (based on femur), some tree climbing traits

Ardipithecus ramidus

Ethiopia; 4.4 mya, Bipedal and climber; nonhoning teeth

Grande Coupure

A major extinction and cooling event around 34 mya at the boundary of the Eocene and Oligocene epochs. It reshaped mammalian species across Europe and Asia.