Studied by 40 people
Flexor pollicis longus
Muscle found in modern humans that makes the thumb our strongest finger
Abducted hallux
Big toe aligned with other toes for better balance and stride
Achilles tendon
Returns energy to ball of foot
Savannah Ape (Darwin)
Forest disappeared -> Live on ground -> Tools for hunting & fighting
Grassland Apes (Raymond Dart)
Grassy, distance hunters -> Tools replaced canines -> Became more peaceful
Threat & Display (Helen Fisher)
Bipedalism evolved due to sexual signaling
Hands to Carry
Benefit from bipedalism when asked to carry food, tools, young, etc.
Collecting Fruit Model (Kevin Hunt)
Seeds, fruit & pods high up -> facilitate standing
Energy Efficiency Model
Bbipedalism was more energy efficient than quadrupedalism for breathing while long-distance running
Thermoregulation Model (Peter Wheeler)
Humans shed heat better when further from ground
Provisioning Model (Lovejoy)
Natural selection selected for males to provision females so they could have more offspring
Relative dating
Geographic features (rock) found w/ fossil that creates bracket dates
Absolute dating
Dating the actual fossil which creates more precise dates (can't be done w/ most fossils)
Radiocarbon (C-14) dating
Determine the date/age of younger, organic artifacts using bone and charcoal
Potassium argon dating (K-Ar dating)
Dates layers around older fossils using argon crystals and potassium
Uranium dating
Dates layers around older fossils using uranium
Zircon dating
Used to determine the age of the Earth
Paleomagnetism
A dating technique relying on knowing the patterns of the Earth's polar field reversals
Biostratigraphy
Using animals as markers of certain time periods to date fossils
Earliest Primate Ancestor
Tree Shrew
Angiosperm Hypothesis
Primates originated with the arboreal predation of insects after expansion of the angiosperms (flowering plants)
Adapids
Lemurs
Ida
Ancestral lemurs
Omomyids
Galagos
Apidium & Branisella
NW Monkeys
Aegyptopithecus
OW Monkeys and Apes
Sivapithecus
Orangutans
Proconsul
Apes
Drypithecus
Oak ape
Ramapithecus
Ape-like jaw
Gigantopithecus
Big ape with huge teeth
Bipedalism Adaptations
Foramen magnum S-shaped spinal curve Barrel ribs Bowl shaped pelvis Valgus knee Foot arch Big toe is forward
Which genus was a long distance walker?
Australopithecus afarensis
Cranial changes for bipedalism
Foramen magnum Wider occipital condyles Larger mastoid process
Spinal changes for bipedalism
Lumber holds up waist More lumbar vertebrae 3 spinal curves (cervical, thoracic, lumbar)
Hand changes for bipedalism
Smaller hands Less curved fingers
Pelvis changes for bipedalism
Bowl shaped Wide & flaring ilium Reorientated gluteus maximus & medius
Femur changes for bipedalism
Denser femoral neck Lower greater trochanter Angled femur Flattened distal condyles
Feet changes for bipedalism
Hallux moved in line with other toes Arched
Running adaptations
Gluteus medius & minus Achilles tendon Smaller foot size Striding gait
Human's Slow Life History
Larger brain Long juvenile period Increased longevity Paternal investment Reduced dimorphism
Homo heidelbergensis places
Stenheim, Germany Arago, France Petralona, Greece China, Dali
La-Chapelle Aux Saints
First full neanderthal skeleton discovered Led to stigma about people in mental hospitals
Mid-Pleistocene technology changes
Larger brains = better tools Larger populations = rapid technology growth
Homo helmei
Archaic Homo sapiens
Homo heidelbergensis
Middle Pleistocene hominins from Africa and western Eurasia
Bodo, Ethiopia
Fossil showed transition from Homo erectus to Homo heidelbergensus with cutmarks on lips (defleshing)
Kabwe, Zambia (Rhodesian Man)
Poor oral health from eating sweets for large portion of diet
Sima del Los Huesos
First example of body disposal
Narmada, India
Big brain (1288 cc) H. heidelbergensis with a rounded skull but no forehead
Dorothy Garrod
Preserved a Neanderthal site in Devils Tower Cave, Gibraltar
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