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Early Homo and Homo erectus
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Tuesday - Grades and class concernsTake home quiz
5pm this Wednesday
Email answers due at/before 11:59pm Sunday, 11-26
25 questions - 20 mc + 5 short answer do all five of the short answer questions
Content: chapters 8, 9, and up to 264p in the textbook.
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The Pleistocene Epoch3
Tuesday - Recall the big deal about the homininsHominins - groups us and our bipedal ape-like ancestors
Four evolutionary trends ~ 7 mya divergence from apes
Adopted the following adaptations/derived characteristics
Bipedalism
Generalized dentition
Increased reliance on material culture
Increased brain size
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3. Early genus Homo
Early Homo (2-1.4 mya)
Homo habilis 2.4-1.5 mya; East Africa-first associated with tool-use
Oldowan tools
-2.6 mya with early Homo-stone flakes (cutting)-choppers
Of note-generalized usage-expedient usage
New hominin: Homo erectus
-larger body size-larger brains-larger, more varied geographic range-more sophisticated material culture
Homo erectus transformed hominin evolution to human evolution
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Homo erectus from AfricaCurrent view: Homo erectus probably arose from earlier group of Homo in East Africa around 2 mya
Evidence for: -Earlier hominins are only found in Africa. -1.7 mya fossils at East Turkana, in Kenya, and not long after at other sites in East Africa.
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General morphology of Homo erectus Body size-adults weigh more than 100 pounds-average height 5'6"
Brain size-700-1250 cc
Cranium shapelong, low, heavily built-distinctive shape:
pentagonal cranium shape (viewed from behind)
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-braincase long and low, with little forehead development
Cranium wider at base
Sagittal keel - small ridge dividing the sagittal plane
Nuchal torus - bone projection in the back of the cranium where neck muscles attach -used to hold up the head
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Homo erectus - brain size and cranium
Homo erectus - In Africa2. West Turkana, Nariokotome-1.6 mya
-WT 15000-boy ~12 years old-estimated height of 5'3-best postcranial Homo erectus, earliest evidence of H. erectus
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Homo erectus first out of AfricaA greater range of physical variation in specimens outside of Africa at about 1.8 mya-found in Java, Indonesia by 1.6 mya-less than 200,000 years to travel from East Africa to Southeast Asia
Homo erectus Timeline13
First Dispersal of the Hominins~2 mya left Africa
-hominins found outside of Africa are members of genus Homo.
Homo erectus -the first to leave Africa
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First emigrants: Dmanisi, Republic of Georgia1.8-1.7 mya-early dates: evidence of early, rapid dispersal out of Africa
-similar features to African H. erectus robust cranial features-small cranial capacities: 600-780 cc-ht: 4'9 to 5'5"
-Oldowan industry
Old man of Dmanisi - no teeth, would need assistance to survive
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Asia Site 1: Java, IndonesiaJava ManDated Early-Middle Pleistocene (780-125 kya) later datesBrain size: 900cc
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Asia Site 2: Zhoukoudian
-780 kya-40 male and female adults and children near Beijing-14 skullcaps + cranial pieces, 100+ isolated teeth, and postcranial remains
Evidence of: -sexual dimorphism-scavenging
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Homo erectus in Europe
Site: Atapuerca, Spain~1.2 myaUsed Oldowan tools - similar to Dmanisi fossils
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Technological Trends in Homo erectus * H. erectus associated with new tool industry: Acheulian
Biface - flatter shape compared to Oldowan use: cut, scrape, pound, and dig.
Of note: Evidence that raw materials transported more consistently and for longer distances
* Suggests foresight: knew they needed a stone tool in the future and carried what they regarded as useful
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The Pleistocene Epoch20
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