best known group of african hominid species two groups australopithecus (gracile forms) paranthropus...
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Australopiths and Pre-Australopiths
Australopiths
Best known group of African hominid species
Two groups Australopithecus (gracile forms) Paranthropus (robust forms)
Lived from 4.2- 1 mya1. They are all clearly bipedal2. Relatively small brains3. They have large teeth, particularly the
back teeth, with thick to very thick enamel on molars.
Australopithecus afarensis Donald Johanson
and his team (including Tim White) discovered Lucy in the Afar region of Ethiopia
Discovered in 1974 First skeleton of an
Early hominid until last year
Bipedal But not completely
the same as us Cranial capacity
350cc 3.2 mya Showed bipedalism
preceded encephalization
Mary Leakey discovers Laetoli Footprints
Shows 54 individuals walking upright
Radioactive dating places these footprints at 3.59 to 3.75mya
Paranthropus boisei
2.6 – 1.8 mya Huge jaw Large molars Large sagital crest Cranial capacity
530cc First discovered by
anthropologist Mary Leakey on July 17, 1959, at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania,
Paranthropus(Robust Australopiths) Many different species and
fossils from all over Africa Large, deep, lower jaws. Large molars Sagital crest What do think this means?
Paranthropus aethiopicus 2.5 mya Lake Turkana, Kenya Cranial capacity
410cc
Pre-Australopiths (7.0-4.4 mya) Sahelanthropus Found in Chad at
Toros-Menalla 2001 Faunal Dating places
it around 7 mya Small Braincase no
larger than modern chimpanzee
Small vertical face is hominid like feature
What ape like features do you see?
Ardipithecus ramidus
Discovered in 1994 by Tim White (U.C. Berkley) and Lovejoy (Kent State)
In 1994 just found portion of jaw and a few teeth
Found in Middle Awash of Ethiopia
Complete find published in Science October 2009
Mostly complete
Bipedal Wouldn’t be able to
run long distances Grasping toe Small brain Small canines Cranial capacity
350-500cc Dated Volcanic Ash
above and below fossils
4.4 mya