Untitled Quiz

Anthropology: Appreciating Human Diversity

• Fifteenth Edition by Conrad Phillip Kottak, University of Michigan
• Copyright ©2013 McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights Reserved.

Chapter 9: Archaic Homo

• Covers Early Homo, Out of Africa I: H. erectus, Archaic H. Sapiens, The Neandertals, and Homo floresiensis
• Key Questions:
  • Earliest forms of Homo, origin, and migration?
  • Major toolmaking traditions and adaptive strategies of archaic Homo?
  • Characteristics of Neandertals and differences from other Homo forms?

Early Homo

• Approximately 2 million years ago (mya), two distinct hominin groups emerged: early Homo and Australopithecus boisei (hyper-robust).
• Australopithecus boisei went extinct around 1 mya.
• Homo evolved into Homo erectus by 1.9 mya.
• Dental, facial, and cranial robustness of australopithecines reduced in early Homo forms.
• Homo began hunting large animals to supplement gathering and scavenging.

H. rudolfensis and H. habilis

• H. rudolfensis based on KNM-ER 1470 skull, found by Leakey and Ngeneo in Kenya.
• Mixture of Homo and Australopithecus features.
• Larger brain size than Australopithecus; similar to Homo.
• Molars more like hyperrobust Australopithecus.
• Debate whether a separate species or part of Homo habilis; lived earlier or at same time as Homo habilis.
• Several different hominin kinds lived in Africa before and after the advent of Homo.

H. habilis and H. erectus

• First Homo habilis representation found at Olduvai Gorge (1960) by Leakeys; dated to 1.8 mya.
• Another Homo habilis individual (OH62) – small female with apelike limb bones; suggests greater tree-climbing ability than later hominins.
• Cranial capacity: 600-700 cm³.
• Unexpectedly small size and primitive proportions given knowledge of Homo erectus in East Africa.
• By 1.6 mya, H. erectus attained cranial capacity of 900 cm³ and modern body shape and height.

H. habilis and H. erectus (Sister species)

• Recent fossil finds from Kenya show H. habilis and H. erectus overlapped (not ancestor-descendent relationship).
• Sexual dimorphism in H. erectus is greater than expected (compared to chimps or modern humans).
• H. habilis and H. erectus split from a common ancestor prior to 2 mya and lived side-by-side in eastern Africa for approximately 500,000 years.
• Separate species for a long time suggests they had their own ecological niches, avoiding direct competition.
• Fossil record: H. rudolfensis (2.03-1.78 mya), H. habilis (1.9-1.44 mya), H. erectus (1.9-1.0 mya).

H. habilis and H. erectus (Significance of Hunting)

• Ecological niche separating H. erectus from H. habilis and A. boisei likely involved greater reliance on hunting and improved adaptation, including better tools.
• With emergence of H. erectus, there is a rapid increase in number and diversity of tools.
• Tools enabled Homo to:
  • Acquire meat more reliably
  • Use hides after butchering
  • Dig and process tubers, roots, nuts, and seeds more efficiently
  • Batter, crush, and pulp coarse vegetation
• Developments eased chewing burden; chewing muscles reduced; smaller dentition & jaws.

Homo erectus

• Cultural manipulation of environment allowed H. erectus to exploit a wider range of ecological zones.
• Stronger skulls and better-protected brains; better survival rates when hunting large animals.
• Skull base expanded; spongy bone ridge for massive neck muscle attachment.
• Average cranial capacity increased from ~500 cm³ in australopithecines to ~1,000 cm³ in Homo erectus.

Out of Africa I: H. erectus

• Biological and cultural changes enabled H. erectus to employ gathering and hunting strategies.
• Enabled H. erectus movement out of Africa into Asia and Europe.
• Through population growth and dispersal, small groups gradually spread and changed.
• Fueled by a lifestyle based on hunting and gathering; searching for meat.

Paleolithic Tools

• Paleolithic (Old Stone Age): Includes technique differentiation.
• Best stone tools made from flint which fractures sharply when hammered.
• Marked by technique refinement and recognizable toolmaking traditions (different tools for different purposes).

Acheulean: Lower Paleolithic Tools

• Acheulean: Lower Paleolithic tool tradition associated with H. erectus (at least 1.76 mya).
• Core bilaterally and symmetrically chipped in a predetermined shape.
• Chipping produced flakes.
• Hand axes used for many tasks.
• Predetermined shapes indicated a cognitive leap between early hominins and H. erectus.
• Greater efficiency; tools predetermined form & specific tasks; increasingly complex technology.

Adaptive Strategies of H. erectus

• Interrelated changes in biology and culture increased human adaptability (capacity to live in and modify wider environments).
• Biology:
  • Bipedalism (larger and longer legs facilitated long-distance stalking and endurance).
  • Bony ridge at rear and front of skull (likely protected brain, increased hunting survival rates).
  • Large brow ridges & front teeth (likely for pulling large animals).
  • Reduced molar size (likely reduced chewing demands).
  • Increased cranial capacity (~1000 cm³) doubling australopithecine average.
  • Face and jaw smaller than australopithecines.

Adaptive Strategies of H. erectus (Cultural Adaptations)

• Hunting and gathering economy helped Homo erectus expand their environment and migrate.
• Improved tools:
  • More diverse tools, aided in hunting and gathering
  • Meat more reliably acquired, hides used for clothing, tubers, nuts, seeds processed efficiently.
• Tools include dig/process tubers, roots, nuts, and seeds..
• Technology aided in meat acquiring and hides use.
• Fire: Hearths confirm fire use, aided in cave occupation, protection from predators, surviving cold, and cooking.
• Cooking breaks down vegetable fibers, tenderizes meat, kills parasites, making meat more digestible, reducing chewing strain.

Language

• Was language an additional advantage for socially complex activities and technologies like Acheulean tools, cooperative hunting, and H. erectus's cranial capacity?
• Speech aided in coordination, cooperation, and learning traditions.
• No definite evidence, but ape language potential and H. erectus's brain size suggest some speech form.

Evolution and Expansion of H. erectus

• Dmanisi fossils (Georgia): One complete and two partial skulls (1.77-1.7 mya); rapid spread of early Homo out of Africa into Eurasia by 1.7-1.77 mya, likely in search of meat.
• Java Man: Earliest H. erectus fossil found in Indonesian Island of Java; fossils also found in Tanzania, China, Europe
• Increased range in pursuit of meat.

H. antecessor and H. heidelbergensis

• H. antecessor (780,000 years old): Spain's Atapuerca mountains; possible common ancestor of Neandertals, and modern humans.
• H. heidelbergensis (500,000 years old): massive fossil jaw found in Heidelberg, Germany. Possible transitional group between Homo erectus and later hominins like Neandertals and modern humans.

H. antecessor and H. heidelbergensis (further details)

• Stone flakes found on England's Suffolk seacoast show that humans reached northern Europe 700,000 years ago.
• Terra Amata, France, shows bands of 15-25 people made regular visits during late spring and early summer some 300,000 years ago.
• Seasonal camp evidence: animal bones, hearths, postholes; stone chips.
• Homo's tolerance of environmental diversity increased, indicated by fossil and tool distribution (Europe, Asia, and Africa).
• Archaic H. sapiens occupied Arago cave in southeastern France during a bitterly cold period.
• Arago fossils possess mixed features, transitional between H. erectus and Neandertals.

Recap 9.1: Summary of Data on Homo Fossil Groups

• Fossil representatives of the genus Homo, compared with anatomically modern humans (AMHs) and chimps (Pan troglodytes)
• Species, Dates, Distribution, Important Sites, and Brain Size.

Ice Ages of the Pleistocene

• Pleistocene: Epoch of human life.
• Each subdivision associated with specific hominin groups.
• Lower Pleistocene: late Australopithecus and early Homo.
• Middle Pleistocene: Homo erectus and archaic Homo sapiens.
• Upper Pleistocene: Modern Homo sapiens and Neandertals.
• Several glacials (ice ages), separated by interglacials (extended warm periods).
• Würm: Last glacial period (75,000 - 12,000 B.P.).
• Interstadials: brief periods of relative warmth during the Würm glacial.

The Neandertals

• First discovered in Germany's Neander Valley in 1856; initially believed European-origin.
• Puzzling: no clear framework for understanding human evolution.
• Fossils with similar features (large faces and brows) found in Africa and Asia.
• Identified Neandertal mtDNA in bones from central Asia and Siberia; much further east than previously suspected.

Cold-Adapted Neandertals

• Stocky build with large trunks and short limbs to minimize surface area and conserve heat.
• Massive nasal cavities suggest long, broad noses to warm and moisten air.
• Extremely large front teeth; possibly used for various tasks before tools.
• Later Neandertals show reduced robustness in back teeth and face; suggests tool use reduced heavy work on teeth. Smaller teeth favored

Mousterian Tool Kit

• Neandertal technology (Middle Paleolithic) called Mousterian improved during Würm; complex kit of at least 14 categories of tools.
• Flaking technique; specific tools for specific tasks (scrapers, larger spear points).
• Evidence of hide preparation and tool use for sawing, gouging, and piercing.

The Neandertals and Modern People

• Prevailing view: H. erectus split into groups, one ancestral to Neandertals, one to modern humans.
• Modern humans drove Neandertals to extinction by moving into their territories.
• Some scientists believe Neandertals contributed to modern European ancestry.
• Neandertals differed from modern humans:
  • Heavy brow ridges, slanting foreheads.
  • Larger cranial capacity.
  • Rugged skeletons, faces, and huge front teeth.
  • Greater sexual dimorphism.
• Errors helped create inaccurate stereotypes of Neandertals (based on misinterpretation of La Chapelle-aux-Saints example).
• Some argue Neandertals contributed to modern European ancestry. Fossils show combination of Neandertal robustness with modern features.

Life as a Neandertal

• Lived in cold areas; strongly attached to families and local communities.
• Showed empathy (cared for disabled; buried their dead).
• Used language (possibly tones, whistles).
• Excellent mechanical skills (intricately fastened spear heads)
• Hunting close range (lacked spear thrower).
• Victims of cannibalism (evidence exists from El Sidrón Cave)..
• Lived within a localized territory and had little contact with outsiders; no trade evidence..
• Unchanging tool design (Mousterian).
• Did not borrow techniques.

The Denisovans

• Distant Neandertal cousins in Denisova cave (Southern Siberia).
• Finger fragment and wisdom tooth (extracted full genome); girl with brown hair, skin, and eyes.
• Wisdom tooth differed from modern humans and Neandertals.
• Lived in Asia (400,000-50,000 years ago).
• Split from Neandertals ~400,000 years ago.
• Neandertals spread West, Denisovans headed East, Modern humans remained in Africa.

Homo floresiensis

• Small human species surviving until 12,000B.P.
• Discovered in Flores, Indonesia (2004).
• Likely a downsized version of Homo erectus.
• Survived much longer than previously thought (95,000-13,000 B.P).
• Brain size smaller than chimpanzees, casting doubts on cultural abilities. -Controlled fire; sophisticated stone tools (more sophisticated than those of H. erectus).
• Island-dwelling species; faced unusual evolutionary forces that caused some to evolve giantism and dwarfism (e.g., massive lizards, dwarf elephants).
• Population wiped out by volcanic eruption around 12,000 B.P.
• Anatomy analysis suggests a more primitive hominin or descendant of H. erectus.