First Humans Review PDF

UNIT One Test Review. Know the Highlighted material and the slides that are on this document The period when we last had a common ancestor with chimpanzees was the Miocene. Know this slide below The trigger set our or our ancestor’s minds racing was FIRE. It allowed our ancestors to have SECURITY...

UNIT One Test Review. Know the Highlighted material and the slides that are on this document The period when we last had a common ancestor with chimpanzees was the Miocene. Know this slide below The trigger set our or our ancestor’s minds racing was FIRE. It allowed our ancestors to have SECURITY AND TIME TO THINK AND IMAGINE BECAUSE THEY WERE NOT WORRIED what the night would bring them. Australopithecus afarensis). Nickname Lucy: Similar to chimpanzees, afarensis children grew rapidly after birth and reached adulthood earlier than modern humans. This meant afarensis had a shorter period of growing up than modern humans have today, leaving them less time for parental guidance and socialization during childhood. afarensis had both ape and human characteristics: members of this species had apelike face proportions (a flat nose, a strongly projecting lower jaw) and brain-case (with a small brain, usually less than 500 cubic centimeters -- about 1/3 the size of a modern human brain), and long, strong arms with curved fingers adapted for climbing trees. They also had small canine teeth like all other early humans, and a body that stood on two legs and regularly walked upright. Their adaptations for living both in the trees and on the ground helped them survive for almost a million years as climate and environments changed. Walking on two legs was more efficient and the energy savings allowed them to have more children-over their life time. Paleoanthropologists can tell what afarensis ate from looking at the remains of their teeth. Dental studies indicate they ate soft, sugar-rich fruits, but their tooth size and shape suggest that they could have also eaten hard, brittle foods too – probably as ‘fallback’ foods during seasons when fruits were not available. Height: Males: average 4 ft 11 in (151 cm); Females: average 3 ft 5 in (105 cm) Weight: Males: average 92 lbs (42 kg) ; Females: average 64 lbs (29 kg) Homo habilis (The jack of All Trades): This species, one of the earliest members of the genus Homo, has a slightly larger brain- case and smaller face and teeth than in Australopithecus or older hominine species. But it still retains some ape-like features, including long arms and a moderately-prognathic face. Its name, which means ‘handy man’, was given in 1964 because this species was thought to represent the first stone-tool maker. Currently, the oldest stone tools are dated slightly older than the oldest evidence of the genus Homo. It is theorized that this ape man had a sense of curiosity that exceeded that of afarensis. Eating meat made their brains bigger and they were the first to use stone tools. Called the Jack of All Trades because he/she was able to survive on a variety of different foods from various sources.Using stone tools gave them access to bone marrow. Height: average 3 ft 4 in - 4 ft 5 in (100 - 135 cm) Weight: average 70 lbs (32 kg) Paranthropus boisei: NOT ON ANY EVALUATION -DO NOT STUDY boisei is characterized by a specialized skull with adaptations for heavy chewing. This species was nicknamed for its big teeth and strong chewing muscles, which attached to the large crest on the skull. Those features show that Paranthropus boisei likely ate tough foods like roots and nuts. But dental micro wear patterns seen on P. boisei teeth are more similar to living fruit-eaters with fine striations, rather than large, deep pits seen in the teeth of living species that eat grass, tough leaves and stems, or other hard, brittle foods. While the morphology of P. boisei skull and teeth indicate it could have chewed hard or tough foods. It's possible that this species only ate hard or tough foods during times when it's preferred resources were scarce, relying on them as fallback foods. This species lived in environments that were dominated by grasslands but also includes more closed, wet habitats associated with rivers and lakes. Height: Males: average 5 ft 4 in (137 cm); Females: average 4 ft 1 in (124 cm) Weight: Males: average 108 lbs (49 kg); Females: average 75 lbs (34 kg) Homo ergaster: He was 6 feet 1 inch. He had a body shape perfectly adapted to an active life in the sun. Human populations living on equatorial grasslands today, such as the Masai in Kenya, have the same tall, linear physique. This body shape creates a large surface area over which the body can cool itself more easily, preventing overheating from the blazing Sun. This hominid was probably the first to regulate its temperature through sweating. For creatures that must remain active at midday in a sunny, dry habitat, sweating is the most effective mechanism for maintaining safe body and brain temperatures. His body was probably smooth and largely hairless, since heat loss through sweating occurs most efficiently through naked skin. Its skin was almost certainly dark, to protect it from the Sun's harmful rays. Homo ergaster traveled long distances on foot, as it worked hard to scavenge enough meat to feed its growing body and brain. A tight pelvis could have caused problems during birth. As brains increased in size, mothers had to push increasingly big-brained infants through an already tight pelvis. The solution was a trade off. While chimpanzees are born with their brains almost fully mature, humans are born with a comparatively immature brain. This makes human babies helpless and vulnerable during their first year of life as their brains make vital neural connections. As a result, human mothers need to be well nourished to keep up with the demands of their babies, making them increasingly reliant on the support of their male partner and other members of their social group. Many experts regard this shift as the beginning of the nuclear family. Fewer differences between the sexes in Homo ergaster may reflect a distinctively human pattern of sharing and cooperation between males and females. Homo ergaster probably communicated using gestures combined with a limited range of sounds. He was the first of the genus homo to be able to put together relationships such as migrating birds indicating a shift in season. Why did Erg aster have such a high energy consumption or was considered a gas guzzler when it came to its brain? Because it used one 6th of the energy it takes to run its body Why was there no major technological advance from Erg aster’s first stone axe for one million years after it was first invented? Because until the environment changed there was no need to adapt. Homo ergaster is also known as African Homo erectus for fossil remains found in Africa. HOMO ERECTUS The extinct ancient human Homo erectus is a species of firsts. It was the first of our relatives to have human-like body proportions, with shorter arms and longer legs relative to its torso. It was also the first known hominin to migrate out of Africa, and possibly the first to cook food.It was the first to walk completely upright.  First truly upright human  The First human to leave Africa and enter Asia  Had a shoulder that did not allow for projectile tools  Had a vitamin A deficiency because of a diet of too much meat.  Probably the first human to master fire.  Probably was in conflict with modern humans when modern humans migrated to Asia due to scarce resources which were a result of the Great Tobin Explosion. Fire: a) It allowed us to cook our meat and have a greater diversity of meat to eat. b) It allowed our imagination to flourish by giving us time to think outside the box of survival. c) It allowed us to make harder and better tools. d) It gave us warmth  e) It allowed us to clear vast sections of land. Homo heidelbergensis: Came just before Modern Humans and Neanderthal - It was the first early human species to live in colder climates, their short, wide bodies were a likely adaptation to conserving heat. It lived at the time of the oldest definite control of fire and use of wooden spears, and it was the first early human species to routinely hunt large animals. This early human also broke new ground; it was the first species to build shelters—creating simple dwellings out of wood and rock. There is evidence that H. heidelbergensis was capable of controlling fire by building hearths, or early fireplaces, by 790,000 years ago in the form of fire-altered tools. Social groups probably often gathered around their hearths sharing food, stay warm, and ward off predators. H. heidelbergensis probably took advantage of natural shelters but this species was also the first to build simple shelters. H. heidelbergensis was also the first hunter of large game animals; remains of animals such as wild deer, horses, elephants, hippos, and rhinos with butchery marks on their bones have been found together at sites with H. heidelbergensis fossils. Generally thought to lack an imagination that could envision an afterlife recent evidence suggests otherwise. One site in northern Spain, dating to about 400,000 years ago, shows evidence of what may be human ritual. Scientists have found bones of roughly 30 H. heidelbergensis individuals deliberately thrown inside a pit. The pit has been named the (‘Pit of Bones’). Alongside the skeletal remains, scientists uncovered a single well-made symmetrical hand axe —illustrating the tool-making ability of H. heidelbergensis Height: Males: average 5 ft 9 in (175 cm); Females: average 5 ft 2 in (157 cm) Weight: Males: average 136 lbs (62 kg); Females: average 112 lbs (51 kg) Neanderthal Inhabited Europe and parts of western Asia starting about 230,000 years ago. They cohabited with modern humans for thousands of years before becoming extinct about 29,000 years ago. They were incredibly tough but did not think in the same manner as homo sapiens/modern humans. Recent scientific studies show they also bred with modern humans. Many people of European decent have some Neanderthal DNA. Some people of European background have 1-4% of this DNA  Neanderthals had a much larger nose and longer face, with the mid-part of the face jutting dramatically forward. Bigger Nostrils allowed them to have an efficient cooling system to avoid sweating. Why did Neanderthals go extinct?  One view is that we are part of the reason. Early modern humans started to arrive in Europe more than 40,000 years ago. Perhaps Neanderthals were unable to cope with competition for resources from incoming groups of Homo sapiens in conjunction with the dna evidence that indicates they may have been assimilated into a larger modern human population.  The species ranged widely in Eurasia, from Spain/Portugal and Wales in the west across to the Altai Mountains of Siberia in the east. Unfortunately, their populations were cut off from each other geographically which led to increased inbreeding. Know the slide below. Modern Humans: 140,000 years ago modern humans were on the verge of becoming instinct. The population hung on to coastal areas of Africa. It was here the weakest died out. This natural selection favored only the best and brightest of our ancestors making the species even stronger in the long run at least until the invention of fast food and the super size soft drink and fries. It was when we started to gossip that our rein of the world started this is called the Cognitive revolution. Before we could gossip, Homo Sapiens (our species), was just another mammal somewhere in the middle of the food chain, above hens but below the sable tooth tigers. Gossiping empowered us to bond with others socially, create friendships and even hierarchies, allowing us to cooperate while gaining an edge on the animal kingdom. Gossip is one of the unheralded foundations of our species and its survival. Our unique language evolved as a means of sharing information about the world. But the most important information that needed to be conveyed was about humans, not about lions and bison. Our language evolved as a way of gossiping…“Social cooperation is our key for survival and reproduction. It is not enough for individual men and women to know the whereabouts of lions and bisons. It’s much more important for them to know who in their band hates whom, who is sleeping with whom, who is honest and who is a cheat.” This information about which individuals could be trusted — in other words, gossip — allowed early humans not only to survive but also to expand their tribes into groups far larger than other types of humans such as Neanderthals and Homo Erectus could form. Mitochondrial Eve: Possible time of origin 152,000 - 234,000 BP Possible place of origin East Africa Ancestor n/a In the field of human genetics Mitochondrial Eve refers to the matrilineal most recent common ancestor (MRCA) of modern humans. In other words, she was the most recent woman from whom all living humans today descend, on their mother's side, and through the mothers of those mothers and so on, back until all lines converge on one person. Because all mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is generally passed from mother to offspring without recombination, all mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in every living person is directly descended from hers by definition. Each ancestor (of people now living) in the line back to the matrilineal MRCA had female contemporaries such as sisters, female cousins, etc. and some of these female contemporaries may have descendants living now (with one or more males in their decadency line). But none of the female contemporaries of the "Mitochondrial Eve" has descendants living now in an unbroken female line. Mitochondrial Eve is estimated to have lived around 200,000 years ago, most likely in East Africa, when Homo Sapiens (anatomically modern humans) were developing as a population distinct from other human sub-species. Drift in genetic is the reduction of family lines. The New OUT of Africa theory is we left through the Yemen The period when we last had a common ancestor with chimpanzees was the Miocene. Why were dogs critical for the start of early civilization?  We could never domesticate other animals without the dog’s ability to help control large herds of herbivores. The following three components probably made the domestication of the wolf into a dog possible.  Dogs have A social hierarchy…we have a social hierarchy.  Dogs hunt by day…we hunt by day.  Dogs are carnivores…we are carnivores. Only study the above for the September 19th Unit One Test 2024 1.) How was a single man able to gain so much power in the early nation state? Terror 2.) How does every nation mirror the first nation?   Patriarchy  Hierarchy  Militarism 3.) Why is it necessary for every patriarchal order to destroy the status of women? Armys/militarism requires soldiers. This means women need to have more babies. Women when given choice have less children. Therefore, you need to control them in a Patriarchy. 4.) What source of weakness have men in the past and present exploit to suppress women? That you can replace one woman with another. 5.) Why are dictatorships obsolete outside of this classroom? We have mass communication now. 6.) According to Gwyn Dywer is male domination in human society natural. Why or why not? No, it depends on how you live. When societies are not threatened or feel secure they don’t have to buy into patriarchy. 7.) Why would men collaborate with the patriarchal order/nation state in the suppression of the women in their lives “mothers, sisters, wives, and daughters”… considering that the lives of the men at the bottom of the power pyramid were not healthy ones? Because men got status over the women in their lives. 8.) Why is terror a form of mass communication? Because when used effectively it can control large numbers of people. 9.) What is the autonomous village? A small independent village where decisions were made the old hunter-gatherer way. A council of elders made up of both men and women made the decisions. 10.) Why did men not feel as valuable or as important in the autonomous village as they did in the hunter-gatherer period? Because men lost their primary role as hunters when the game disappeared.