Chapter 12

1. Chapter 12 Premodern Humans

2. Chapter Outline • When, Where, and What • Premodern Humans of the Middle Pleistocene • A Review of Middle Pleistocene Evolution • Middle Pleistocene Culture

3. Chapter Outline • Neandertals: Premodern Humans of the Upper Pleistocene • Culture of Neandertals • Genetic Evidence • Trends in Human Evolution: Understanding Premodern Humans

4. The Pleistocene • There were at least 15 major and 50 minor glacial advances in Europe. • Hominids living in Europe and northern Asia were most affected by climatic oscillations. • As ice sheets expanded, the northern areas of Europe and Asia became uninhabitable. • As the climate warmed, migration routes such as the one from Central into Western Europe would have reopened.

5. Changing Pleistocene Environments in Africa

6. Regions of Likely HominidOccupation • Dark areas are major glaciers. Arrows indicate likely migration routes.

7. Middle Pleistocene Hominids: Terminology • Major morphological changes relative to Homo erectus: • increase in brain size • more globular cranial vault • more vertical nose • reduction in the angulation of the occipit

8. Middle Pleistocene Premodern Human Fossils from Africa

9. Middle Pleistocene Premodern Human Fossils from Europe

10. Middle Pleistocene Premodern Human Fossils from Europe

11. Middle Pleistocene Premodern Human Fossils from Asia

12. Review of Middle Pleistocene Evolution (400,000-125,000 y.a.) • Like the erects/sapiens mix in Africa and China, fossils from Europe exhibit traits from both species. • Fossils from each continent differ, but the physical differences are not extraordinary. • There is a definite increase in brain size and a change in the shape of the skull.

14. Middle Pleistocene Tools • African and European archaics invented the Levallois technique for tool making. • Acheulian tools are associated with hand axes. • Different tool traditions coexist in some areas.

15. The Levallois Technique

16. Time Line for Neandertal Fossil Discoveries

17. Key Neandertal Fossil Discoveries

18. Key Neandertal Fossil Discoveries

19. Settlements • People of the Mousterian culture lived in open sites, caves, and rock shelters. • Windbreaks of poles and skin were placed at the cave opening for protection against severe weather. • Fire was used for cooking, warmth, light, and keeping predators at bay.

20. Subsistence • Remains of animal bones demonstrate that Neandertals were successful hunters. • They used close-proximity spears for hunting (spear thrower and bow and arrow weren’t invented until the Upper Paleolithic). • Patterns of trauma in Neandertal remains match those of contemporary rodeo performers, indicating close proximity to prey.

21. Mousterian Tools

22. Symbolic Behavior • Prevailing consensus has been that Neandertals were capable of articulate speech • Even if Neandertals did speak, they did not have the same language capabilities of modern Homo sapiens.

23. Burials • Neanderthals buried their dead. • Their burials included grave goods like animal bones and stone tools. • They placed the bodies of their dead in a flexed position.

24. Three Major Evolutionary Transitions • Transition from early Homo to H. erectus. Geographically limited to Africa and occurred rapidly. • Transition of H. erectus grading into early H. sapiens. Not geographically limited, but occurred slowly and unevenly. • Transition from Archaic H. sapiens to anatomically modern H. sapiens.

25. Phylogeny Showing Evolution of Homo (Very Modest Species Diversity)

26. Phylogeny Showing Multiple Species of Homo (Considerable Diversity)