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Chapter 11 Rise of the Genus Homo

Chapter 11 Rise of the Genus Homo. Climate and the Evolution of Homo in the Pliocene and Pleistocene. Origin and evolution of our species is related to climate change Cyclic glaciation began 3 MYA and increased throughout the Pleistocene

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Chapter 11 Rise of the Genus Homo

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  1. Chapter 11Rise of the Genus Homo

  2. Climate and the Evolution of Homo in the Pliocene and Pleistocene • Origin and evolution of our species is related to climate change • Cyclic glaciation began 3 MYA and increased throughout the Pleistocene • ~2.5 MYA sea levels lowered so that island Southeast Asia connected to mainland Asia

  3. Defining the genus Homo • Larger, more rounded brain case • Less projecting face • Smaller teeth • Shorter arms • More efficient bipedalism

  4. Earliest Genus Homo • Louis and Mary Leakey discovered a nearly 2 million-year old juvenile partial skull at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania • larger brain than Australopithecines • named Homo habilis (the skilled human or handyman) • Leakey and colleagues suggested that Homo was the sole maker of stone tools • KNMR-ER 1470: 1.8 million years old • more intact skull of H. habilis

  5. Early Tool Use • Oldowan Industry • Cores/ flakes • Hammerstones • Carried around • Butchering sites • Quarrying sites • Home base

  6. Hunting and Scavenging Hunting Confrontational scavenging Passive scavenging

  7. Who was Homo erectus? • Anatomical Features • The Skull and teeth • Prominent supraorbital torus • No chin • Occipital torus • Sagittal keel • Low vault • 700cc-1200cc • Shovel-shaped incisors

  8. Who was Homo erectus? (cont’d) • Anatomical Features (cont’d) • Body size and shape • Similar to Homo sapiens • Narrow-hipped • Platymeric femur • Platycnemic tibia

  9. Who was Homo erectus? (cont’d) Homo erectus versus Homo ergaster • Opinions differ about whether H. erectus constitutes one widely dispersed, variable species or two distinct species: • Homo erectus • Asia • thicker cranial bones and more pronounced brow ridges • Homo ergaster • Africa and Europe • thinner cranial bones and less pronounced brow ridges

  10. Homo erectus Around the World • Africa 1.8–1.9 MYA • Georgia 1.7 mya • Southeast Asia 1.8 mya • Continental Asia 800,000 years ago • Western Europe?

  11. Homo erectus Around the World (cont’d) African Origins Koobi Fora Lake Turkana Olduvai Gorge Bouri Formation

  12. Homo erectus Around the World (cont’d) The First African Diaspora: Republic of Georgia Dmanisi Similar to ergaster 1.7 mya Oldowan-like tools

  13. Homo erectus Around the World (cont’d) Dispersal into East Asia Indonesia China

  14. Homo erectus Around the World (cont’d) • The Status of Homo erectus in Europe • Questions exist about the existence of true Homo erectus in Europe • Early fossil finds are from two localities • Sima de Elefante: 1.2 MYA (announced in 2008) • Gran Dolina: 800,000 years ago • Homo antecessor may be a common ancestor to both Neandertals and modern Homo sapiens

  15. The Lifeways of Homo erectus • Homo erectus and the Early Stone Age • Lower Paleolithic • Acheulean tradition • Flakes • Bifaced • Hand axe • Cleaver • Standardized • Movius line

  16. The Lifeways of Homo erectus(cont’d) • A Higher-Quality Diet: Homo erectus Subsistence • Carnivorous • Smaller gut • More leisure time • Migration • Cooking?

  17. The Lifeways of Homo erectus(cont’d) • Homo erectus Life History • Chris Dean • Teeth indicate fast early development • Maturity reached at 15 • k-selected

  18. The Lifeways of Homo erectus (cont’d) • Homo erectus leaves Africa • climate change • following food supply (migrating herd animals) • technology • anatomical changes (physical adaptations) • changes in foraging strategies

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