Early Homo and Homo erectus

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Tuesday - Grades and class concernsTake home quiz

5pm this Wednesday

Email answers due at/before 11:59pm Sunday, 11-26

25 questions - 20 mc + 5 short answer do all five of the short answer questions

Content: chapters 8, 9, and up to 264p in the textbook.

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The Pleistocene Epoch3

Tuesday - Recall the big deal about the homininsHominins - groups us and our bipedal ape-like ancestors

Four evolutionary trends ~ 7 mya divergence from apes

Adopted the following adaptations/derived characteristics

Bipedalism

Generalized dentition

Increased reliance on material culture

Increased brain size

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3. Early genus Homo

Early Homo (2-1.4 mya)

Homo habilis 2.4-1.5 mya; East Africa-first associated with tool-use

Oldowan tools

-2.6 mya with early Homo-stone flakes (cutting)-choppers

Of note-generalized usage-expedient usage

New hominin: Homo erectus

-larger body size-larger brains-larger, more varied geographic range-more sophisticated material culture

Homo erectus transformed hominin evolution to human evolution

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Homo erectus from AfricaCurrent view: Homo erectus probably arose from earlier group of Homo in East Africa around 2 mya

Evidence for: -Earlier hominins are only found in Africa. -1.7 mya fossils at East Turkana, in Kenya, and not long after at other sites in East Africa.

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General morphology of Homo erectus Body size-adults weigh more than 100 pounds-average height 5'6"

Brain size-700-1250 cc

Cranium shapelong, low, heavily built-distinctive shape:

pentagonal cranium shape (viewed from behind)

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-braincase long and low, with little forehead development

Cranium wider at base

Sagittal keel - small ridge dividing the sagittal plane

Nuchal torus - bone projection in the back of the cranium where neck muscles attach -used to hold up the head

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Homo erectus - brain size and cranium

Homo erectus - In Africa2. West Turkana, Nariokotome-1.6 mya

-WT 15000-boy ~12 years old-estimated height of 5'3-best postcranial Homo erectus, earliest evidence of H. erectus

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Homo erectus first out of AfricaA greater range of physical variation in specimens outside of Africa at about 1.8 mya-found in Java, Indonesia by 1.6 mya-less than 200,000 years to travel from East Africa to Southeast Asia

Homo erectus Timeline13

First Dispersal of the Hominins~2 mya left Africa

-hominins found outside of Africa are members of genus Homo.

Homo erectus -the first to leave Africa

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First emigrants: Dmanisi, Republic of Georgia1.8-1.7 mya-early dates: evidence of early, rapid dispersal out of Africa

-similar features to African H. erectus robust cranial features-small cranial capacities: 600-780 cc-ht: 4'9 to 5'5"

-Oldowan industry

Old man of Dmanisi - no teeth, would need assistance to survive

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Asia Site 1: Java, IndonesiaJava ManDated Early-Middle Pleistocene (780-125 kya) later datesBrain size: 900cc

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Asia Site 2: Zhoukoudian

-780 kya-40 male and female adults and children near Beijing-14 skullcaps + cranial pieces, 100+ isolated teeth, and postcranial remains

Evidence of: -sexual dimorphism-scavenging

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Homo erectus in Europe

Site: Atapuerca, Spain~1.2 myaUsed Oldowan tools - similar to Dmanisi fossils

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Technological Trends in Homo erectus * H. erectus associated with new tool industry: Acheulian

Biface - flatter shape compared to Oldowan use: cut, scrape, pound, and dig.

Of note: Evidence that raw materials transported more consistently and for longer distances

* Suggests foresight: knew they needed a stone tool in the future and carried what they regarded as useful

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The Pleistocene Epoch20