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Human Evolution
USC FSH BISC121 Midterm 2 - Human Evolution
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| How did the continents change during the Cenozoic era? | Continents gradually continued to drift apart, eventually reaching their modern positions |
| When did India collide with Eurasia? | 45 million years ago |
| When did continents reach their present positions today? | 65.5 million years ago |
| How did the climate change over the Cenozoic era? | Warm and humid early on, became cooler and drier, gradually becoming more variable later, then glacial eras |
| Cenozoic era | 65 mya till now; the extinction of many reptiles (dinosaur groups), leaving open niches for mammals to occupy -> many placental mammal groups appeared within a few million years, eg. Primates, proboscideans, cetaceans, carnivora, etc. |
| Primates | A monophyletic order of mammals adapted for climbing trees and eating fruits, with opposable thumbs, and brains larger than most other mammals, including lemurs, monkeys, and apes |
| Proboscideans | elephants |
| Cetaceans | |
| Darwinius | 45 mya, an example of a complete early primate fossil, but fragments of the group are found much earlier |
| How is the fossil record of apes? | Relatively poor |
| Hominins | A monophyletic group of mammals including modern humans, extinct human species and all immediate ancestors, of which are more closely related to Homo sapiens than to chimps/bonobos |
| When was the last common ancestor of chimpanzees/bonobos and hominins? | 6 to 8 million years ago (~7 mya) |
| What is the state of hominin fossils? | Many fragmentary fossils, with first fossils in lineage - Ardipithecus, fairly well understood; the first typically human trait to occur is bipedalism |
| Ardipithecus species | Consists of two species, from 4 to 5 mya in East Africa |
| Ardipithecus fossil traits | Skull very chimp-like, but foramen magnum is directly underneath with upright stance, has human-like pelvis - indicating almost certainly bipedal, while it could still climb well |
| What was the habitat of Ardipithecus? | Found in open woodland, not savanna in East Africa around 4 to 5 million years ago |
| Australopithecus species | Several species, 2 to 4 mya in Africa |
| Australopithecus fossil traits | Skull very chimp-like, but foramen magnum is directly underneath; with 'Lucy' fossil as the most famous example, certainly walked on two legs, due to footprints found in volcanic ash |
| Which first hominin species indicated evidence of stone tool use? | Australopithecus spp. |
| Paranthropus species | A robust version of Australopithecus, lived 2 to 3 mya in Africa |
| Paranthropus traits | A skull very chimp-like, but wide and robust with powerful jaw musculature; rest of the skeleton similar to Australopithecus; theorized they could have ate roots in the dry season |
| Which hominin side branch died out? | Paranthropus spp. |
| When did the genus Homo evolve? | Around 2 million years ago |
| Homo habilis species | Homo species that lived around 2 mya in Africa |
| Homo erectus / ergaster species | Homo species that lived about 1.8 mya in Africa, then Middle East, Asia, and Europe until around 200,000 years ago |
| Homo erectus traits | A skull with braincase larger than H. habilis, clearly capable of long-distance running, active hunters with hand axes and other tools, possibly used fire for cooking |
| Homo habilis traits | A skull with markedly larger braincase, with much evidence of stone tool use |
| Which homo species gave rise to other hominin branches? | Homo erectus / ergaster |
| Which hominins appeared in Asia? | Denisovans, and small Flores island hominin (Homo floresiensis, "hobbits") |
| Which hominins appeared in Africa? | Modern humans - Homo sapiens |
| Which hominins appeared in Europe and the Middle East? | Cold-adapted Neanderthals about 350,000 years ago |
| Neanderthals | Appeared 350 to 30 thousand years ago in Europe and the Middle East, with modern brain size, and a cold-adapted robust skeleton with short limbs |
| Neanderthal culture | Wooden spears and stone tools, used fire, harsh lifestyle with many injuries, buried their dead, became extinct ca. 30,000 years ago |
| Homo sapiens species | Originated in Africa about 200,000 years ago due to genetic evidence and fossils, slowly spread from Africa and replaced older hominins (some intermixing with Neanderthals and Denisovans did occur) |
| Homo sapiens traits | High forehead, large brain case, unusually pronounced chin; advanced stone tools and extensive use of fire; produced more symbolistic art than previous hominins; drove other hominins populations extinct through competition, warfare and intermixing |
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elephantmonkey66
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