Assignment 3

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Anthropology

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Feb 20, 2024

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Assignment #3 Introduction to Biological Anthropology ANTH 130-01, Spring 2016 64 points You and your group will complete the following. Only one copy of your work needs to be submitted online for the group to the appropriate location (in the “Assignments” folder). Please include group number and names of all group members who worked on the assignment at the top of your document. Upload your document in the dropbox…do not type directly into the textbox. Go to the following website. http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human- evolution-timeline-interactive  This is an interactive timeline of human evolution.  At the top, it shows climate changes over the past 8 million years. (Recent time is on the left; 8 million years ago to the right.) When you place your mouse in this section, purple bars appear towards the top. Click on these for more detailed information.  In the middle, various hominin species are shown with red bars reflecting the length of time they existed as well as when they appeared and when they disappeared from the fossil record. You can click on any of these species for more information. (Note: The timeline uses “ Paranthropus” as the genus name for the robust australopithecines.)  At the bottom, major milestones are marked. You can click on these for more information.  After examining the timeline, select the “magnifier” key from below the graph. This will highlight and magnify a portion of the timeline. You can slide the magnifier right and left. Within the highlighted/magnified portion, colored circles appear that you can click on to learn more about particular fossils. There is a “color key” available in the magnifier box that will show what each color indicates. For example, blue circles are for information about particular fossils, while pink circles are about changes in tools and food.  Spend some time exploring the timeline with and without the magnifier.

As a group, answer the following questions, using the timeline to help you. 1. How long ago did the bipedal adaptation show up in the fossil record? What do the femurs of the first biped fossils have in common with a modern human femur? What do the femurs of the first biped fossils have in common with an ape femur? (5 points) The bipedal adaptation first appeared in the fossil record 6 million years ago. The first biped femur fossils have a similar angle at the head of the femur to those of modern humans. However, it is still siminalr size to other great apes of the time. 2. What major milestones occurred during the period that Homo erectus was in existence? What was one of the first (earliest/oldest) milestones associated with Homo erectus ? What was one of the last (latest/youngest) milestones associated with Homo erectus ? (7 points) Some of the major milestones that occurred during the period that Homo erectus was in existence are; making of bone tools, leaving Africa, Control of fire, Hunting,and communicating with symbols. One of the oldest milestones associated with Homo erectus is an increase in leg length allowing for longer strides. One of the youngest milestones associated with Homo erectus is the making of wooden spears for hunting. 3. Which species experienced a major environmental shift over 3 million years ago? How did the environment and climate change? What happened to climate during the last 3 million years? (7 points) 3 million years ago the species A. afarensis experienced environmental shifts. This included changes in the amount of forest, woodland, and grassland as while as changes in temperature between wet and dry and cool and warm.

4. Which milestone was ‘the turning point’? Why do you think this milestone is a turning point in human history? (5 points) The milestone dubbed ‘the turning point’ is the domestication of certain plants and animals. This is a milestone in human history because we were no longer nomadic. We could settle down in a place and relie on farming and the herding animals. 5. Which milestones reflect how humans change the world? When did most of these milestones occur? Which species is responsible for most of these milestones? (5 points) 6. Outline how social life has evolved over the past 6 million years. What kind of evidence is used to gain insight to past social life? (6 points) 7. During what time frame was there an increase in brain and body size? With which hominin species do you think this shift in brain size is associated? Which hominin species had a significant increase in brain size (over 1000 cc)? How did the larger brains impact these hominins in terms of environmental interactions and social interactions? (6 points)

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8. When was the earliest evidence of material culture? How did this technology evolve from this earliest form to that of early modern humans? (6 points) 9. What is the age of the earliest symbolism in the fossil record? With which species is it associated? How did symbolism evolve throughout our ancestry? (7 points) 10. Select two different hominin species. Compare and contrast them in terms of location, age, anatomy, cultural attributes, etc. (10 points)

Assignment 3

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