The Appearance and Global Dispersal of Modern Humans

Question 1

Genetic data point to an ___ origin of all modern humans living today

Answer 1

African

Question 2

The rich genetic diversity in Africa is because Africa . . .

Answer 2

Holds the source populations for a series of dispersal events

Question 3

The skull of Homo sapiens is characterized by:

Answer 3

Reduced size of jaws and teeth
- dental crowding
- M3 reduction

Presence of a chin (mental eminence) in many populations

Brain size large relative to body size
- 1350-1500 cc

Small face is retracted below the braincase

not much brow ridge

high forehead

canine fossa

Rounded parietal (greatest cranial width at mid-parietal)

Rounded occipital

Question 4

Anatomically modern Homo sapiens used MSA lithic technology

Answer 4

African Middle Stone Age is much like the Middle Paleolithic in Europe

The African MSA is distinguished by:
- composite flake tools from prepared cores
- absence of large handaxes
- soft flaking techniques
- flints and obsidian

Question 5

Distinguishing Hominin features ONLY in BEHAVIORALLY modern hominins

Answer 5

• Global distribution
• Large population size at high density
• Reliance on material culture
• Genetic Uniformity
• Cognition
• Longer gestation, later age at maturity

Question 6

Behaviorally modern humans- LSA (Late Stone Age)

Answer 6

• Fishing
• Tailored clothing
• Art
• Jewelry
• General decoupling of change in anatomy and material culture
• Projectile weapons (increased range of potential prey)

Question 7

Behaviorally modern humans-LSA (Late Stone Age)

Answer 7

Africa: Later Stone Age (LSA)
Europe: Upper Paleolithic
- blades
- burins and scrapers
- bone tools

Question 8

How were LSA sites different?

Answer 8

• larger denser populations
• different kinds of tools (bone tools; blades and bladelets)
• projectile weaponry
• fishing and marine foods
• improvement in extracting resources from environment
• aesthetics and abstract representation (art, jewelry, tailored clothing)
• regionally distinct cultural materials

Question 9

The earliest Homo sapiens outside of Africa

Answer 9

Technically, Skuhl and Qafzeh are outside of Africa
- but these are anatomically modern humans that are associated with MSA technology

Question 10

Blombos cave is a MSA site in South Africa that has a bit more than a typical MSA site

Answer 10

engraved ochre
- rock art

Shells with holes
- jewelry

Exploitation of marine food sources
- shellfish
- tortoise
- birds

Question 11

The earliest Homo sapiens outside of Africa were behaviorally modern

Answer 11

• shortly after 50 ka
• Nacho Kiro Cave, Bulgaria contains the oldest European behaviorally modern human currently known
• dated to more than 45 ka (just at the old limit of radiocarbon dating)
• a human tooth and some bone fragments (identified using the ZooMS paleoproteomics methods)
• cultural materials (tools, bone artifacts and pendants)
• modern human mtDNA
• Peștera cu Oase, România
• dated to ca 42-37 ka

Question 12

Cro-Magnon is the name of a site in France that produced . . .

Answer 12

a famous fossil cranium

Question 13

Europe

Answer 13

• Classic Neanderthal morphology evolving
• Middle Paleolithic lithic technology

Question 14

Africa

Answer 14

• “Anatomically modern” humans evolving
• Technological transition Middle Stone Age (MSA) to Later Stone Age (LSA)

Question 15

Asia

Answer 15

• Denisovans
• Still H. erectus (differentiation into Javan ad Chinese forms)
• persist until very late
• less technological advancement

Question 16

mtDNA (mitochondrial)

Answer 16

• only in mothers
• All neanderthals had different (not-Homo sapiens) mtDNA sequences
• no Neanderthal female/H. sapiens male admixture
• very small admixture, lost in living H. sapiens

Question 17

Nuclear genome, 2010

Answer 17

• both females and male
• a small amount of admixture
• “Neanderthal alleles” in European and Asian populations, but not in African populations)
• genomes 99.7% similar

Question 18

aDNA was extracted from Oase in 2015

Answer 18

• 5-11% Neanderthal nuclear DNA
• 12th chromosome was 50% Neanderthal
• Suggests that this individual had a Neanderthal ancestor as recently as four-to-six generations back in his family tree

Question 19

“Lissoirs”

Answer 19

Tools of Neanderthals

Question 20

Cave art in Spain was recently dated to . . .

Answer 20

more than 60 ka

Question 21

Expansion to Asia and Australia

Answer 21

ca. 50-45 ka
- archaeological sites date to more than 50 ka
- Lake Mungo 30 ka or more
- molecular divergence of native Australians at 50 ka

Could have walked most of the way
- had to cross at least 55 km open sea

Question 22

Expansion to the Americas

Answer 22

• occupation of Siberia 40 ka
• Alaska shortly after that
• Into southern Northern America (ca. 13 ka)
• Ice-free corridor