Exam review, AMH Flashcards
what are the two models for the emergence of AMH
Multiregional Hypothesis
Recent African Origin (Out of Africa II)
Know that the Upper Paleolithic artifact tradition is associated with what
AMH
what is the Proof of “métissage”
In 1998, at Lagar Velho, Portugal, João Zilhão and his team uncovered the remains of a 4-year old boy.
• The remains date to 24,500 BP
• The fossils show a mosaic of Neanderthal and modern human traits:
• more Neanderthal-like post-crania
• more modern human-shaped cranium
• Buried with pierced shell and red ochre, indicating possible ritual interment of remains.
In 2002, at Pestera cu Oase (literally, “The Cave with Bones”), Romania, a team of cavers uncovered a nearly complete mandible (Oase 1)
• As with Lagar Velho, Oase 1 shows traits that seem to be a mosaic of Neanderthal and modern human.
• Dates to between 36-34 kya
where is Denisova Cave
the Altai mountains, Siberia, Russia
what is special about the Denisova Cave
Average annual temperature ~ 0 °C (improved preservation)
• A finger bone and tooth dating to between 30 – 48 kya.
• Morphologically, tooth is different from both Neanderthals and modern humans.
• Extraction of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from these fossils was possible!
what is Mitochondrial DNA
A form of DNA that is housed only in our cells’ mitochondria (“cell powerplants”)
how is mtDNA passed on
Passed on matrilineally (through mother to children)
is mtDNA subject to meiosis or recombination
no
is mtDNA very conserved
mtDNA is highly conserved (mutates slowly), but at a fairly predictable rate
how can we work out phylogenies based on how similar or different mtDNA is across living and/or extinct species
Because of this known mutation rate, we can work out phylogenies based on how similar or different mtDNA is across living and/or extinct species
Denisovans are more similar to what
Neanderthals than they are to modern humans
insinuating that the two populations shared a common ancestor more recently than they did with us
Denisovans’ closest descendants are found where
Melanesia
what s a theory for the extinction of neanderthals
Decades-old hypotheses regarding the fate of Neanderthals suggested that they were unable to compete against, what were assumed to be, incoming cognitively and culturally advanced populations of modern humans, and so they essentially went extinct by ~30,000 years ago.
In recent years, we have different hypotheses, thanks in large part to more fossil and genetic discoveries
maybe they just evolved into a mix of neanderthal and modern humans
when was there a Common ancestor with modern humans and neanderthals
between 270 – 440 kya
living non-African humans have between_____% Neanderthal genome in our own DNA, indicating what
1-3; multiple (but infrequent) cross-breeding instances between Neanderthals and modern humans, likely in the Levant before humans migrated into Europe
