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Biology > Human Evolution - other > Flashcards

Human Evolution - other Flashcards

1
Q

state the hominin order

A 
A.Afarensis
H.habilis 
H.erectus
H.neanderthalensis
H.sapiens
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2
Q

what are the advantages of bipedalism?

A
  • freed up the hands allowing for things to be carried easier, infants to be carried, tools to be crafter for killing prey and cutting up food, and larger amounts of food was able to be carried.
  • standing upright meant less sun shining on the hominin, preventing excessive heat.
  • upward stance allowed hominins to see further than on all fours, so predators and prey could be seen from far away.
  • appear more intimidating to predators.
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3
Q

what is the foramen magnum?

A

the hole at the bottom of the skull which allows the spinal cord to descend from the brain and won through the spine.

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4
Q

describe the foramen magnum in humans…

A

centrally located in order to place skull directly over spine so less muscular energy is required to hold the head up.

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5
Q

describe the foramen magnum in apes…

A

at the back of the underside of the skull to position the head appropriately when on all fours.

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6
Q

what is the nuchal crest?

A

where the neck muscles are attached to the skull.

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7
Q

describe the nuchal crest in humans…

A

little muscular energy required to hold up head so nuchal crest is small.

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8
Q

descrive nuchal crest in apes…

A

they need their head facing straight in front of them and thus quadrupeds require big muscles, making the nuchal crest large.

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9
Q

describe the human spine…

A

spine is s-shaped to keep the body weight above the hip joints, allowing us to stand and walk upright without too much stress on the legs.

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10
Q

describe the spine in apes…

A

spine is c-shaped to counterbalance the force of the organ pushing downwards when walking on all fours.

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11
Q

what is the pelvis?

A

the lower part of the abdomen between the stomach and the legs.

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12
Q

describe the pelvis in humans…

A

all bipeds stand up straight. in order to reduce the stress placed on the pelvis from the weight of the upper body when standing upright, bipeds have a bowl-shaped pelvis which is short and wide.

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13
Q

describe the pelvis in apes…

A

apes would need large leg muscles which attach to the pelvis and thus there must be a large enough surface area for the large leg muscle attachment.

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14
Q

what is the femur?

A

the strongest and longest bone in the body extending from the hip to the knee, in the thigh.

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15
Q

what is the valgus angle?

A

when looking at the femur, humans have a valgus angle where the femur is angled in relative to the pelvis. a valgus angle is what we call an angle that’s away from the midline.

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16
Q

describe the femur in humans…

A

enables the knock-kneed stance that we have and brings the knees directly under the pelvis. This is good because it positions the bodyweight through the middle of the pelvis when walking.

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17
Q

describe the femur in apes…

A

lack the valgus angle. instead, their short, stubby femurs hang directly vertical from the hip, allowing for the swinging motion they use when moving from tree to tree.

18
Q

describe feet in humans…

A

big toe points forward like other toes because bipeds need to have forward thrust when walking and therefore need to minimise the damage to the joints in the leg and feet when travelling long distances. foot is arched acting as a shock absorber when walking and running.

19
Q

describe feet in apes…

A

big toe sticks out in apes and is opposable, allowing them to grab things with their feet. they don’t require forward-facing toe as they don’t need to produce a powerful forward thrust. since they’re not on their feet much, no shock absorbance required and thus there is an absence of a foot arch.

20
Q

what is biological evolution?

A

the transmission of physical, physiological, and behavioural adaptations passed on from parent to offspring in their genes.

21
Q

what is cultural evolution?

A

the transmission of ideas and behaviours from individual to individual and does not have to be from related individuals such as parent to offspring.

22
Q

what are some examples of cultural evolution?

A

tool use, fire use, farming, communication, social interactions

23
Q

what was the first species to use tools?

A

Homo habilis

24
Q

what was the first tool and describe it

A

chipped stones called oldowan which were sharp enough to cut meat and work wood

25
Q

who created acheulan tools?

A

homo erectus

26
Q

what were acheulan tools?

A

flattened hand axes that were made by chipping off at either side, they were symmetrical and multipurpose

27
Q

who created mousterian tools?

A

homo neanderthalensis

28
Q

what were mousterian tools?

A

carefully crafted tools such as stone arrowhead bound to wood to create a spear

29
Q

who created/used paleolithic tools?

A

homo neanderthalensis and homo sapiens

30
Q

what were paleolithic tools

A

more refined and had more precise functions, not just sone but also animal bone and plant fibres. They weren’t just cutting tools, but also ropes, nets, needles, tents and clothes.

31
Q

state the order of tools and who used each one…

A

1) oldowan (homo habilis)
2) achuelan (homo erectus)
3) mousterian (homo neanderthalensis)
4) paleolithic (homo neanderthalensis and homo sapiens)

32
Q

what was the first species to discover fire?

A

homo erectus

33
Q

what are some things fire changed?

A
  • cooked food and used to keep warm
  • made food easier to digest and killed microbes making it safer to eat
  • enabled a source of warmth that allowed homo erectus to survive leaving Africa
  • provided light and thus hunting, tool making and social interactions weren’t limited to the day.
  • heat helped harden materials in tools
34
Q

what biological changes were noticed due to fire

A
  • when the meat became easier to digest, the jaw became smaller allowing for larger space for brain development. the brow ridge and zygomatic arches also softened. not having to chew for hours also allowed time for other activities.
35
Q

how did farming help?

A

provided a constant source of food, allowing for the development of villages with permanent locations and larger populations.

36
Q

what are the advantages of farming?

A
  • food was easier to obtain and was more dependable with less risk of disappearing. As a result, fewer people died of starvation and fewer individuals were needed to go out hunting or gathering for food.
37
Q

what are the disadvantages of farming?

A
  • diet became restricted and was based on what they could grow. the growth of crops and health of domesticated animals also depended on the weather.
  • farms lead to fighting for animals, resources and land.
38
Q

what are the two dispersal theories called?

A

multiregional theory and out of Africa theory

39
Q

what is the multiregional theory?

A

contends that after Homo erectus left Africa and dispersed into other portions of the Old world, regional populations slowly evolved into modern humans.

40
Q

what is the out of africa theory?

A

the out of Africa theory asserts that modern humans evolved relatively recently in Africa, migrated into Eurasia and replaced all populations which had descended from Homo erectus.

41
Q

what are the four ideas the multiregional theory supports?

A

1) some level of gene flow between geographically separated populations prevented speciation, after the dispersal.
2) all living humans derive from the species Homo erectus that left Africa nearly two million years ago.
3) natural selection in regional populations, ever since their original dispersal, is responsible for the regional variants (races) we see today.
4) the emergence of homo sapiens was not restricted to any one area but was a phenomenon that occurred throughout the entire geographic range where humans lived.

42
Q

what are the four ideas the out of africa theory supports?

A

1) after homo erectus migrated out of AAfrica the different populations became reproductively isolated, evolving independently, and in some cases like the Neanderthals, into separate species.
2) Homo sapiens arose in one place, probably Africa (geographically includes the Middle East).
3) homo sapiens ultimately migrated out of Africa and replaced all other human populations, without interbreeding.
4) modern human variation is a relatively recent phenomenon.

Biology (6 decks)

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