Lecture 24: Palaeolithic to Neolithic Flashcards
What was the result of the Morwood et al. (2004) study?
Discovery of a new hominin species
Where did the evidence for the new hominin species identified by Morwood et al. (2004) come from?
Liang Bua limestone cave in Indonesia
What did the evidence found by Morwood et al. (2004) consist of?
9 individuals and 1 complete skull
How tall was the hominin species identified by Morwood et al. (2004) and what was it called? What was it nicknamed?
3ft 7in - it was called Homo Floresiensis but nicknamed hobbit
How old was the discovery by Morwood et al. (2004)?
12kya from radiocarbon dating but more revised stratigraphy research has suggested 50kya
What slight evidence was there for the homo floresiensis in the locale before?
There was folk tales
What have critics to Morwood et al.’s (2004) discovery claimed it is?
Human with dwarfism or possibly down syndrome
When does the denisovan hominin date back to?
41kya
How much of Melanesian and Australia aboriginal DNA is shared with the Denisovan hominin?
3-5%
What is the Denisovan hominin?
An as far unclassified hominin type. It is genetically distinct from the AMH and Neanderthals. However it does share a common ancestor with Neanderthals and it is thought that it may have evolved by breeding with AMH
What are the different nicknames for the different stages of the stone age: Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic?
Stone Age
Palaeolithic: old stone age
Mesolithic: middle stone age
Neolithic: new stone age
What is the Palaeolithic defined as?
The use of stone tools by hominin
How many stages is the Palaeolithic divided in to?
3 - lower, middle and upper
What does the lower Palaeolithic predate?
homo sapien and homo habilis
What does the middle Palaeolithic consist of?
homo sapiens and other ancestors and related human taxa
When was the earliest evidence of hominins in the UK discovered? Where was it found?
2013 Norfolk, Britain
What was the earliest evidence of hominins discovered in Britain and how old?
footprints discovered on a 990-780kya old floodplain in Norfolk
What is the age context of the earliest evidence of hominins found in Britain?
They are the oldest dated footprints outside of Africa
What was the earliest evidence of hominins before that which was discovered in Norfolk in 2013? (Study, evidence, location, date)
Parfitt et al. (2005) which uncovered stone tools at Pakefield Suffolk dated back to 700 kya
What was the limitation of the evidence found by Parfitt et al. (2005) at Suffolk?
There were no hominin remains found so they were probably the tools of a homo antecessor not ancestor
How was the 2013 earliest evidence for hominins gathered?
Analysing magnetic reversal bands with the law of superposition and other glacial deposits
What did the stone tools collected by Parfitt et al. (2005) in Suffolk consist of?
Flint Percussion flakes associated with handaxe industries
What MIS would the evidence collected by Parfitt et al. (2005) be within?
MIS 17
What was used along Parfitt et al.’s (2005) discovery of stone tools to determine the occurrence of interglacials? How did it work?
Vole Clock - during glacial periods the voles move away from that now unsuitable area (in this case British Isles) to somewhere that is suitable. They evolve and change in this area then come back to the initial place. This change in the fossil record of voles in the place that underwent the glacial changes will therefore mark a new interglacial stage
