Physical Anthropology, Anth 2301
EXAM 3 REVIEW
Be aware that this is only a general review meant to guide your study for the exam. You
are responsible for understanding all of the material covered in the text, any additional
readings, and the lectures.
For each of the species listed below, you should be familiar with:
-The distribution in time and space (when and where they originated, if, when, and where they
spread, and when they are considered to have gone extinct.
-The degree of bipedalism, the relative brain size to the species before it and to modern human
brain size (i.e., how large was the average brain size of H. erectus compared to ours?).
-The relative height/size/robustness (compared to earlier and later hominids)
-General physical characteristics (e.g., sagittal crest, brow ridges, chin, etc.; including any
‘firsts’)
-Characteristics that were more human-like or non-human-like, the cultural/technological
associations (esp. any ‘firsts’; e.g., which first used fire? Which first made fire?). Were they
scavengers or hunger-gatherers? Did they lived in caves or build shelters? If they made tools,
what is the name of the tradition/technique most associated with that species? Is there evidence
that the species used symbolism/ritual/art?
-Take care to be clear about whether the species “may have” done something rather than “did”
first do something!
-Which species are likely the direct ancestors of modern humans?
Potentially first bipedal hominids:
Sahelanthropus
Orrorin
Ardipithecus
Primitive hominids:
Australopithecus anamensis
Australopithecus afarensis
Robust Austalopithecines (in general; you do not need to know each species)
Potential ancestors of Homo:
Australopithecus africanus
Australopithecus garhi (note, wrist evidence suggests this one may have been able to make tools)
Early Homo species:
Homo habilis
(Homo rudolfensis) (just be aware of it)
Homo erectus
Archaic Homo:
Homo heidelbergensis
Homo neanderthalensis
Be familiar with how the Kennewick remains have been interpreted and what the controversy
was about.
How have the remains of Homo floresiensis (the “Hobbits”) primarily been interpreted? What
are the main competing hypotheses? What is island dwarfism and how might it have led to the
evolution of this species from H. erectus.
What are the main features used to separate hominids from primates?
When and where were the main periods of adaptive radiation and which species were involved?
Bipedalism:
-When and in what kind of environment did it most likely evolve?
-Did it evolve before or after larger brains?
-What are the main hypotheses for the origin of bipedalism?
-What are the main weaknesses of those hypotheses that are now challenged?
-Which is considered to have been the main factor(s) leading to bipedalism?
What the main biological features that define the Homo genus? When is the earliest that we see
remains of early Homo?
Which of the first Homo species (habilis, rudolfensis, or erectus) was likely the ancestor of
modern humans?
Where did Homo erectus and the later archaic humans spread to and in what relative time frame
(i.e., where did it evolve and to which continents did it migrate and in what order?
Be especially aware of the main biological and cultural similarities and differences among
H. erectus, H. heidelbergensis, H. neanderthalensis, and modern humans.
H. heidelbergensis:
Which model of evolution is supported by most anthropologists- anagenesis or cladogenesis
from Homo erectus?
Homo and hunting: several sites show strong evidence that H. heidelbergensis butchered animals
BEFORE other animals scavenged the remains, meaning first access (e.g., rhinos at Boxgrove,
England). Also, Schöningen, Ger had butchered large game (esp horses) and 3-8 ft long wooden
spears.
Neanderthals:
-General biological and cultural characteristics?
-What does Neanderthal DNA (mitochondrial and nuclear) compared to data on living human
DNA show?
Where did Homo sapiens sapiens (anatomically modern humans) originate and then spread to
and in what relative timeframe?
Be especially aware of the main biological and cultural features of modern humans that separate
them from earlier species. When and where did human art begin and then spread? Be aware of
Upper Paleolithic cave art and ‘Venus’ figurines and their possible functions, and the shelter
sites of Mal’ta, Russia and Mezhirich, Ukraine.
Understand the basic idea of each of the 3 primary models of modern human evolution, and be
able to differentiate among them:
-African Replacement Model (ARM)
-Multiregional Model (MRM)
-Assimilation Model (AM)
What do the fossil and genetic data (esp. mtDNA and genetic diversity) data say about each
model (support or not or both)?
What is regional continuity? What evidence is there for it, and which model(s) does it support?
What are the main examples given in the text and lecture for regional continuity?
When and where did the hypothetical “African Eve” or most common female ancestor of modern
humans exist? What did Templeton’s 2005 DNA study show about waves of expansion out of
Africa?
What is the consensus for the origins of anatomically modern humans?
What have been the most recent cultural changes in modern human history (i.e., agriculture, etc.)
and what are some ways in which those changes have affected our biology? On the other hand,
what are the three main ways discussed in the lecture that our bodies still essentially reflect
hunter-gatherer adaptations?