PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2301 Lecture
THE EVOLUTION OF GENUS HOMO—Section 10
Test 4 Materials
I.
The origin of Genus Homo
A) The genus homo according to Relethford refers to a genus of hominids
characterized by large brain size and dependence on culture as a means of
adaptation
1) Homo is the Genus to which modern humans belong and was named in
1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carolus Linnaeus
2) Since genera and species were seen as fixed entities in the 18 th
century homo was made up only of living humans belonging to one
species (homo sapiens)
3) Fossil representatives of the genus were not discovered until the
middle of the 19th century (circa 1850) (Tattersall etc. Encyc.of Hum.
Evo. And Prehistory)
4) The first Neanderthal to excite real debate was found in Germany in
1856 and was named as a new species in 1864
5) Still older humans were found in Java in 1890 and 1891
6) Tattersall etc. suggest that there are two extinct species in addition to
currently living people or homo sapiens
a) Homo habilis
b) Homo erectus
c) And Relethford adds a third called Homo Rudolfensis
d) There may also be others
7) The suggested early evidence for genus homo dates back almost 2.5
million years corresponding to the earliest known stone tools
8) The evolution of Homo has been associated with the climatic cooling
that took place about 2.5 million years ago
a) It should be noted that h. habilis and H. Rudolfensis are consistent
with the hypothesis
b) A major faunal change took place during this time period (abt. 2.5
M.Y.A.) where forest antelopes became rare to be replaced by
antelopes that utilized open grasslands
c) At this time an increase in aridity and seasonality of rainfall led to a
conversion of Africa’s forest to grassland
d) This change appears to be due to a major session of polar
glaciation that began at this time
1. evidence for this is found in some Atlantic ocean cores
containing coarse heavy sand grains
2. These sand grains could only exist in the regions where they
are found if they were dropped by melting icebergs
a. it is believed that these sand grains were gathered as
glaciers ground their way across the continents on their way
to the sea
b. The earliest grains have been dated to almost exactly 2.5
million years ago
e) The inauguration of the Ice Ages brought a period of unsettled
climates and ecological systems worldwide
1. During cold periods ice sheets expanded and sea levels dropped
and land was exposed allowing islands to be joined to
continental land masses
2.
3.
4.
5.
a. This is the argument for the population of many of the
major Pacific islands and arguably Australia as well
b. However, this makes research in the area difficult because
many early areas are “buried” beneath the ocean
In warmer periods (Interglacial periods) sea levels rose creating
new islands
These properties allowed for the periodic isolation and
recoalescence of small populations of animals including
hominids
Tattersall and Schwartz note that these conditions allowed for
the establishment of “evolutionary novelties”
These novelties become properly established only in small
isolated populations
B) Tool classification
1) Stone tool assemblages have been classified into 5 categories or
modes that are defined by characteristic artifacts in them
2) These categories appear sequentially in time, but may overlap when
earlier modes persist after later modes start
a) mode I technology is the earliest and is based on simple chopping
tools that are made by knocking a few flakes off a small cobble
b) mode II is characterized by tools that require more extensive
conceptualization and preparation such as bifacial hand axes
c) mode III large cores are preshaped by the removal of large flakes
and then used as a source of more standardized flakes that are
retouched to produce a wide range of artifacts
d) mode IV technology is characterized by narrow stone blades struck
from a prepared core
e) mode V consists of microlith technology or the production of small
delicate artifacts
3) The appearance of different modes differs with geography (mode IV
tools were made in Africa 250,000 years ago, but did not appear in
Europe until 40,000 years ago)
4) It should also be noted that the descriptions of the time periods differs
for Africa and Eurasia (Stoneage and Paleolithic)
C) The earliest known tools
1) The earliest stone tools were found in East Africa and are dated at
about 2.5-2.6 million years ago (depending on the source)
2) These tools come from sites in the Lower Omo Valley, the Hadar
region & the Gona region of Ethiopia and the Western Shore of Lake,
Kenya
3) The artifacts of the Lower Omo Valley are atypical because they are
small quartz pebbles that were shattered to yield sharp edged
implements
4) Most tools dating from the period 2.6-1.5 million years ago were made
with lava cobbles and constitute a range of (so-called) core tools and
small, sharp flakes
f) Generically the technology is known as Oldowan after Olduvai
Gorge, Tanzania (it was once called Oldoway Gorge hence the
name)
5) The question remains who made these tools Homo, Australopithecus or
both
a) After about 1 million years ago when only homo existed tool
making technology continued suggesting homo at least made tools
b) The argument from parsimony would suggest that the earliest lithic
technology was from Homo
c) Parsimony is defined as a philogenetic—parental pattern of
ancestry and descent—reconstruction in which the phylogeny
(family tree) of a group of species is inferred to be the branching
pattern requiring the smallest number of evolutionary changes
d) Another argument (Susman) is that the homo thumb can produce
a power grip important in percussion stone knapping
e) While the fingertips of modern apes and a. afarensis are too
narrow to successfully make tools
f) However, some observers note that this evidence is too tenuous for
definitive conclusions to be drawn
6) The mode I tools found at Olduvai Gorge (1.9-1.6 m.y.a) by Mary
Leakey tend to fall into 4 categories
a) Tools, which include types such as scrapers, choppers, discoids and
polyhedrons
b) Utilized pieces, such as large flakes produced in the manufacture of
tools, having sharp edges useful for cutting
c) Waste, or small pieces produced in the manufacture or retouching
of tools and utilized pieces that had no use
d) Manuports or pieces of rock carried to the site, but not used
7) The hominids skill at producing stone flakes represented a
technological revolution even at the crude Oldowan level
8) stone flakes (tools) were produced by percussion flaking or using a
stone as a hammer to chip off flakes on one or two sides of another
stone
9) Toth demonstrated that this was the most efficient method of
producing stone tools
a) as opposed to the anvil method of striking the core on a stationary
anvil
b) Or the bipolar method of striking the core with a hammerstone
while it rests on an anvil
10) Lewin makes an important point that apes 1999 © were able to
produce flakes by throwing rocks at other rocks, but that they never
became an Oldowan level tool maker
a) However, Washburn and McCown suggest that a Orangutan named
Abang did use a stone to produce flakes using the bipolar method
b) This experiment involved the use of a cushion of modeling clay set
on a board and secured by a leather strap which Abang then struck
producing a flake
c) This flake was then used to cut a cord and they suggest that
creating stone flakes is easy even at the pongid (ape) level
11) This suggests apes may be able to create stone tools with human help
and even able to use them, but not apparently at the Oldowan level
D) Anatomy and Biology of Early Homo
1) The brain capacity is larger in homo than in the Australopithecines
(size is discussed later)
a) for instance, the temple areas of australopithecines narrow
markedly forming what is known as a postorbital constriction (skull
narrows behind forehead)
b) In early Homo the constriction is much reduced because of the
expanded brain
c) Teeth rows are tucked under the face as in other hominids, a
feature that becomes more pronounced in later species of homo
d) The jaw and dentition of homo is less pronounced than in the
australopithecines
e) The teeth of homo are capped with a thick layer of enamel and
their appearance suggests that the teeth are less used for grinding
than smaller brained hominids
1. However, wear patterns on early homo teeth are
indistinguishable from those of the australopithecines and are
set in the pattern of a fruit eater
f) Only with the evolution of Homo ergaster 1.9 million years ago
does the tooth wear pattern make a dramatic shift from fruit eater
to meat eater
1. In 1975 a mandible fossil gained fame as being the “type”
specimen of a new species called Homo ergaster (“work man”)
2. Many scientists were appalled by this yet at the same time
many other paleo-anthropologists came to believe h. ergaster
to be a “good” species
E) In April 1964, an article was published in Nature discussing a species that
was distinct from all other Australopithecenes and Zinjanthropus,
ultimately named homo habilis
1) The authors of the article were reluctant to form a new genus so this
creature was placed in the homo genus
a) This is the first species of the genus homo and is seen as the direct
ancestor of H. erectus
2) The phrase homo habilis refers to the belief that h. Habilis was the
“handyman” or toolmaker of the lower Olduvai (gorge)
3) Homo habilis was also found in the Koobi Fora region (Kenya) and in
areas of South Africa as well
4) It should be noted that the aforementioned Olduwan tools have been
discovered with homo habilis
5) The primary difference between H. habilis and the species of
Australopithecus is a larger brain with a subsidiary distinction being in
the premolars and anterior teeth
a) In terms of cranial capacity males had about 700 cc and females of
this group had capacities of 500-600 cc
1. This is an expansion of about 15% over the Genus
Australopithecus and Relethford notes that the cranial capacity
is 30% larger than A. Africanus
b) H. Habilis has smaller posterior dentition, however, the facial and
mandibular bones still show adaptations to powerful chewing
1. It should be noted that the direction of change here is towards
the smaller tooth size
6) By the end of the 1980s scientists began to realize that due to the
variety of morphologies that the singular species of homo habilis was
insufficient
7) A name had already been derived for this second species designed by
Russian anthropologist V.P. Alexeev in 1975
a) the name of this new species was originally Pithecanthropus
rudolfensis or H. rudolfensis
8) In a major cladistic analysis published in Nature in February 1992
Bernard Wood formally proposed that the aforementioned 2 species be
adopted (habilis and Rudolfensis)
9) Lewin describes cladistics as the school of evolutionary biology that
seeks relationships among species based on polarity (primitive or
derived characteristics)
a) He sees a primitive character as being present in a common
ancestor of a group and that is, therefore, shared by all members
of that group
b) He sees a derived character as one acquired by some members of
an evolutionary group that serves to unite them in a taxonomic
sense and distinguish them from other species in a group
10) It should also be noted that despite Wood’s proposal for 2 homo
species that some scientists have proposed reassigning both species to
the genus Australopithecus
11) The first variety H. habilis was small and rather primitive bodied
12) The second variety H. rudolfensis was a larger bodied and brained
being more in line with “modern” body proportions (Tattersall and
Schwartz)
F) Homo Rudolfensis is named after the site of Lake Turkana Kenya, which at
one time had been named Lake Rudolf
1) It dated to about 2 million years ago just like homo habilis
2) Homo Rudolfensis is seen as having a “flatter, broader face and
broader postcanine teeth with more complex crowns and roots and
thicker enamel than homo habilis
3) H. Rudolfensis has a larger cranium than h. habilis and modern looking
leg bones
G) Homo Erectus means “upright walking human” based on the idea that
when they were initially found in the late 1800s they were seen as the
first example of bipedalism
1) Early homo gave rise to Homo erectus approximately 2 million years
ago during the Pleistocene epoch of the Quanternary period
2) About 1 million years ago H. erectus expanded its range beyond Africa,
first into Asia then into Europe
3) Fossil remains of homo erectus were first found in Java in 1891 and
1892 (by Eugene DuBois) and skeletal and cultural remains have been
found in Africa as well as Asia
4) Some other taxonomic names were suggested for h. erectus,
specifically, Pithecanthropus for the Java remains and Sinanthropus for
fossils from North China
5) Many of the European fossils once labeled as h. erectus are now seen
as early h. Sapiens
6) Homo Erectus is distinguished from the earlier members of Genus
Homo by a number of features including larger cranial capacities
a) Homo erectus cranial capacities range from 750-1250 cc (avg.
970cc) and the flattened skull vault is distinctive
1. some anatomists suggest that brain casts of homo habilis show
enlargement of the regions associated with spoken
communication
2. Others disagree because the number of specimens from which
brain casts can be taken is small
3. Tattersall etc. suggest that possibly it was actually h. erectus
who was the first hominid to use symbols and speak effectively
4. However, the actual time for the development of the linguisitc
skills that characterize modern humans is still unclear
b) The facial skeleton has large brow ridges behind which there is
postorbital constriction (cranium constriction)
c) There is a sagittal ridge, the skull bones are thick and the face and
jaws are prognathic (forward protrusion of the lower face)
d) The limb bones are essentially modern
7) Beginning with h. erectus the story of human evolution is increasingly
associated with cultural elaborations and other “firsts” for homo (some
may be associated with h. ergaster depending on the scientist)
a) one of the most important cultural innovations of this species was
the use of fire
b) the first appearance of homo outside of Africa occurred
c) the first appearance of systematic hunting (evidence for small &
big game hunting)
d) The first appearance of anything like a “home base”
e) The first systematic toolmaking
f) The first indication of extended childhood
8) The addition of meat as a component of the h. erectus diet was
important because it increased the stability and richness of energy
resources
a) it also allowed for the exploitation of new habitats
b) Lewin suggests that this development brought a significant
enhancement in stone tool technologies
9) H. erectus is associated with the Acheulian tool tradition that first
appeared about 1.5 m.y.a
a) The Acheulian system of tool making differed from Oldowan tools in
several ways
1. they were made from a wider range of raw materials that may
indicate a greater awareness by the tool makers of their
environment
2. Oldowon tools were all purpose while different Acheulian tools
were tailored for different purposes (more standardized and
specialized)
b) The basic Acheulian tool kit includes a range of tools for cutting,
scraping, piercing, chopping and pounding tools used to prepare
both plant and animal materials
1. this tool kit included bifaces or stone tools that are worked on
both sides
c) In addition, bones were broken and trimmed to use as tools and
wood was worked into spears
d) The precision evident in the making of Acheulian hand axes
apparently resulted from a new flaking method, the soft hammer
technique
1. The soft hammer technique uses a wood bone or antler
hammer to detach a stone flake from the core
2. The use of softer materials as a hammer allowed more control
of the final product in terms of flake length width and thickness
3. In production the core surface was flaked all over resulting in a
bi-facial flat and pear shaped tool with more regular, longer and
thinner edges
4. With this development the manufacture of a new type of stone
tool known as the cleaver (u shaped with a straight cutting
edge was developed
e) The function of Acheulean hand axes has long been a subject of
speculation
1. an unlikely explanation is that they were used as lethal
projectiles thrown like discuses as a means of killing prey
2. Others say they were used as axes or heavy duty knives
3. Toth experimented and found that handaxes and cleavers were
especially effective at cutting tough hides such as that of
elephants
4. Keeley’s microwear studies show that hand axes were used for
many functions and for materials ranging from meat and bone
to wood and hide
f) The Acheulian tradition is the most widespread and aside from the
Oldowan the longest lasting cultural tradition in the archaeological
record
g) It should be noted that there is an inconsistent development of this
tradition when geography is accounted for
1. In Asia stone tools remained remarkably primitive (Oldowan
like) while in Africa the Acheulean tradition had been
established for half a million years
2. Tattersall and Schwartz note that it is difficult to understand
why handaxe technology never became established in Asia
3. Some less than totally convincing explanations for this are lack
of development range from lack of raw materials to the
substitution of bamboo for stone
4. One explanation is that the Oldowon tradition existed in East
Asia because the early immigrants from Africa brought it with
them (Acheulian not invented yet)
a. This implies that there had been one immigration to east
Asia rather than many (no cultural diffusion from Africa)
5. However, a major question involves why the Acheulian spread
to as far as India and no farther
H) Archaic homo sapiens fossils have been found on 3 continents, specifically,
Africa, Asia and Europe
1) These archaic humans tended to live in caves, open air sites and
sometimes built temporary structures
2) It is uncertain whether they hunted large game in Europe or not
because there is some evidence (spear remains and animal bones),
but it not conclusive
3) Archaic human skulls from South and East Africa show a combination
of h. erectus and H. Sapiens characteristics
a) It is thought there might be a fairly significant genetic relationship
between the archaics of East and South Africa
b) It is also possible that several populations were evolving in a
similar way from h. erectus to h. sapiens
4) In China as in Africa and Europe, there are both earlier and later
versions of archaic homo sapiens
a) Chinese paleoanthropologists believe that archaic h. sapiens traits
such as a sagittal ridge and flattened nasal bones are shared with
h. erectus
b) They feel that this implies that h. sapiens in China are derived from
a separate h. erectus lineage than those in Europe or Africa
5) In Europe, attempts have been made to organize European archaic h.
sapiens of the Middle to upper Pleistocene (400,000-105,000 y.a.)
a) However, only fragmentary remains have made the task of
organization difficult
b) There are no fossils that definitively show homo erectus as living in
Europe
c) The earliest h. sapiens in this area show some resemblance to h.
erectus, but they have one or more h. sapiens characteristics
d) Later European archaic representatives have some H. erectus
traits, but they also have a larger cranial capacity, more rounded
occipital area, parietal expansion and reduced tooth size
e) It is believed that the later group may have evolved from the
earlier
f) The later group also has many traits associated with the
Neandertals and may be forerunners for the Neandertals
6) The early and later groups of archaic humans (not neandertals)
continued to use Acheulian level technology
7) However, different stone tool industries co-existed in some areas for
long periods showing inter-regional diversity
a) for example, at some sites hand axes are found while at others
they do not exist and this is in Europe alone
b) Villa suggests three different possible answers to this diversity
1. the tool industries were produced by different peoples (cultures
etc.)
2. the tool industries represent different types of activities carried
out at separate locales
3. the presence or absence of specific tool types (bifaces ex.)
representing the availability (or unavailability) of appropriate
local stone resources
I) Neandertals were initially considered late archaic humans and are only
found in Europe and western Asia
1) Initially, it was thought that the first Neandertal was found in 1856 in
the Feldhofer cave in the Neander valley near Dusseldorf
a) However, subsequently it was found that they were found prior to
that time in Belgium and Gibralter
b) The species was named by King in 1864 homo neanderthalensis
c) Neandertals are named for the Neander valley (what it translates
to from German) in Germany
2) They existed from 130000-35000 y. a. and are like modern homo
sapiens yet different making them difficult to classify
3) Neandertal anatomy is a mixture of primitive and derived
characteristics and their body weight is estimated at 140 lbs. (males)
and 110 lbs. (females)
a) Neandertals were short 5’6” for males and 5’3” for females and had
a stocky body suitable for colder climates
b) They had large brains with an average of 1450 cc (100 cc larger
than the modern average)
c) It should be noted that not all specimens conform to the standard
morphology for the Neandertal
d) In one study of Neandertal mitochondrial DNA (1997) comparison
showed a vastly different structure than modern homo
1. it is suggested that the last common ancestor of humans and
Neandertals lived 600,000 y.a.
4) In terms of behavior they showed traits comparable to living humans
such as burial of the dead and care for disabled individuals
a) They also had a limited ability to communicate, an ability to hunt
large game and to gather food as well
5) In terms of tools, neandertals used two different methods
1. The early Neandertals used the Mousterian tradition
characterized by the Levallois or prepared core method
2. Relethford notes that this is an efficient method where a stone
core is prepared and then finished tools are removed from it
3. This technique according to Bordes can be worked to produce
up to 60 different implements
a) This lithic technology of the neanderthals is again known as the
Mousterian tradition with the name being derived from a cave at Le
Moustier, Dordogne in France
4. This method began to be used circa 150,000 y.a., but most of
the finds date from 80,000-35,000 y.a.
5. “archaic modern” humans are also associated with Mousterian
industries from Morocco to Israel
6. Mousterian assemblages are found throughout Europe the Near
east and North Africa
7. In Mediterranean Europe (Greece, Italy and the former
Yugoslavia) assemblages often consist of very small
implements known as MicroMousterian
8. However, the geographical limits that are coincident with the
Neandertals suggesting that the two are associated
9. Tatersall and others suggest that this is a physical/cultural
adaptation to “cold” climatic conditions
10. Mousterian flakes could be used for many purposes such as
cutting flesh, scraping hides and working wood
11. Assemblages of this type of tool show little use of bone antler
or ivory
12. Mousterian sites are associated with evidence of significant
development in economic, social and cognitive development
compared to the earlier Paleolithic stage
13. The use of rock shelters is also associated with sites and there
is evidence of hut construction and the use of sophisticated
hearths
14. Mousterian users hunted a wider range of species than their
ancestors
a) The first evidence of mollusk exploitation occurred in sites
associated with this technology
b) the hunting of a wide range of cold adapted herbivores also
took place
b) at the end of their tenure a more refined tool assemblage appears
in Western Europe known as the Chatelperronian
1. The Chatelperronian is named after the cave site near
Chatelperron in France
2. It is an Upper paleolithic site having fine blades and artifacts
made from bone, antler and Ivory and is composed of at least
50% flake tools (like Mousterian)
3. Since Neandertals co-existed with modern humans at the time
it is uncertain whether human culture diffused into Neandertal
or not
4. Essentially, it is a question of whether the Neandertal
Chatelperronian is the same as the human Aurignacian
c) another key tool that Neandertals used was their front teeth
1. The dentition is usually worn suggesting possibly a repeated
biting or pulling on hide or other soft but tough material
PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2301 Lecture
THE ORIGIN OF MODERN HOMO SAPIENS--Section 11
II.
The origin of modern Homo
A) A problem with assessment of fossil finds in Europe, China, Africa and
Java is that these finds display both H. erectus and H. Sapiens features
1) These forms that represent some of the earliest members of our
species fall into the latter half of the Middle Pleistocene (Quanternary
Period) from about 400,000-130,000 years ago
2) These forms are referred to as archaic H. Sapiens
a) This is defined by Turnbaugh etc. as earlier forms of h.sapiens from
the old world
3) Again archaic humans are mixed between H. Erectus and H. Sapiens
and do not posses the full set of derived characteristics of anatomically
modern h. sapiens
a) Anatomically modern h. sapiens are all modern humans and some
fossil forms possibly dating as early as 200,000 years ago
(Relethford says 130,000+ yrs.)
b) They are defined by a set of derived characteristics including
cranial architecture and lack of skeletal robusticity, usually
classified at the subspecies level as h. sapiens sapiens
c) Relethford notes that all humans since 28,000 years ago are
anatomically modern in form and that modern h. sapiens may be
even older
4) The general trend that took place was a gradual transition from more
H. erectus to the more Homo Sapiens
a) This suggests that gradualism was taking place
b) It should be noted that some h. erectus groups did not evolve into
anything
B) Some Characteristics of archaic h. sapiens
1) Endocranial capacity is between about 1000 ml and 1400 ml with the
minimum figure similar to the average for h. erectus
a) The maximum figure (1400ml) is comparable to the average for a
modern human
2) The upper face tends to be relatively broad (like h. erectus), but with a
more pronounced midfacial projection similar to modern humans
3) On the base of the skull the tympanic bone of the ear region is
delicately built and nearly aligned with the adjoining petrous bone
a) both of these characteristics are found in h.sapiens and not h.
erectus
C) Distribution in time and space of anatomically modern h. sapiens
1) Anatomically modern h. sapiens are found at many sites across the Old
World and New World
2) Specimens of anatomically modern humans from Africa and the Middle
East are significantly older than those seen elsewhere in the Old World
a) an example is the Omo site in Ethiopia where a strikingly modern
brain case and postcranial material were found in 1967
1. The estimated date for the find is between 100,000 and
130,000 years old (Lewin)
b) At a second site slightly younger specimens were found (fragments
of cranium, arm and foot) with modern features
1. The dates for these fossils range between 70,000 & 120,000
years old
c) Relethford notes that there is evidence of an early appearance of
anatomically modern homo sapiens in the Middle east at Qafzeh
and Skhul sites in Israel
1. Relethford suggests 92,000 years ago as a date for the fossils
2. However, Lewin claims that these skeletons are only essentially
modern and that they have some archaic human features
3. Relethford seems to counter argue that the larger brow ridges
and slight face protrusion are typical of variation between
species
4. This is due to their existence in different areas of the world
5. Relethford seeks to support his argument by claiming that other
specimens also show similarities and differences
6. The reality is that these are slightly archaic features and that
either explanation could be correct depending on perspective
d) However, it should be noted that provenance has been a concern in
all of these cases and the true date may be less than 100,000
years
1. provenance can be defined as the location of a fossil or artifact
in the prehistoric record
e) It is important to note that it is certain that modern h. sapiens
existed before the youngest known archaic forms
D) Physical characteristics of anatomically modern h. sapiens
1) The skull is high and well rounded and there is no occipital bun (the
back of the skull is rounded instead)
2) The forehead rises vertically above the eye orbits and does not slope
as in archaic human beings
3) The brow ridges are small, the face does not protrude much and a
strong chin is evident
E) Cultural behavior (comparison of archaic forms with other prehistoric
forms)
1) There has been a great deal of variation in stone tool technologies so
Relethford lumps them together into Upper Paleolithic, Middle
Paleolithic and Lower Paleolithic
a) The Upper Paleolithic (Upper Old stone age) is a general term used
to collectively refer to the stone tool technologies of anatomically
modern h. sapiens
1. The first definition of the Upper Paleolithic was by Lartet and
Christy was Paleontological (the “cave bear and mammoth” and
“reindeer” ages) based on local fauna
2. Later typologies were based on tool type rather than
stratigraphy
3. Gamble has proposed the division of the Upper Paleolithic into 2
periods, specifically, the Early and Late
4. Tool types doubled in the Upper Paleolithic over the Middle
Paleolithic to as many as 100
5. The shift between the Middle paleolithic and the Upper
paleolithic is seen by Klein as “the most dramatic behavioral
shift that archaeologists will ever detect”
6. If this is true according to Lewin then the evolution of modern
morphology (130,000 y.a.) occurred separately from the
evolution of modern behavior
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
b) The Middle Paleolithic (Middle Old stone age) is a general term
used to collectively refer to the stone tool technologies of archaic
humans
1. the identifiable tool types quadrupled here (from lower
paleolithic) reaching approximately 40
c) The Lower Paleolithic (Lower Old Stone age) is a general term used
to collectively refer to the stone tool technologies of h. habilis, h.
rudolfensis and h. erectus
1. This period ended about 250,000 years ago
2. This period had innovation poor long lasting tool industries
d) Relethford notes that variation both within and between sites is
even greater in the Upper Paleolithic than in earlier cultures
1. This variation reflects sophistication and specialization of tools
It should be noted that the term Upper Paleolithic is often reserved for
the blade and burin technologies (defined later) of Europe, the Middle
east and northeastern Africa
The reason for this is because later Pleistocene archaeological
developments in northwestern Africa, sub-saharan Africa, India, China,
Southeast Asia, Australia and the New World are substantially different
Upper Paleolithic industries replaced flake and prepared-core industries
(such as Mousterian) about 35,000 years ago
a) The oldest industries of this era (35,000 to 33,000 years ago in
Europe) shared many characteristics of the preceding Mousterian
industries in the same region
b) these industries were themselves replaced with microlithic
technologies between 20,000 to 10,000 years ago
c) The Upper Paleolithic occurred climatically during the maximum
cold phases of the last glacial period
Upper Paleolithic development is characterized by the development of
blade and burin technology
a) a blade can be defined as a stone tool characteristic of the Upper
Paleolithic defined as being at least twice as long as it is wide
(page 398)
1. The preparation of cores used for blade manufacturing takes a
great deal of skill and time
2. After the cores are prepared many blades may be detached
sequentially using a pointed object such as the end of an antler
hammered by a hammerstone
b) a burin is a small stone tool with a sharp edge that is used to cut
and engrave bone of
The Upper Paleolithic is also characterized by the development of the
proficient hunting of large game (possibly to extinction in some cases)
a) this period also involved the sophisticated working of organic
materials such as bone, antler, horn, ivory and tortoise shell
b) There was also a proliferation of “jewelry” (Tattersall and others)
and of carved/painted/incised images on stone, organic materials
and cave and rock shelter walls
The classic division of the Upper paleolithic is into the Aurignacian,
Perigordian (or Gravettian), Solutrean and Magdalenian industries
a) This division is based on early explorations of sites in SW France
The Aurignacian is the most widespread industry of the Upper
Paleolithic, geographically and occurred about 34,000-29,000 years
ago
a) However, some of the apparent similarities between different
regions may in fact be due to a common level of technological
development
b) Rather than to “stylistic” patterns across a common cultural group
c) It is characterized by blade technology, a range of bone points
from split-base to solid forms, jewelry in ivory, bone, stone and
shells
1. It is also characterized by carved and incised bone, antler,
musical instruments (flutes made of bone) and thick scrapers
and burins
2. Lewin suggests that sites during this period indicate the
existence of long distance contact and even trade (shells and
exotic stone)
9) The Perigordian (or Gravettian) industries are characterized by narrow
backed points or gravettes
a) These industries started about 34,000-21,000 years ago (named
for the Perigord region of France)
b) This period is also associated with certain types of bone points,
perforated teeth and female figurines in stone and ivory
10) The Solutrean period started about 21,000 years ago and finished
18,000 to 17,000 years ago
a) This period is characterized by several forms of thin leaf-shaped
points shaped by distinctive flat, highly invasive unifacial and bifacial
retouch
11) The Magdalenian industry is characterized by an extensive use of
unretouched blades as well as increasing production and use of
microlithic blades, burins, scrapers and borers
a) This period is possibly best known for cave painting such as those
at Altamira and Lascaux (pg. 400-401 in Relethford)
b) It is named for the La Madeline rock shelter
F) The origin of anatomically modern humans
1) Three modern hypotheses deal with the idea of the origins of human
beings
2) The first is the complete replacement model developed by Stringer and
Andrews
a) Turnbaugh and others suggest that this theory proposes that the
origin of modern humans was in Africa and that they later replaced
populations in Europe and Asia
b) This theory proposes that anatomically modern populations arose
in Africa within the last 200,000 years then migrated from Africa
1. These African groups completely replaced populations in Europe
and Asia
2. This model does not take into account any transition from
archaic h. sapiens to modern h. sapiens anywhere in the world
but Africa
3. A critical deduction behind Stringer and Andrews theory is that
the appearance of anatomically modern humans was a
biological speciation event
4. Therefore, there could be no admixture of migrating h. sapiens
sapiens with local populations (modern humans are a different
species)
5. Stringer, however, had some later doubts and suggested that
there may have been some interbreeding, but that little took
place
6. A recent innovation allows for the use of genetic sequencing
data derived directly from DNA to support this theory
7. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is found outside of nucleus
(mitochondria are organelles found in the cell and outside of
the nucleus)
a. They contain a set of DNA dissimilar to that of the nucleus
that is inherited only from the mother
b. Using mtDNA scientists at UC Berkeley constructed trees
(like family trees)
A. They claimed that the entire population of the world
descended from a single village in Africa
B. However, their methodology has been questioned
C. Other scientists constructed many trees that differed
from the UC Berkeley group and some of them are
without African roots
c. This work with mtDNA inspired the mitochondrial Eve
hypothesis which posited that all living people could be
traced back to a single female
d. She lived in Africa about 200000 years ago and was a part
of a group of 10,000 people
e. It should be noted that Eve was not the only female living at
the time and it is the dynamics of loss of DNA
A. The mitochondrial lineages of mothers bearing only male
offspring will eventually come to an end leaving one
lineage
B. At each generation ¼ will have 2 males (line ends), ¼
will have 2 female, ½ will have one male and one female
(1/2 of line ends)
C. After 10,000 generations the only linkage will be to a
single female ancestor
f. Relethford notes that much of the genetic evidence is
compatible with both the African replacement model and
with multiregional evolution (discussed later)
c) Lewin sees this theory as being about H. Erectus (not archaic
humans) and suggests that there was a recent singular origin for h.
sapiens in Africa
1. This event then spread through the Old World and replaced H.
Erectus with H. Sapiens that is known as the “Out of Africa” or
single origin model (hypothesis)
2. In his view, the genetic roots of modern h. sapiens are very
shallow and only go back about 100,000 years
3) A second theory is that there was a gradual worldwide (excluding the
Americas and Australia) evolution of all of the populations of H.
erectus (TRANS. & TRANS.)
a) This is known as the multiregional or regional continuity
evolutionary model
(hypothesis)
a) In this view there is a near simultaneous appearance of modern
humans in Africa and Eurasia suggesting that H. Sapiens reach
back to the earliest populations of H. Erectus 2 m.y.a.
b) Tattersall etc. and others note that few if any of the bands of H.
Erectus became extinct leaving no descendents and that h. sapiens
may have developed in several different areas
c) Turnbaugh sees this theory as dealing exclusively with archaic
homo sapiens and modern humans
d) Turnbaugh and others argue that the reason local populations
around the globe developed a similar morphology can be examined
2 ways
1. it denies that the earliest modern h. sapiens populations
originated exclusively in Africa `and challenges the idea of
complete replacement (i.e. evolution solely in Africa)
2. it asserts that some gene flow (migration) between archaic
populations was extremely likely and consequently modern
humans cannot be considered a species separate from their
archaic form
3. Through gene flow and local selection local populations would
not have evolved totally independently (preventing speciation)
a. This kept humans as a single polytypic species throughout
the Pleistocene
e) Tattersall sees the theory as being designed to explain not only the
origin of H. Sapiens, but also the existence of anatomical diversity
in modern geographical populations
f) Tattersall etc. claim that this diversity resulted from the evolution
of distinctive traits (adaptation and genetic drift) that were
established in different geographical regions
1. These traits became established in the early populations of H.
erectus and persisted to modern people
g) This persistence is referred to as regional continuity
d) Several anatomists and anthropologists have suggested that there
are discernible links between h. erectus and the modern humans
who occupy the same geographic regions
1. An example is provided by Zhoukoudian, a site started in the
1920s near Beijing, China
2. Scholars have argued that fossils from this cave exhibit
resemblances to living Chinese
a. The similarities are rooted in cranial anatomy and in
dentition
b. This is seen as evidence of a biological continuity in
populations from the middle Pleistocene to the present
h) Relethford offers 2 different versions of this model
1. The regional coalescence model suggests that the transition
from archaic to modern humans resulted from the coalescence
of genetic and anatomic changes
a. These took place in different areas at different times all
mixing together to produce modern humans
2. The primary African origin model suggests that most of the
transition from archaic to modern humans took place first in
Africa
a. It then spread throughout the rest of the species across the
Old World through gene flow
4) It should be noted that there are other positions in between the single
origin model and the multiregional evolutionary model
5) The third model known as the Partial replacement model or AfricanEuropean sapiens model hypothesis falls into this category
a) The partial replacement model also begins with African early
archaic H. sapiens from which emerged a late archaic stage
b) Later, in Africa anatomically modern h. sapiens populations first
evolved
c) Brauer postulates the earliest dates for African modern h. sapiens
at over 100,000 years ago
1. He sees the initial dispersal of H. sapiens sapiens out of Africa
as a result of climatic and environmental conditions and thus as
a gradual process
2. Moving into Eurasia modern humans hybridized to more or less
limited degree with resident archaic groups, thereby eventually
replacing them
6) In terms of these 3 models Relethford suggests that based on fossil
evidence there is some consensus that modern human anatomy
appeared first in Africa
a) the genetic issue for these models is not settled one way or the
other
b) In summary, Relethford seems to believe that our recent origins
are mostly, but not exclusively out of Africa
PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2301 Lecture
Human Biology and Culture Change--Section 12
I.
The Biological Impact of Agriculture
A) The origins of agriculture
1) Heider (183) claims foraging involves people hunting, fishing and
gathering food that people play little or no part in raising
2) Wenke notes that millions of years of foraging took place before the
Agricultural Revolution took place
3) Kottak 192 claims that up until 10,000 years ago all people were
foragers or Hunters and Gatherers
4) Wenke notes that people all over began growing crops almost
simultaneously during the Agricultural Revolution from 10,000-3,500
years ago
5) The main difference between foragers and Agriculturalists is whether
the food is wild or domesticated
6) Wenke sees agriculture as involving human efforts to modify the
environments of plants and animals to increase their productivity and
usefulness
7) One of the most important things about agriculture is not just that it
produces great amounts of food, but that it is reliable and predictable
a) This allows population densities to rise and people in many areas of
the world to live year round in the same place
b) This staying in the same place is known as sedentarism
c) Feder suggests that human populations became “more” sedentary
before the advent of agriculture
d) Sedentary life usually involves the construction of permanent
structures
e) Wenke claims that living year-round in the same villages caused a
complex set of relationships between people, plants and animals to
arise
f) It is suggested that the rising populations led to greater demands
for food that later led to agriculture
g) It should be noted that some groups passed through the
horticultural stage first before acquiring agriculture
1. It should be noted that horticulture, (216) is also known as
gardening and is a non-industrial system of plant cultivation in
which plots lie fallow for varying periods of time
2. Horticulturalists’ fields are not permanently cultivated
8) The study of the biological impact of this change to agriculture relies
mostly on the field of paleopathology
a) paleopathology can be defined as the study of disease in
prehistoric populations based on analysis of skeletal remains and
archaeological evidence
b) skeletal remains can tell of health, disease, age at death, cause of
death, nutritional levels, growth patterns and trauma
c) In contemporary times, disease issues can arise in several ways
1. the concentration of large numbers of individuals into crowded
conditions such as schools is likely to result in the contraction
of infectious diseases
2. farmers in less densely populated areas can also be subject to
malaises such as fungal infections from spores in the soil
d) Paleopathologists can extrapolate from both contemporary and
historical patterns of health and disease to provide information
about past lifeways and help to measure adaptive success
(Tattersall etc.)
1. In pursuit of this information archaeological data is also used
e) It is necessary for them to put the occurrence and frequency of
disease in a biocultural context
1. Essentially they need to interpret information on skeletal
diseases in light of the archaeological, ecological and
demographic data that is available
2. Issues such as abnormally low bone density for example can be
a measure of nutritional stress
a. However, when this low density is observed in adolescent
and young adult females it signals an association with
reproduction
b. This is especially true if other individuals in the population
show no loss of bone and if floral and faunal remains
suggest a complete diet
f) Biocultural considerations are also important in the initial diagnosis
of disease and abnormalities in skeletal material
1. This often involves the epidemiological perspective to rule out
competing diagnoses
a. Epidemiology is the branch of medicine that studies the
transmission and control of epidemic disease
b. The term Epidemic is defined as a pattern of disease rate
when new cases of a disease spread rapidly through a
population
A. It usually starts with a few cases and expands
geometrically
c. This is opposed to the term endemic which is a pattern of
disease where new cases of a disease occur at a relatively
constant, but low rate over time
d. There is also the idea of a pandemic or a widespread
epidemic that affects a large geographic area, such as a
continent
2. In terms of competing diagnoses skeletal evidence for
tuberculosis can be easily confused with a fungal infection
3. However, they can possibly be differentiated through an
examination of the population
a. a soil borne infection might affect young adults who work
close to the soil more than any age segment
b. while tuberculosis would threaten all age groups under
urban conditions, but probably the elderly and immature
most of all
g) Of all the environmental contexts that can affect health, diet or
availability of essential nutrients may be the most significant
1. many signs of ill health including the occurrence of infectious
diseases may be caused or exacerbated by nutrition in some
way
2. The study of paleonutrition has, therefore become an important
focus within paleopathology
3. Techniques are available to quantify the biochemical
composition of bones and evaluate the probable diet of an
individual in prehistory (X-rays and chemical analysis)
a. These techniques focus on whether trace minerals such as
strontium are present in high concentrations as one would
expect from a vegetarian diet of strontium containing foods
b. A second focus could be on whether carbon isotopes present
in domesticated plants (such as maize) indicate a
dependence on these plants
c. It should be noted that these techniques are under intensive
reevaluation
h) In addition to bone, in several parts of the world such as the
mountains of Peru and the deserts of Egypt the environments allow
for the preservation of flesh
1. The treatment of the dead in some cases has also aided in
preservation of soft and hard tissues
2. The study of these mummies can yield even more information
than is available from skeletal studies
3. For example a tuberculosis bacterium cyst was discovered in
the lung of an Incan mummy
a. This offered proof of pre-Columbian tuberculosis
B) Population growth
1) Prior to the Agricultural Revolution the human population consisted of
hunting and gathering societies or what Hole and Flannery refer to as
the “first era”
a) about 10,000 years ago about 5-10 million people were spread
thinly over the earth (Durand)
b) These individuals were grouped into bands of fewer than 50 people
and populations were not seen as being large
c) The typical population density was about 4 persons every 30
square miles (Stoddard, Wishart and Blouet)
d) There were large uninhabited areas and each band society lived in
relative isolation
e) These low densities are unsurprising because the economies of
bands were based on extensive land use
1. Extensive land use refers to the idea that they got their food
from large areas without expending much labor per unit of land
f) Stoddard etc. see high death rates as “undoubtedly” restricting
population growth
g) Population growth may also have been restricted by deliberate
control through restricted sexual intercourse, abortion, infanticide
and the use of contraceptive medicinal plants
h) This slow growth rate of the band meant that its size did not
quickly exceed the carrying capacity of the land
1. carrying capacity can be defined as the upper limit in the
number of persons that can subsist adequately on a given area
of land under the existing system of technology and land
management
2) According to Hole and Flannery in the second era (after hunting and
gathering) the transition to farming was made
a) They suggest that this transition took place from 8,000-5,500 B.C.
3)
4)
5)
6)
b) This period is characterized by shifting cultivation, which involved
clearing a small area using it for a few years then abandoning it to
allow it to recover its fertility
c) This period was also characterized by permanent settlements
Hole and Flannery’s third stage involves irrigation farming that allowed
water to be conveyed to formerly dry lands
a) this occurred between 5,500 and 3,000 B.C.
b) It led to more intensive land use, which is defined as the amounts
of labor and/ or capital expended are large compared to the
amount of land in production
c) This led to higher population densities and larger agricultural
settlements
d) This type of agriculture eventually led to city states being formed
with tens of thousands of citizens
In the early A.D. period, subsistence farming (cultivators and their
families consume most of their own food production) led to further
population enlargement
a) the world population at A.D. 1 was about 300 million (Europe,
China and India were areas of population concentration)
Through the period of A.D. 1 to 1750 life expectancy remained below
35 years
a) Life expectancy is the number of years that an infant is expected to
live
b) Before the industrial revolution mortality rates were high and
growth rates were low because of recurring famines and epidemic
diseases
c) By 1750 the population had reached about 791 million
d) Population increase was not, however, steady and there were short
and long term fluctuations in both the birth and death rates
The next major step in world population came with the Industrial
revolution
a) During this time urban populations increased rapidly and living
standards in new industrial towns were frequently abysmal,
especially for the poor
b) Disease flourished in overcrowded, unsanitary urban settings
1. Death rates were often catastrophic when diseases such as
cholera got into the water supplies
c) Manufacturing processes produced wastes that contaminated the
air, land and water suggesting that humans also suffered from this
d) However, despite disease the mortality rates during this period
remained fairly constant except for Cholera outbreaks
e) In general though mortality rates fell in parts of the world during
the 1700s and 1800s and this was responsible for the accelerated
rate of population increase
1. One of the main reasons for the fall in mortality rate was the
general improvement of nutrition during the second half of the
1700s
2. This better nutrition strengthened resistance to infectious
diseases such as dysentery, typhus, smallpox, tuberculosis and
scarlet fever
3. During the latter part of the 1800s major improvements in the
environment reduced the levels of infectious diseases
a. Important advances were made in purification of water,
better disposal of sewage and higher quality foods
(especially the pasteurization of milk)
b. Other changes such as increased use of soap contributed to
better hygiene and cheap coal provided better heating in
the winter
4. It should be noted that according to this theory it was largely
environmental reforms rather than medical breakthroughs that
were the main reason for the fall in mortality in the 1700s and
1800s
5. However, innoculations did contribute somewhat to decreased
mortality rates
f) During the early phase of industrialization some areas of Europe
experienced a rise in their birth rates
1. The reasons for this are complex
a. One factor seems to have been that when economic
conditions were favorable couples married at a younger age
allowing for the birth of more children
b. Also, rural attitudes concerning the importance of children
as useful workers may have persisted in urban areas for a
time
2. The trend toward higher birth rates was short-term and in the
second half of the 1800s (Europe) birth rates started to fall
a. This fall in birthrate was not brought on by contraception
b. An issue that did affect birth rates was falling infant
mortality
A. In a time with high death rates it was important to have
a lot of children to replace the deceased, but as death
rates fell the replacement children were not needed
c. This idea is reflective of the demographic transition theory
A. This is a theory of demographic change that states that
as a population becomes economically developed, a
reduction in death rates (population growth) will take place
followed by a reduction in birth rates
d. Economic factors are also involved because in an urbanized
industrialized society children are an economic liability (no
income)
e. Also urbanization may have played a role through higher
literacy rates combined with a weakening of traditional rural
values
7) The “modern” era
a) In the modern era mortality rates have decreased and the major
causes of death have also shifted
1. the introduction of sulfonamides and antibiotics introduced in
the 1930s had a major impact on national death rates (Omran)
2. The prevalence of major infectious diseases began to decline
after 1935
3. Infectious diseases were replaced as the chief causes of death
by degenerative diseases such as heart disease and cancer
a. This shift from infectious to non-infectious diseases is
reflective of the epidemiologic transition that has been
observed in more developed countries
b)
c)
d)
a)
b)
c)
b. Relethford defines an epidemiologic transition as “the
increase in life expectancy and the shift from infectious to
non-infectious disease as the primary cause of death
4. In terms of cancer, the linkage between the rate of this disease
and environmental factors (pollutants, eating habits, smoking)
has been established
5. Essentially, infectious disease has been largely replaced by
diseases associated with an affluent, sedentary and stressful
lifestyle
6. However, Relethford suggests that there are emergent
infectious diseases or diseases that are newly evolved and have
appeared only in the past few decades
a. Examples are Legionnaires disease, e coli and HIV
7. He also suggests that there are re-emergent diseases as well
that have developed a resistance to antibiotics (Tuberculosis)
The birth rates in developed nations have continued to decline
during the 20th century
There are many reasons for this birthrate decline and some of
them are:
1. increasing acceptance of birth control and family planning
2. New aspirations and opportunities for women
3. Doubts about the stability of the traditional family system in
countries such as the U.S. can lead to a lower birthrate
4. What Stoddard etc. see as the key reason for a declining birth
rate is due to the idea that it takes more time to get a stable
income
a. For example, a basic college education might not be
completed until age 22 and professional training can take
extra years additionally career establishment can take
additional time
b. Essentially the decision to have children is delayed
5. Another reason is economic with the high cost of raising and
educating children being an incentive to limit family size
In terms of population growth the population explosion or dramatic
increase of the world population since 1900 has been described by
Jordan-Bychkov and Domosh as a “population crisis” (overall
growth—not just Europe)
the crucial element for triggering this event has been a dramatic
decrease in the death rate without a universal decline in the
birthrate
1. Some countries such as Japan and Italy have a declining birth
rate
Some countries such as Italy that have low birth rates have policies
encouraging higher birth rates
However, some nations that have or had higher growth rates have
policies discouraging births (China’s one child rule)