Chapter 11 April 6, 2010

Humans Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Primates Family: Homonidea Genus: Homo Species: Sapiens Subspecies: Homo sapiens sapiens

Other Primates Suborder: Haplorhini Suborder: Strepsirhini Humans, tarsiers, monkeys, apes Infraorder: Catarrhinni Humans, old world monkeys, apes Infraorder: Platyrrhinii New world monkeys Suborder: Strepsirhini Lemurs, lorises, indiriids

Primates Hominoidea – superfamily including humans, the small apes (gibbons), and the great apes (chimps, orangutans, gorillas) Similarities in blood and protein chemistry Humans share 98% of DNA with chimps Pentadactyl – having 5 fingers and toes Prehensile – ability of hands and feet to grasp objects

Primates Clavicle and scapula (shoulder blade) allow for great range of movement and strength Reduced sense of smell compared to other mammals Stereoscopic, color vision More mobility in head movement versus other mammals Molars, canines, and incisors – adaptation to generalist diet Large brains

Adaptations to Arboreal Existence? Prehensile hands and feet, shoulder and arm design color stereoscopic vision – for judging distance, identifying food and predators Low numbers of offspring Molecular clock – when did humans diverge from chimp ancestors? mtDNA from mother 5 to 10 mya

Early Primates Arose 70 may during late Cretaceous Related by common ancestor to insectivores and bats Extinct suborder Plesiadapiformes – appeared in North America 65 mya Arboreal Size of squirrels or house cats – rodent-like with primate teeth Ate seeds and insects Died out 55 mya

23 to 14 mya – great increase in ape diversity and range Extensive forests covered Africa and Eurasia 20 different genera of Caterrhinii apes from Africa, to western Europe, to southeast Asia Pliopithecus – western Europe – similar to modern gibbons Gigantopithecus – China and India – larger than modern gorillas Ramapithecines – jaws and teeth like humans and apes; skull like orangutans 14 mya – climate changes requiring adaptation to savanna climate Lived at forest edge Bipedal – uses less energy Reduced canines

Pliopithecus sp. (1); Dryopithecus sp Pliopithecus sp. (1); Dryopithecus sp. (2); Australopithecus afarensis (3) Homo habilis (4) (Mammiferi, Primati). Gigantopithecus Pliopithecus sp.

Hominid Hominid refers to humans and extinct bipedal primate that are ancestral or closely related to humans Genus Australopithecus Africa 5 mya Forest-savanna ecotone Reduced canines

Australopithecines Appeared between 4 and 3.8 mya Disappeared by 1 mya Fossils found only in Africa 3.3–5 feet; 66–132 pounds; small brains Closer to modern chimps and gorillas than modern humans No evidence of tool making or fire use Ate nuts and grasses

Early Homo Oldest Homo fossils 2.5 myo and from Olduvai Gorge, east Africa Homo habilis (handy man) Small hominid Bipedal Increased brain size Manufacture and use of specialized tools Oldowan Tradition

Homo habilis

Homo erectus Acheulean Tradition

Early Homo Homo erectus – “Java Man” and “Peking Man” Older than Homo sapiens, younger than Homo habilis Found in western Europe, Republic of Georgia, Java, China, east and south Africa 1.7 mya–300,000 years ago Acheulean Tradition Used fire

Homo sapiens More prominent brow and thicker skull than modern-day humans Appeared 400,000 years ago in Europe, Africa, and Asia Eve Hypothesis – all modern humans descended from one African Homo sapiens female that lived 200,000 years ago Multiregional Model – Homo sapiens evolved from Homo erectus separately at two or more geographic locations Most Anthropologists support Out of Africa Model

Homo sapiens neanderthalensis Fossils from 130,000 to 35,000 years ago Europe and Near East Only hominids that unquestionably did not evolve in sub-Saharan Africa Not ancestral to modern humans Evolved from archaic Homo sapiens Mousterian Tradition Fire, clothing, shelter, rituals, music

Homo sapiens sapiens Adapted to warm conditons and open countryside Human Revolution – 50,000 years ago rapid expansion inside of and out of Africa; creating art and ritual burials