Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Chapter 12 Archaic Homo sapiens and Neandertals

Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Hominin Evolution in the Mid- to Late Pleistocene Defining Anatomically Modern Homo sapiens – Large and gracile skull – Rounded cranium – Large, pyramidal mastoid process – Smaller face – Canine fossa – Chin – Long lower limbs

Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Archaic Homo sapiens European Archaic Homo sapiens 500, ,000 years ago – Boxgrove – Sierra de Atapuerca African Archaic Homo sapiens – 600,000 years ago – Bodo – Ndutu Asian Archaic Homo sapiens – 130, ,000 years ago – Jinniushan – Narmada

Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Behavior of Archaic Homo sapiens Stone Tools – Middle Paleolithic (Middle Stone Age) Levallois Technique Biodegradable Tools – Stone-wood composite tools

Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Behavior of Archaic Homo sapiens (cont’d) Big Game Hunting – Schöningen – Boxgrove Fire, Campsites, and Home Sites – No proper hearths – Terra Amata

Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. The Neandertals Geographic and Temporal Distribution – 27, ,000 years ago – Europe, Near and Middle East, Western Asia – Subspecies of Homo sapiens? History of Neandertal Discovery – First discovered in 1830 at Engis cave, Belgium – 1856: limestone quarry in the Neander Valley (Neanderthal)

Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. The Neandertals (cont’d) Neandertal Anatomy and DNA: Built for the Cold – Cranial Double-arched brow ridges No canine fossa No chin Long and low vault Midfacial projection Large juxtamastoid eminence 1600cc cranial capacity (male) 1300cc cranial capacity (female)

Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. The Neandertals (cont’d) Neandertal Anatomy and DNA: Built for the Cold (cont’d) – Teeth worn anterior teeth upper incisors have thick enamel on lingual surface taurodontism

Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. The Neandertals (cont’d) Neandertal Anatomy and DNA: Built for the Cold (cont’d) – Postcranial massive build short stature barrel chest short limbs heavy muscle markings on bones gracile superior pubic ramus

Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. The Neandertals (cont’d) Neandertal Anatomy and DNA: Built for the Cold (cont’d) – DNA 1997: DNA from original Neandertal remains have been extracted, amplified, and sequenced Mezmaiskaya: the DNA of this subadult specimen and a number of other individuals have been successfully analyzed 2010: nuclear DNA was analyzed and a draft of the Neandertal genome published

Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. The Neandertals (cont’d) Children may have developed faster than human children In general, Neandertal may have developed at a similar pace to modern humans Growing Up Neandertal

Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. The Neandertals (cont’d) Health and Disease – Evidence of traumatic injury: Neandertals lived hard lives; most skeletal remains show injury – Why so many skeletal injuries? too close to prey while hunting? fractures may vary by geographic region according to the ruggedness of terrain

Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Neandertal Behavior Material Culture – Anterior dentition as tool – Mousterian tradition – Association with Chatelperronian tradition – Wooden spears? Coping with Cold – Migration – Fire – Hides – Structures

Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Neandertal Behavior (cont’d) Hunting and Subsistence – Heavy meat reliance – Kebara site – Cannibalism as subsistence Burials – Spy Cave – La Ferrassie – No grave goods

Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Neandertal Behavior (cont’d) Ritual and Symbolic Behavior – Very little in the Neandertal archaeological record to indicate symbolic behavior – Mousterian sites: some incised bones recovered – Pierced animal teeth may have been items of personal adornment (Arcy-sur-Cure, France) – An incised plate of a mammoth tooth, from the site of Tata

Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Phylogenetic and Taxonomic Issues: An Overview Lumpers Splitters