This lab focuses on the most recent groups in the Genus Homo and provides some hands-on experience with the skeletal material discussed in lecture. By the end of the lab you should be able to determine the identity of each specimen using the characteristic features discussed inlecture and lab. You should also notice how specific features change from the earliest to more recent species. For the first five stations, describe each feature and then determine the identity of the specimen. The final station of the lab introduces stone tools. Types of skulls in this lab include Homo erectus, archaic Homo sapiens, Neandertals, Homo sapiens sapiens (AMH or AMHs or Hss).OBSERVE THE FOLLOWING FOR EACH OF THE FIRST 5 STATIONS:
Cranial capacity
Size of the Brow Ridge
Degree of post-orbital constriction
Shape of the cranium: cranial vault
Shape of the cranium: Height of the widest point
Size of the Jaw: Relative ro jaw of AMH's
Size of molars: compared to incisors
Identity of the specimen
Station 6 Answer each of the following questions concerning the stones at this station.
10 Does the stone show signs of intentional modification, presumably by a hominid?
2) Compared to the other stones at the statiopn, does the item have more or less cutting edge per pound of stone than the other items?
3) With which hominid is this stone most likely to be associated?
WEB CREDIT: Many of the SPECIES DESCRIPTIONS from Week Six, Hominid skullduggery, and Week Eight come from Jim Foley's outstandingThe Talk.Origins website.
Cro-Magnon & Neandertal
Cro-Magnon was a modern Homo sapiens sapiens (see description below)
Homo sapiens neanderthalensis (was Homo neanderthalensis)
Neandertal man existed between 230,000 and 30,000 years ago. The average brain size is slightly larger than that of modern humans, about 1450 cc, but this is probably correlated with their greater bulk. The brain case however is longer and lower than that of modern humans, with a marked bulge at the back of the skull. Like erectus, they had a protruding jaw and receding forehead. The chin was usually weak. The midfacial area also protrudes, a feature that is not found in erectus or sapiens and may be an adaptation to cold. There are other minor anatomical differences from modern humans, the most unusual being some peculiarities of the shoulder blade, and of the pubic bone in the pelvis. Neandertals mostly lived in cold climates, and their body proportions are similar to those of modern cold-adapted peoples: short and solid, with short limbs. Men averaged about 168 cm (5'6") in height. Their bones are thick and heavy, and show signs of powerful muscle attachments. Neandertals would have been extraordinarily strong by modern standards, and their skeletons show that they endured brutally hard lives. A large number of tools and weapons have been found, more advanced than those of Homo erectus. Neandertals were formidable hunters, and are the first people known to have buried their dead, with the oldest known burial site being about 100,000 years old. They are found throughout Europe and the Middle East. Western European Neandertals usually have a more robust form, and are sometimes called "classic Neandertals". Neandertals found elsewhere tend to be less excessively robust. (Trinkaus and Shipman, 1992; Trinkaus and Howells, 1979; Gore, 1996)
The final stage in the evolution of bipedalism is Emily aka "Bigfoot"
Homo sapiens sapiens (modern)
Modern forms of Homo sapiens first appear about 120,000 years ago. Modern humans have an average brain size of about 1350 cc. The forehead rises sharply, eyebrow ridges are very small or more usually absent, the chin is prominent, and the skeleton is very gracile. About 40,000 years ago, with the appearance of the Cro-Magnon culture, tool kits started becoming markedly more sophisticated, using a wider variety of raw materials such as bone and antler, and containing new implements for making clothing, engraving and sculpting. Fine artwork, in the form of decorated tools, beads, ivory carvings of humans and animals, clay figurines, musical instruments, and spectacular cave paintings appeared over the next 20,000 years. (Leakey, 1994) Even within the last 100,000 years, the long-term trends towards smaller molars and decreased robustness can be discerned. The face, jaw and teeth of Mesolithic humans (about 10,000 years ago) are about 10% more robust than ours. Upper Paleolithic humans (about 30,000 years ago) are about 20 to 30% more robust than the modern condition in Europe and Asia. These are considered modern humans, although they are sometimes termed "primitive". Interestingly, some modern humans (aboriginal Australians) have tooth sizes more typical of archaic sapiens. The smallest tooth sizes are found in those areas where food-processing techniques have been used for the longest time. This is a probable example of natural selection which has occurred within the last 10,000 years (Brace, 1983).
Acheulian Hand axes and Chopper Tools
Homo sapiens sapiens
Carpe Noctem!
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