Anthropology Exam 3

Anthropology Exam 3

1. What are the dental features which distinguish hominids from hominoids?

   • Hominid's jaw - parabola shaped Hominoid's jaw - v-shaped
   • Hominoids have a diastema (gap)
   • Hominoids canines are much larger than those of a hominids

2. What is meant by the terms “I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t seen it” and “I wouldn’t have seen it if I hadn’t believed it”? How do these relate to hypotheses regarding human evolution?

   • The biases of anthropologists creating the hypotheses. Example: man-the-hunter based off bias that men provide the food. Anthropologists sometimes look to confirm their biases
     • Explain how the increasing number of ancestral fossils found helps but confounds our understanding of human origins.
       • Australopithecus for example, we find graceful looking fossils with smaller browridge like Australopithecus Africanus but then we find Australopithecus Boisei which is dated younger than Africanus but is hyper robust. Increasing number of fossils doesn’t always have to answer questions, but often raise new questions.

3. What effects have bipedalism had on hominid morphology?

   • Sacrum is wide - pressure can diffuse to sides
     • Shape of acetabulum fits a bicondylar angle so pressure diffuses sideways
       • Knees and ankles are larger
         • Knees lock to save energy
       • 2 arches in foot
         • S - Shaped Spine
   • If trace fossil footprints are found - good indication

4. What are the postcranial features which distinguish the two groups?

   • Spinal column is S shaped in hominids and just a straight vertebra in hominoids
   • Pelvic
     • Hominoids’ innominate bones are long and narrow hominids short and round
     • Sacrum in hominids are much larger (wide). Hominoids sorts and narrow.
     • Hominoids do not have a sciatic notch.
       • Acetabulum is larger in hominoids
     • Sacroilliac joint in hominids is larger
   • Lower limbs:
     • Hominids have a bicondular angle, locked knees and arched feet
     • hominids loose opposable toe

5. What are the cranial features which distinguish the two groups?

   • Hominoids have smaller cranial capacity
   • Sagittal crest, nuchal crest, and brow ridge are greatly pronounces in hominoids.
     • A sagittal crest is a ridge of bone running lengthwise along the midline of the top of the skull
     • A nuchal crest
   • The foramen magnum is where the spinal cord enters the skull. In hominids it is the center of the skull, in hominoids it is the back of the skull because they are quadrupedal.
   • Hominoids are much more prognant in the face.
     • Mandibular or Maxillary

6. What are the morphological and cultural features associated with Home erectus?

   • Morphological
     • No sagittal crest
     • Large brow ridges
     • Enlarged cranial capacities 600-1000 cc
     • Heavy brow ridge
     • Pentagonal shaped skull peak on top of the head
     • Occipital bun area in the back bulging out
     • Robust long bones
   • Cultural
     • Culture is learned behavior
     • First appearance of hominids out of Africa
     • Tool making and fire
     • systematic hunting
     • First indication of extended childhood

7. What makes H. erectus different from other earlier fossil groups?

   • Indicated ability to survive in many climates
     • Use of fire
       • Indication of cooperation
         • hunting and food sharing
     • Intellectual capacity

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