Transcript Homo erectus

Homo habilis
“Handy Man”
Discovered: 1960 in Olduvai Gorge
(Tanzania) by Louis Leakey
Age range: 2.4 – 1.5 mya
Cranial capacity: 631 – 775 cc
Features: 20% larger brain than
australopiths, flattening face, changes in
teeth; skeletal anatomy similar to
australopithecines
Notes: Found in association with STONE
TOOLS
Oldowan Tools
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Smasher basher cores
 Used for breaking
bones, slicing meat or
vegetation
Sharp flakes
 Used for
scraping/slicing meat
off bones
Produced by striking a
hammerstone against a
large cobblestone (core)
 Produces a core
chopper, and a flake
Oldowan Style Tools
Homo habilis
Scavenging way of life
Leg bones w/cut marks from
Stone tools
 Cracked open to get marrow
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Keen sense of animal activity
patterns
Early Homo in Evolutionary Context
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Hominid brain size remains about the same from 3-2
mya, but then increases dramatically
Explosion of evolutionary activity around the same
time:
 Aus. garhi, Aus. africanus, Par. aethiopicus and
early Homo living at same time
Corresponds with major climate change (dry climate,
grasslands), radiation of populations into new
habitats
New genus (Homo) = new adaptive strategy
Homo erectus “Upright Walking Man”
Discovered: 19th century in China, Java;
later in Africa
Age range: 1.8 my – 350,000 years
Cranial capacity: 750 – 1250 cc
Type specimen: Turkana Boy (1.6 myo) by
Richard Leakey in Kenya; most complete
hominid skeleton
Features: weight/height increases; heavy
body build
Geographic distribution: China, S.E. Asia,
E. Africa, S. Africa, N. Africa, possibly Europe
(widest range of any hominid besides H. sapiens)
Homo erectus
Features: Cranial features are very distinct; sagittal ridge
Notes: First hominid to leave Africa (around 1.7 – 1.5 mya)
 Made Acheulian stone tools
 multipurpose hand axes (1.4 mya in Africa)
 Modified flake tools
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First hominid to USE fire (500,000 ya)
 Cook meat, keep warm, light, socialize
Language centers developed – but no evidence of speech
Classifying Homo erectus
Based on cranial & behavioral features
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Homo ergaster – African species
Homo erectus – Asian species; did not
make hand axes
Homo antecessor – European species
dated at 780,000 ya in Spain
Scavenging vs. Hunting
H. habilis = archeaological evidence
supports scavenging
 H. erectus = scavenging, hunting,
cooking of meat
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Recap of Defining the Genus Homo
1.
Anatomical differences from
Australopithecines
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Larger, more rounded braincase
Less projecting face
Smaller back teeth
Eventually, larger body
2. Cultural changes
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More animal based diet
Expanding ranges/territories w/growing
populations
More food processing with tools
Intelligence becoming primary survival
strategy
Conclusion: Bio-cultural evolution firmly
established with genus Homo hominids
Australopithecus sediba
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Discovered 2008 in South Africa; publicized in 2010
Dated at 2 myo
 Within range of Early Homo & robust
australopithicenes
More than 220 bones (more than any early Homo bones
combined); all ages & both sexes represented
A. sediba shows mix of australopith & later Homo traits
Primitive heel bones – more primitive than Lucy
 Is A. sediba from another lineage?
Analysis of skin may provide DNA
Analysis of teeth may have remains of food
Evolutionary Turning Points
Bipedalism – defining hominid feature
 Manufacture of Stone Tools
 Meat eating
 Brain expansion
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More sophisticated tools
Better/safer hunting opportunities = more
meat
More reliance on cultural innovations
Language
 More complex social organization
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