human evolution and prehistory
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Human Evolution and PREHISTORY. Chapter Eight: HOMO ERECTUS AND THE EMERGENCE OF HUNTING AND GATHERING San persistence hunting. Chapter Preview. Who Was Homo erectus/ergaster ? What Were The Cultural Capabilities Of Homo erectus/ergaster ? - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Human Evolution Human Evolution andand PREHISTORYPREHISTORY
Chapter Eight:Chapter Eight:
HOMO HOMO ERECTUS AND THE ERECTUS AND THE EMERGENCE OF HUNTING EMERGENCE OF HUNTING
AND GATHERINGAND GATHERINGSan persistence hunting
Chapter PreviewChapter PreviewChapter PreviewChapter PreviewWho Was Who Was Homo erectus/ergasterHomo erectus/ergaster??
What Were The Cultural Capabilities Of What Were The Cultural Capabilities Of Homo erectus/ergasterHomo erectus/ergaster??
What Were The Consequences Of What Were The Consequences Of Homo Homo erectus/ergastererectus/ergaster’s Improved Abilities To ’s Improved Abilities To
Adapt Through Culture?Adapt Through Culture?
Homo erectus/ergasterHomo erectus/ergaster hominin complex hominin complex
Some anthropologists view the variation in post-1.9 my Homo fossils of Africa, Asia and Europe to be different enough to warrant two species
Others (“lumpers”) assign all fossils immediately after Homo habilis only to Homo erectus
There are great adaptive similarities; hence, a hominin complex
Homo erectus/ergasterHomo erectus/ergaster Fossils Fossils
Fossil evidence shows that by 1 million-500,000 ya hominins of this species had spread from Africa to China, Europe, the Republic of Georgia, India, Java
Homo erectus/ergasterHomo erectus/ergaster Cranial capacity range, 600 – 1,225 cc;
overlaps with KNM ER1470 and modern humans (figure 8.3)
Low, long, narrow cranial vault, with greatest width at base
Near-modern development of brain, especially in speech area
Massive brow ridges with marked constriction
Sloping forehead and receding chin Rugged face, teeth and jaws but smaller
than H. habilis
Homo erectus/ergasterHomo erectus/ergaster
Homo erectus/ergasterHomo erectus/ergasterPostcranial skeleton
Known mainly from African H. ergaster More heavily muscled than ours Increase in stature from early Homo Decrease in sexual dimorphism in body
size; this may be due to the increase in female size as an adaptation to childbirth
Homo erectus Homo erectus from Javafrom Java
Eugene Dubois, original discoverer of first fossils in 1891
1.8 million to 500,000 years ago
About 40 individuals
Teeth and jaws of earliest fossils are quite similar to those of Homo habilis
Homo erectus Homo erectus from Chinafrom China
Davidson Black was the original discoverer of the first H. erectus fossils (~45 individuals) at Zhoukoudian in 1927
Sinanthropus
600,000 to 300,000 years ago
Homo erectus Homo erectus from Chinafrom ChinaRecent discoveries:
Earliest fossil (Lunguppo), a lower jaw fragment as old as the Java fossils
resembles African Homo habilis
Overall, Chinese fossils are more recent than the Java and have more modern characteristics, e.g. smaller teeth, larger cranial capacity
Homo erectus/ergasterHomo erectus/ergaster
The African FossilsThe African FossilsOlduvai and Lake Turkana
12-year old boy who died 1.6 mya
An adult who died of a massive overdose of vitamin A
Olorgesailie, Kenya
Slightly younger than 1 my
Turkana boy
Remains of a boy who died in his early teens.
The African FossilsThe African FossilsIn some African fossils, there are more
strongly developed brow ridges and temporal muscle scars than in Asian fossils
In others, there are thinner crania and more primitive mandibles
The variation between Asian and African/European fossils may lie well beyond that of a single species
Homo erectus Homo erectus from Europefrom Europe
Dmansi, republic of Georgia, dating to 1.7 mya
Likely ancestor to Asian H. erectus
Difficult to assign to a species because they share characteristics with both earlier and later fossils
Cranium is small and rounded, with face similar to early H. erectus/ergaster
Mandible is unique
Brain size is small, within range of H. habilis
EarliestEarliest Homo erectus Homo erectus from Europefrom Europe
England, Germany, Spain, Italy
860,000 to 500,000 years ago
The Spanish fossils are the oldest human ancestors with a relatively modern face
These fossil traits are derived and the discoverers of the fossils place them in a separate species, H. antecessor, ancestral to H. heidelbergensis
Multiple SpeciesMultiple SpeciesThe fact that the earliest evidence of hominins comes from Spain and Italy suggests crossing from North Africa
Open water crossing was required, a feat that H. erectus/ergaster was capable of doing 800,000 ya in Indonesia
Gene flow was possible between Africa and Europe; could the early Europeans be a separate species if there was no reproductive isolation? (see Table 8.1, text)
Relationship between Relationship between H. H. erectus/ergaster erectus/ergaster and and H. habilisH. habilis
Smaller teeth and larger brains are a continuation of the trend first seen in H. habilis
New traits are increased body size, reduced sexual dimorphism, more “human” body form
It is difficult to distinguish early erectus/ergaster from habilis (Figure 8.6), but likely one evolved from the other fairly abruptly, 1.9 to 1.6 mya
THE CULTURE OF THE CULTURE OF Homo Homo erectus/ergastererectus/ergaster
The Acheulean Tool TraditionThe Acheulean Tool Tradition
Africa, Europe, Southwest AsiaHandaxe is central toolIn East Africa, handaxes date to 1.6 myaIn Europe, they are no older than 500,000 yearsSites in Europe increase in number dramatically at same time as handaxes appear; this suggests increased gene flow into Europe
Characteristics of Acheulean ToolsCharacteristics of Acheulean Tools
Developed from the Oldowan tradition, e.g. Beds I and II, Olduvai
Tool shapes have become standardized Sharper points and more regular
cutting edges than Oldowan tools More cutting edge available from same
amount of stone
Acheulean Tool KitsAcheulean Tool Kits
DiversificationCleavers, picks and knivesFlake toolsRetouched flakes, e.g. points, scrapers, borersSupplementary tools of bone, antler, wood
Tools in East AsiaTools in East Asia
Spread of Homo from Africa took place before the invention of the handaxe
In East Asia people developed a variety of choppers, scrapers, points, burins different from those in the West
Overall, stone implements were not common; likely bamboo and other local woods were used
ORIGINAL STUDY
Homo erectusHomo erectus and the Use of and the Use of BambooBamboo
The frequency of the handaxe in Asian tool kits is very lowChopper-chopping tools predominateTheir distribution coincides with the distribution of bambooIt has been suggested that bamboo was the main source of materials for making tools and the stone choppers were manufactured to work with bamboo
Acheulean ToolsAcheulean ToolsEach tool served more than one
purpose; e.g. handaxes could kill game, dig up roots
Improved selection of raw materials, e.g. flint rather than basalt
Invention of the baton and striking-platform methods of percussion
Use of FireUse of Fire
Earliest use of fire appears in South Africa, 1.3 to 1 mya, possibly for protection from predators
Kao Poh Nam rock shelter, Thailand, 700,000 ya; fire hearth with butchered, burned animal bones
Other uses for fire could have been warmth, light, cooking, thawing carcasses, clearing forest
Fire gave people more control over their environment
Other Aspects of Other Aspects of Homo erectusHomo erectus culture culture
1. Construction of shelters, e.g. Bilzingsleben, Germany, 350,000 ya
2. Clothing was necessary in the climates of China and Europe
Courtesy of Palomar College, Anthropology
Other Aspects of Other Aspects of Homo erectusHomo erectus culture culture
3. Developed an ability to organize a hunt for live animals, and skill in huntinge.g. Ambrona and Torralba, Spain, 400,000 ya
elephants, horses, rhinoceroses
butchered and killed
Other Aspects of Other Aspects of Homo erectusHomo erectus culture culture
4. open-water travel, e.g. to the island of Flores, Indonesia
5. Rudimentary symbolic artifacts, e.g. ox rib with engraving from a site in France
LanguageLanguage Vocal tract and brain of Homo erectus are
intermediate between Homo sapiens and Australopithecus
Modern-sized hypoglossal canal by 500,000 years ago
Changeover from gestural to spoken language may have played role in reduction of tooth and jaw size, making it easier to speak
Archaic Archaic Homo sapiensHomo sapiens and the Middle and the Middle
PaleolithicPaleolithic