ANTA01H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Acheulean, Multiregional Origin Of Modern Humans, Hand Axe
Lecture 9 – Premodern Humans and the Origins and Dispersal of Modern Humans
Premodern Human Climate: The Pleistocene
Early Pleistocene: 1.8 mya - 780,000 ya
Middle Pleistocene: 780,000 - 125,000 ya
Late Pleistocene: 125,000 -10,000 ya.
Period of glaciation, ice sheets and with interglacial which is warm periods.
Restricted travel.
Epochs, Culture and Hominins
Played a role in when and where they moved. Paleolithic= stone age. Age at which
humans used stone tools. Split into 3 groups, lower, middle and upper.
Changing Pleistocene Environments in Africa
In Africa significantly to how dry and warm it was. During glacial it was cooler but much
drier. Limiting factor to how far hominins could move. Interglacial would be less dry and
could support hominin on the move. Move around out of Africa.
Middle Pleistocene Hominins
Ancestor species of modern humansà homo heidelbergensis. Evolved homo erectus but
has some traits on erectus. Robust skull, long heads, robust brows, larger brains. Not as
wide at the base like homo erectus. Considered an in-between species.
Premodern Humans of the Middle Pleistocene
More in Africa and Europe in heidelbergensis.
Homo heidelbergensis Skull from Bodo, Ethiopia
Oldest in Africa. Notable for being an individual that was defleshed by other hominins.
600,000 ya
Homo heidelbergensis Skull from Kabwe, Zambia
Considered pre-modern because of robust brow ridges,
Approx. 200,000-125,000 ya
Premodern Humans of the Middle Pleistocene: Europe
Gran Dolina finds in northern Spain may represent H. heidelbergensis, possibly dating to
850,000 ya
Atapuerca site of Sima de los Huesos: remains of at least 28 individuals date to
600,000-530,000
Premodern Humans of the Middle Pleistocene: Asia
Dali fossils display H. erectus and H. sapiens traits, cranial capacity of 1,120 cm3
Jinniushan, northeast China, 200,000 ya and cranial capacity approx 1,260 cm3
Many Chinese researchers have argued that this evidence suggests regional continuity
to modern populations
There is a great deal of debate on how to classify these specimens as the modern
cranial features are surprising this early in the fossil record
There is some hominin remains like re modern humans having in-between features but
some think it’s between homo sapiens or part of heidelbergensis.
Middle Pleistocene Culture
Not so much the core but it’s the flakes. Purpose is to make tools out of the flakes.
Levallois- flake removal.
Start off with core(nodule) but we want to remove flakes in a particular pattern. Take one
stone to bash another one. Hammer stone to core stone. Remove flakes from perimeter
of the stone. The remove flakes from the top. Final stage you remove the sliver of the
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Document Summary
Lecture 9 premodern humans and the origins and dispersal of modern humans. Early pleistocene: 1. 8 mya - 780,000 ya. Period of glaciation, ice sheets and with interglacial which is warm periods. Played a role in when and where they moved. Split into 3 groups, lower, middle and upper. In africa significantly to how dry and warm it was. During glacial it was cooler but much drier. Limiting factor to how far hominins could move. Interglacial would be less dry and could support hominin on the move. Ancestor species of modern humans homo heidelbergensis. Evolved homo erectus but has some traits on erectus. Robust skull, long heads, robust brows, larger brains. Not as wide at the base like homo erectus. More in africa and europe in heidelbergensis. Notable for being an individual that was defleshed by other hominins. Considered pre-modern because of robust brow ridges, Gran dolina finds in northern spain may represent h. heidelbergensis, possibly dating to.
