ANTH 1001 Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Foramen Magnum, Becoming Human, Dentition
Document Summary
Hominins: human and their ancestors, anything that happened to the ancestors after the split of humans and chimpanzees. Major evolutionary novelties of humans: (not all the traits happened at the same time: habitual upright walking (bipedalism, characteristics of the dentition, elaboration of material culture, signi cant increase in brain size, long developmental period and long lifespan. Mosaic evolution: di erent traits evolve at a di erent points in time. Reduction of sexual dimorphism and less male-male competition. Center of gravity: xed point, through which body weight is transmitted or balanced. When humans stand, the cog is situated directly in the midline. Only minimal muscle activity is needed to maintain standing posture. Foramen magnum position: foramen magnums (hole through which the spine passes) is positioned directly underneath the skull in humans. Vertebral column: cervical and lumbar curvatures to maintain center of gravity over the pelvis, larger size of lumbar vertebrae to support body weight.
