ANTH 1210 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Bipedalism, Blood Proteins, Australopithecine

• School: University of Manitoba
• Department: Anthropology
• Course: ANTH 1210
• Professor: Stacie Burke

Document Summary

Using customs and adaptations that are known in a modern group to justify a reconstruction of a past way of life. Issues: assumes that current cultures have had no outside influences, assumes that current cultures have had no adaptations between the period studied and now, their behaviours may not reflect anyone universal pattern from prehistory. Distinct human traits: skull features, cerebral cortex, teeth, language, brain complexity, skeletal differences, bipedalism, completely terrestrial, toolmaking, hunting practices, sexuality of females, young dependency, division of labour. Eras: major stages in the macroscopic fossil record. Insectivores: better vision and grasping hands, hunting for insects. Visual predation theory: nocturnal, better vision, omnivores, fruit. Insects: grasping hands, smaller vegetation to grasp, ease of eating fruit and flowers. Paleocene: 65 mya, archaic primates: plesiadapiforms, europe and north america. Old world: no clear fossil record in areas where they are today, 34 mya, fayum. The fayum: south of modern cairo, egypt.