ANTH 1000 Lecture 8: Early Hominids and Bipedalism

• School: Auburn University
• Department: Anthropology
• Course: ANTH 1000
• Professor: Meghan Buchanan

Document Summary

Other physical trends: teeth (reduction in size, body size, brains. Wh(cid:455) is it so ha(cid:396)d to (cid:396)e(cid:272)o(cid:374)st(cid:396)u(cid:272)t the e(cid:454)a(cid:272)t e(cid:448)olutio(cid:374)a(cid:396)(cid:455) t(cid:396)ee? (cid:863) A(cid:373)ple (cid:395)uestio(cid:374): (cid:862)ho(cid:449) old a(cid:396)e the oldest (cid:271)ipeds? (cid:863) Sahelanthropus tchadensis: looks chimp-like but walks bipedally. Austrolopithecus afarensis (gracile: small brain, prognathis face, pelvis and knee indicate bipedal, curved phalanges. Australopithecus africanus (gracile: larger brain than afarensis, smaller teeth, rounder cranium. A. aethiopicus (robust: flaring check bones, large teeth, prognathic face, very large sagittal crest. A. robustus (robust: large teeth, sagittal crest, small brain. A. boisei (hyperrobust: very large teeth, sagittal crest, small brain. A. sediba (cid:894)(cid:449)o(cid:374)"t (cid:271)e o(cid:374) the e(cid:454)a(cid:373)(cid:895: long legs (efficient walking, long arms and strong hands indicate climbing still important. Homo naledi: brain size similar to australopithecines, body and cranial shape more human-like. Homo habilis: flatter face, smaller teeth, bigger brain, tool maker. Homo erectus: first hominid species to leave africa, bigger brains, less prognathism, large brow ridges, forehead less sloped, acheulean hand axes.