ANTH 315 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Neanderthal, Ardipithecus, Hominini
Document Summary
Taxonomy: the classification of something, especially organisms. Bone is buried underground (undisturbed for a long time) Organic parts of bone decompose (becomes porous) Water infiltrates bones and carries minerals in. Minerals replace bone materials slowly (maintaining its shape) A fossil adopts the color of its minerals/dirt. Fossil is heavier than bone (bc it"s made of rock!) Fossils need an oxygen-free environment in order to fossilize. We share an ancient ape ancestor w modern apes (~6-8 m years ago) There are human fossils from up to ~7 m years ago. We compare fossil hominins to living apes regularly. Bc traits common to living apes probably existed in the ancient ape ancestor. Human lineage lost some of these traits. Living apes cannot be our ancestors (bc they are still alive) Australopithecines ethiopia, tanzania, kenya, south africa (4. 2 mya) Homo erectus europe, south asia, china, indonesia (~1. 8 mya) Neandertals europe, north west central asia (300 kya) Earliest modern humans morocco (300 kya)
