ARCH 131- Midterm Exam Guide - Comprehensive Notes for the exam ( 25 pages long!)
11 Oct 2017
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Plesiomorphic traits: primitive trait inherited by a species from their ancestor. Ex: prehensile feet in living apes, no tail in humans. They first appear in the species in question. Ex: no tail in primitive apes, non-prehensile feet in recent humans. Phylogeny: the actual and evolutionary relationships between different organisms. Taxonomy: the process of classifying organisms based on available data about their phylogenetic relationships. Mainly based on differences and similarities in morphology. Without organisms, we can use dna to get a better idea of evolutionary relationships. Very large canines with honing complex (sharpening of canines every time they bite down) Fission where the neck attaches (nuchal muscles prevent the neck from falling forward) Balances the head on top of the skeleton. Upper femur helps us understand if it was bipedal. Hole in the base of the skull. Lucy partial skeleton found in hadar, ethiopia, 1974. Selam complete upper body child skeleton found in same region, 2000.
