ANTHR101 Chapter Notes - Chapter 7: Human Taxonomy, Homo Erectus, Homo Sapiens
14 Mar 2014
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Completely modern human looking beings, homo sapiens sapiens, appeared 50 kya. Most paleoanthropologists agree that homo erectus evolved into homo sapiens, but how and where this happened is in great debate. Controversial transitional species (or not) between homo erectus and homo sapien. Skull lacks sagittal keel and occipital torus. Browridge that divides into separate arches above each eye. Disagreement about how to classify mixed-trait fossils from 500-200 kya. For neandertal fossils after 200kya huge argument about whether they are a distinct species (homo neandertalensis), some argue they are homo sapiens. Larger brains on average than modern humans. Massive face with much larger nasal opening. Mtdna examinations suggest modern humans and acestors diverged from a common ancestor roughly 600 kya. So new information seems to confirm that we were different species though there may have been modest interbreeding. These two types of hominid clearly existed at one and the same time, coexisting.
