ANTHRO 7 Chapter Notes - Chapter 10: Canine Tooth, Sahelanthropus, Ardipithecus Ramidus
Document Summary
Changes in climate of african tropics: 1) total amount of rain that feel each year declined 2) rainfall became more seasonal, so there were several months each ear when no rain fell. Changes brought about through generations of natural selection allowed a few species to move down from the trees, out of the rain forests, and into the woodlands and savannas. Earliest hominins: any member of the family hominidae. The first hominins appear in the fossil record about 6 mya. Between 4 and 2 mya, a diverse community of hominin species ranged through eastern and southern africa. Walked upright bipedal locomotion led to major morphological changes in their bodies. Some began to exploit new savanna and woodland habitats and new kinds of food became available. Hominin chewing apparatus (features of the teeth, jaws, skull) changed. Shared derived characters that distinguish modern humans from other living hominoids: