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UMass Amherst ANTHRO 103 - Homo Erectus

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Lecture 20 Outline of Last Lecture I. Our genus, Homo Outline of Current Lecture II. Homo erectusA. Evidence for meat eatinga. Dietary changeB. Expensive tissue hypothesisC. Fire useD. Bigger body sizeE. Home baseF. Similarities to modern humansG. Growtha. Female pelvis - what were H. erectus babies like? Anthro 103 1st editionb. Turkana boyc. Femoral epiphysisCurrent LectureHomo erectus is unique because it expanded out of the area in which it evolvedThe climate they lived in was like modern day Chicago - coldThis was possible through nutrient rich meat-eating, building fires, using toolsAcheulean tools - aka swiss army knife of Homo erectusAfter this tool was invented and perfected, they stuck with it for 1000 years (conservative - if its not broke, don't fix it)These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.Evidence for meat eating:Olorgesailie, Kenya - Acheulean tools found, elephant butcheryButchered bones (found in Africa, China, Europe)-ElephantsCut marks on the bones where flesh would have been removedHunted, not scavengedDietary change: indirect evidencereduced teeth - don't need thick enamel, big molars for lots of chewingsmaller facethorax and gut (barrel shaped - easier to digest food, diet doesn't have a lot of cellulose that is hard to digest)Expensive tissue hypothesis - tries to explain difference in brain sizeBrain takes a huge amount of food to run itIf you have an animal of a certain size, the heart has to be a certain size to do its job, and the kidney has to be a certain size, etc.For humans, we have a kidney/liver/heart that you would expect but our gut is smaller and our brain is colossalSteal energy from the gut and put it towards the brainSmaller gut would only work if food is more easily digestedOur switch to meat-eating (lots of nutrients) and cooked plant food allowed our gut to be smaller and our brains to get biggerUsed and possibly controlled fireChina around 500,000 yearsLived in modern day Beijing when the weather was like modern day ChicagoFire for food, warmth, scare off predatorsBigger body sizeAustralopithecines and Homo habilis were small, Homo erectus much tallerStrong sexual dimorphism between the genders of H. habilisLess dimorphism between genders of H. erectus. Females are still smaller, but there is less of a difference than there was in H. habilisReduced male-male competitionHome base:Before, they follow food and build nests at night. In the morning, they follow the food and build a nest elsewhere.Now, there is a home base. Homo erectus returns to the same place at the end of the day.Cooperation, food-sharingHuman-like:Pretty big brainBody size, proportions, gut, nose, teethFully terrestrialReduced dimorphism (behavioral implications)Tropically adapted, BUT lived outside tropics tooCultural adaptationsHome base - food sharing?FireHow else?Long infant dependency? Adolescent growth spurt?Was H. erectus developmentally human?Female pelvis, Ethiopia, 1.4 myaLucy's pelvis was much smaller than that of H. erectus and modern human"obstetrical dilemma"Neonate's brain in Homo erectus was more or less the size of modern human neonateBut, smaller as an adult than modern humanBrain at birth was less immature than our babies brainsH. erectus neonate could have gone through more of its development before birthShorter dependency period than modern humans, but longer than apes, etc.Less male-male competition and home base suggests babies were taken care of by fathers or grandmothers, members of societyTurkana boy H. sapiens H. sapiensAge at death 8 8 13(dental)Human skeletal 13 8 13ageHuman stature age 15 8 13Not developmentally a modern humanShape change in distal femoral epiphysisAssociated with adolescent growth spurt in femoral lengthPresent in 'Early


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