ANTH 110 1nd Edition Lecture 24 Outline of Last Lecture I. Tools II. Early Homo A. Homo rudolfensis and Homo habilisB. Pliocene/Pleistocene Epoch ii. Homo erectus/Homo ergasterOutline of Current Lecture I. Homo Erectus II. Middle PleistoceneA. Homo heidelbergensisB. Neanderthals Current Lecture I. Homo Erectus - Came about 2 m.y.a.- We associate Homo erectus with the lower Pleistocene (1.8 m.y.a - 780,000)- "Homo erectus" literally means "upright man". - Homo erectus was as large as us, and the limb proportions were very similar to us as well. - Their brains were bigger than austropiths, but smaller than ours.- They are characterized by their very large brow ridges. - We start to see less body hair with erectus. There are many theories as to why we lost body hair: (1) less hair means less bugs and (2) less body hair means staying cooler. - There are different variations of skeletons of erectus from different areas. There is intraspecific variation meaning there is variation within the species. Erectus was spread across much of the old world, so this makes sense. 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.II. Middle Pleistocene - At the tail end of the middle Pleistocene, Homo sapiens appear. During this time, it was colder in the north and drier in the south (Africa). This, of course, influenced resources and migration routes. - There is some European evidence of another species to exist during the middle Pleistocene known as Homo heidelbergensis. - Neanderthals exist during this time as well. - There is evidence that species during this time had hearths, shelters, and spears. Tools were progressing. A. Homo heidelbergensis - Considered the pre-modern humans of the middle Pleistocene. - Did not have as defined of a forehead and chin (It are these features that defines Homo sapiens. )- A lot of evidence of this species in Spain. - Primitive traits of H. heidelbergensis: - low forehead- low vault- large face- supreorbital torus- Derived traits of H. heidelbergensis:- higher up breadth- more vertical nose- larger brain- thinner vaultB. Neanderthals- Neanderthals appear next. - Predominantly found in Europe- Stockier and bulkier than us.- It is said that they are cold weather
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