ANTH 1013 1st Edition Lecture 18 Outline of Last Lecture I. HomininsII. How do we explain this constellation of features?III. Piltdown ManOutline of Current Lecture I. Piltdown ManII. Sahelanthropus tchadensisIII. Orrorin tugenensisIV. Ardipithecus kadabbaV. Ardipithecus ramidusVI. Late Miocene/Early PlioceneCurrent LectureI. Piltdown Mani. In 1912, fossils are discovered by Charles Dawson’s laborers at a gravel pit in Piltdown, Englanda. Find extinct mastodons and a homininii. Features of Piltdown Man:a. Large brain, like that of Homo sapiensb. Ape-like jaw and teeth1. Intelligence evolved first, and everything else followedc. Fossil is hailed as the “missing-link” between humans and apesd. Note that the evidence confirmed notions of how humans must have evolvediii. Named Eoanthropus dawsoni (Dawson’s Dawn Man)a. Ardently supported as THE human ancestor by influential scientists t the museum of Natural History (London)iv. As a specimen:a. Missing anatomical parts linking the mandible and the craniumb. Not all parts found at the same timec. Canine found the year after the skulld. Tool made from elephant tusk found 2 years after initial discoveryv. Piltdown Man questioneda. Piltdown was accepted in Great Britain, but questioned by other scientistsThese 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.1. In 1913, David Waterson concluded that the mandible was from an ape and the cranium from a human2. In 1915, Marcellin Boule concluded the same thing3. In 1923, Franz Weidenrich reported the same thing and even reported that the ape teeth had been filed down!!b. In 1915, Charled Dawson claimed to have found another individual (PiltdownII) 2 miles awayc. In 1916, Charles Dawson dies and no more fossils are found at Piltdownvi. Piltdown Man Ignoreda. By the 1940’s other fossils had eclipsed Piltdown1. Homo erectus (Peking Man, Java Man)2. More Neanderthals3. Homo heidelbergensisb. At best, it seemed like parts of a fossil ape had been mixed with a fossil human1. “I remember writing a paper on human evolution in 1944, and I simply left Piltdown out. You could make sense of human evolutionif you didn’t try to put Piltdown into it.” – Sherwood Washburnvii. Piltdown is a HOAX!a. In 1949, Piltdown was ultimately proved forgery by Flourine dating – showedthat the Piltdown specimens were more recent than the fossils associated with themb. The cranium and mandible were stained to look oldc. But who did it?d. In the erarly 1900’s, the British intelligentsia dominated “science.”e. In 1924, in South Africa Raymond Dart, a not-particularly-noted-anatomist, was given a peculiar skull found in a mineviii.Why is Piltdown important?a. The Taung Child1. Human-like teeth with thick enamel2. Foramen magnum below the skull – bipedal3. Brain size like a chimp4. Small canine, like a humanb. Named Australoithecus africanusc. Dart announced find in 1925ix. Reaction to Taunga. Taung implied the opposite scenario of Piltdown: 1. Canine reduction occurred before brain size expansion2. Bipedalism developed before brain expansion3. Brain size is not the defining feature of hominins, its either small canines or bipedalism4. This is the opposite scenario as envisioned by early evolutionary thinkersb. Taung was ignored and even scorned by the Britsc. Besides, who was this clown Dart- he had no credentials and was merely some colonial second-rate anatomistx. Taung todaya. Darwin correctly surmised that humans evolved in Africa1. We are most anatomically similar to the African apesb. 1000’s of hominin fossils have now been found in Africa,including many more specimens of Australopithecus africanusc. The African record now stretches back to 6+ myaII. Sahelanthropus tchadensisi. Info:a. Whats in a name?1. Sahelanthropus = Sahel (sahara), anthropus (human2. Tchadensis = tchad (Chad), ensis (originating from)b. Initial Discovery: 2004c. Distribution: just Chadd. Nickname: Toumaie. Temporal range: 7 myaii. Info II:a. Ape-like in some ways:1. Cranial capacity is 360 cc – very small2. Thick supraorbital torus – bar above the eye3. Thin enamel on postcanine teethb. Hominin-like in some ways:1. Foramen magnum forwardly placed (maybe)2. Small canine, that is not honed (no sharpening of canine)iii. Info III:a. Foramen magnum is anterior in comparison to chimpanzees, but not as anterior in comparison to humansb. Orientation of the foramen magnum is more human-like according to the CT reconstructioniv. Features shared with younger hominins:a. Anteriorly-placed foramen magnum (maybe)b. Small, apically-worn canines1. Present in cranium2. Present in mandible and isolated canine of other indibidualsv. Why its not a sure thing:a. No postcrania to confirm bipedalismb. Foramen magnum not as forwardly placed in other hominisc. The cranum is so warped that it is impossible to take many standard measurements. Most of the comparisons have been done from CT reconstructionvi. Conclusion:a. May bo the oldest evidence for homininsIII. Orrorin tugenensisi. Info:a. Whats in the name?1. Orrorin = first humanb. Tugensis = from the Tugen Hills, Kenyac. Discovery: 2000d. Nickname: millennium mane. Temporal range: 6 myaf. Distribution: Kenyaii. Hominin-like:a. Details of the femoral shape – neck length, femoral head sizeb. Canine is not as large as in apes and is not honedc. Postcanine teeth are argued to be thickly enamelediii. Femur: hominin-like in some ways: femoral neck is argued to have human-like pattern of cortical bone distribution, but the published image is really crappyiv. Features shared with younger hominins:a. Overall shape of femur and thickened cortical bone on inferior neck of femurb. Small, apically worn canines; however, the sex of the individual is unknownv. Why its not a slam dunk case:a. No distal end of femurb. The CT images of the femoral neck leave a lot to be desiredc. Limited sample sized. No craniodental fossils except for a couple isolated teethvi. Conclusion:a. May be the oldest evidence for human-like bipedalismIV. Ardipithecus kadabbai. Info:a. Whats in a name?1. Ardipithecus = ground in Afar language, pithecus = ape2. Kadabba = oldest ancestor in afar languageb. Initial discovery: 2004c. Localities: Middle Awash, Ethiopiad. Distribution: Afar Triangle of Ethiopiae. No nicknamef. Temporal range: 5.8-5.2 myaV. Ardipithecus ramidusi. Info:a. Whats in the name?1. Ardipithecus =