11/29/20 1711Beginning of the Archaeological Record: the Oldowan (2.6 mya)Kada Gona, Ethiopia2Diagnostic features of conchoidal fracture11/29/20 17234Oldowan technology11/29/20 1735Tool use is not so rareBut the Oldowan Tradition is the beginning of a defining aspect of the human adaptation:• “Human life consists of ceaseless and varied interactions among people and myriad kinds of things” Michael Schiffer, The Material Life of Human Beings (1999: 2).• “Culture is an essential part of the human adaptation, and as much a part of human biology as bipedal locomotion or thick enamel on our molars” (Robert Boyd).611/29/20 1747What are they using these sharp rocks for?811/29/20 1759The aids to the wimpy dentition of a hominin10Earliest preserved wooden artifacts (a platter) at 0.79 mya at Gesher BenotYa’aqov, Israel11/29/20 17611What one small stone flake can do…12Bone marrow extraction by direct percussion11/29/20 17713Break patterns for bone marrow extractionPrehistoricModernTaphonomic Diagnostic FeaturesTooth Marks• Shape: U• Depth: shallow• Internal surface: smoothStone Tool cut marks• Shape: V• Depth: deep• Internal surface: striated1411/29/20 17815Microscopy of bone surfacesModern stone toolcut marksOlduvai Gorge, 1.9 mya16Microscopy of bone surfacesOlduvai Gorge, 1.9 myastone tool cut marksOlduvai Gorge, 1.9 myaCarnivore tooth mark11/29/20 179Sketch by John GurcheOr Power/Confrontational Scavenging?17Would this strategy be pursued differently by females with infants than by males and adolescent females?Chimpanzee vs. Human handNote:• Finger tips (apical tufts)• Length & Curvature of chimpanzee fingers• Shortness of chimpanzee thumb relative to the palm1811/29/20 1710Importance of the Precision & Power Grips for the human hand19Human vs. Chimpanzee hand2011/29/20 17112122Kansi (a bonobo) flintknapping• Initial trials: throwing produced “geological” flakes.• Continued training: flakes similar to Oldowan.11/29/20 1712Positron Emission Tomography images of Nick Toth while knappingStout et al. 2000• Oldowan tool industry• Earliest cultural artifacts in the Gorge• Attributed by Louis Leakey (Nature, 1959) to “Zinjanthropus”, the early name for Paranthropus boisei24Olduvai Gorge & the earliest stone tools11/29/20 1713Olduvai Gorge & the earliest stone tools• Homo habilis named in 196425Olduvai Hominin 7= OH 7Pushing Homoback in time:Handy Man orHomo habilis1977ER1813OH7 typeOH24Smaller teeth & brain size 1.5x that of Australopiths (600-750 cc)2611/29/20 1714Figure 11.34• Early Homo dates between 2.4 & 1.6 mya.• KNM-ER 1470 has Australopith face, with molars the size of A. africanus, but with bigger brain.• KNM-ER 1813 has more derived (more modern) traits of smaller face & smaller teeth, but also smaller brain.27The Debate over Early Homo• Lump Hypothesis: Males with Australopith face and larger bodies, females with more derived (H. erectus) small face and smaller bodies.• Split Hypothesis: too much dimorphism (Bernard Wood)– Homo habilis (i.e., OH7, OH 12, OH 16, OH 24, KNM-ER1813, KNM-ER1805) associated with more primitive postcrania.– Homo rudolphensis (Lake Turkana Homo) (KNM-ER1470, 1590, 3732, & 1802) associated with more modern postcrania. 2811/29/20 1715Remember:Speciation is a _____________,not an ________________.29Early Homo locomotor adaptations: still mixed!30OH 8 footOH 62OH7 typeMore derived, bipedal foot than A. africanusDentition shows chimp-like growth ratePostcrania show arboreal intermembralindex11/29/20 1716For splitters such as Wood & Collard, early Homofalls within the genus Australopithecus based on their shared “adaptive grade” (way of life).31A. habilisA. rudolphensis32Orrorin tugenensisModern humanAustralopithecus anamensisAustralopithecus afarensisAustralopithecus africanusParanthropus boiseiParanthropus robustusParanthropus aethiopicusA. garhiOur current view of early human evolutionHomo habilisHomo rudolfensisA.
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