Human Evolution Final Exam Review 1 What is a homology An analogy Homology shared traits due to a common ancestor mammals have 5 digits Analogy similar traits shared for function but not due to common ancestor the wings of bats and birds 2 Know the geologic eras and why each is important Also you must know the epochs of the Cenozoic and the relevance of each during primate evolution Precambrian Evolution of life first microfossils 3 000 mya Paleozoic Cambrian Ordovician Silurian Devonian Carboniferous Permian 570mya 280mya evolution in the water jawed fish segmented creatures plants still 1 land mass Mesozoic Cretaceous Jurassic Triassic 225mya 136mya Age of Reptiles Dinosaurs first mammals at the END of mesozoic K T boundary Cenozoic Tertiary Paleocene 65 55mya pre primates pleisiadapiforms Eocene 55 34mya 1st primates of modern aspect adaptive radiation of prosimians adapids omomyids Oligocene 34 23mya NWM OWM split Aegyptopithecus Fayum depression Miocene 23 5mya 1st hominoid ancestor bipedalism evolves OWM adap Rad Pliocene 5 1 8mya Quaternary Pleistocene 1 8 0 01mya Age of glaciers Holocene 0 01mya now 3 What is a plesiadapiform How does this relate to primate evolution Plesiadapiform pre primates lacked bony characteristics small brain claws laterally facing orbits Plesiadapiforms are probably primate ancestors 4 What two groups of primate ancestors enjoyed adaptive radiation in the Eocene Who were they ancestral to Adapids and Omomyids Adapids are lemur like and ancestral to strepsirrhines Omomyids are tarsier like and ancestral to haplorrhines 5 During which epoch did New World monkeys branch off from Old World monkeys Oligocene fit into primate evolution 6 Know who Apidium and Aegyptopithecus are and where they Apidium looks like squirrel monkey dental formula 2 1 3 3 African with NWM dental formula right before NWM OWM split Aegyptopithecus dental formula 2 1 2 3 weighed 15 kilos slow moving arboreal quadruped legs arms long tail Y5 molar ancestral to catarrhines 7 What is a hominoid When was the hominoid radiation Why did hominoid species decline in numbers Hominoids have larger bodies no tail Y5 molars mobile shoulder joints radiation occurred during the Miocene decline came from environmental changes and forest shrinking 8 Sivapithecus is the ancestor to which modern ape Who is the dental ape Sivapithecus is ancestral to the orangutan Proconsul is considered the dental ape because he had the dentition of an ape with monkey like post crania 9 What is taphonomy The study of how to become a fossil interruption of decomposition happens near water or volcanic eruption nutrients in the bone are replaced by nutrients in the ground 10 Know what paleoecology is and how it relates to the multidisciplinary approach to an early hominid site What other disciplines are involved Paleoecology is the reconstruction of the environment in which a fossil would have lived geologists interpret layers of ground geophysicists date the layers of ground biomechanics study how critters moved reconstruct anatomy paleoanthropologists analyze fossils 11 What is mosaic evolution How does it apply to Australopithecines Mosaic evolution different functional systems will evolve at different rates and at different times neck down bipedal neck up chimp like Australopithecines became bipeds before they developed bigger brains 12 What is the Great Rift Valley Where is it located Why is this region important to hominid evolution Great Rift Valley is in East Africa the volcanic activity there gives us dates for fossil records 13 Know the difference between relative and absolute dating techniques How does absolute radiometric dating work Relative Dating approximate dating Fission track more tracks older Paleomagnetism magnetic north polar shifts let you know how old a fossil is Biostratigraphy some non human organisms have excellent fossil records of evolutionary sequence pigs can be used to date other things Fluorine Analysis once buried critters take up fluorine from the ground can tell you if an assemblage is contemporaneous or buried at different times Piltdown man K40 Ar Potassium Argon dating used for 1 5my only with volcanic material life 1 3my used for Lucy and Ardipithecus more argon older Carbon 14 life 5730 used with organic material plant or animal Absolute Dating actual age 16 What dating technique was used to reveal Piltdown hoax Fluorine analysis showed that the body parts were from different times 17 What is an epigamic feature and what type of selection selects for epigamic features secondary sexual characteristics don t play a direct role in reproduction sexual selection 18 Know what anatomical changes occurred in the skull spine pelvis leg and foot for bipedality What muscle adapted so that we can stand on one leg and not fall down What muscle keeps us from falling forward when walking What bones make up the pelvis skull foramen magnum moves underneath skull more toward the front spine vertebral column becomes S shaped neck curve kyphosis lower back curve lordosis secondary curvatures not present at birth pelvis illium ischium pubis sacrum shortened broadened smaller birth canal bowl shaped leg bicondylar angle valgus foot adducted big toe in line with others longitudinal and transverse arches gluteal muscles keep pelvis in line hamstring keeps us from falling forward 19 What are characteristics of australopithecines What are the differences between robust and gracile australopithecines lived in the Pliocene small brains small stature bipedal post canine megadontia no cp3 complex canine sharpening large zygomatic arches and chewing muscles no tool use until garhi Differences DIET robust had extreme megadontia with peg like front teeth and probably ate nuts seeds and bark hard foods however same from neck down 20 How did Ardipithecus change the way we view hominid evolution Ardi provided evidence that we did NOT evolve from knuckle walkers 21 Who are the robust aust Gracile aust Robust Paranthropus Gracile A aethiopicus A robustus A boisei A anamensis A afarensis A africanus A garhi 22 What is the alternate genus name for robust australopithecines Paranthropus 23 Who is Lucy What is her genus and species name and where was she found Lucy is one of the most complete skeletons found of an australopithecine she is an Australopithecus afarensis and was found in East Africa 24 What are the Laetoli footprints How old are they The footprints were found in volcanic rock and show a big toe in