Human Evolution: Final Exam ReviewHuman Evolution: Final Exam Review1. 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 commonancestor (the wings of bats and birds)2. Know the geologic eras and why each is important. Also, youmust 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 & omomyidsOligocene: 34-23mya; NWM OWM split; Aegyptopithecus; Fayum depressionMiocene: 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-now3. 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 haplorrhines5. During which epoch did New World monkeys branch off fromOld World monkeys?Oligocene6. Know who Apidium and Aegyptopithecus are and where theyfit into primate evolution.-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 catarrhines7. What is a hominoid? When was the hominoid radiation? Whydid 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 shrinking8. 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-crania9. 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 ground10. 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 fossils11. 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 biggerbrains12. 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 records13. Know the difference between relative and absolute datingtechniques. 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”)-Absolute Dating: actual age-K40 Ar (Potassium Argon dating)- used for 1-5my, only with volcanic material, ½ life = 1.3my; used for Lucy and Ardipithecus; more argon = older-Carbon 14- ½ life = 5730, used with organic material (plant or animal)16. What dating technique was used to reveal “Piltdown hoax?”-Fluorine analysis: showed that the body parts were from different times17. 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 selection18. 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 forward19. 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 down20. How did Ardipithecus change the way we view hominid evolution?Ardi provided evidence that we did NOT evolve from knuckle-walkers21. Who are the robust aust.? Gracile aust.?-Robust: (Paranthropus)A. aethiopicusA. robustusA. boisei-Gracile:A. anamensisA. afarensisA. africanusA. garhi22. What is the alternate genus name for robust australopithecines?Paranthropus23. Who is ‘Lucy’? What is