ANTH1001 Human Evolution Nieves Col n Tostevin Fall 2023 ANTH 1001 HUMAN EVOLUTION SITE FORMATION PROCESSES GEOARCHAEOLOGY DATING METHODS 10 17 23 Gilbert Tostevin Department of Anthropology University of Minnesota 1 Practicalities Midterm Exam this Thursday 10 19 11 15am 12 30pm in this room Willey Hall 175 Bring a UMN or governmental ID to show when you turn in your exam Know your lab number Multiple choice and matching questions Bulb sheet Bring a pencil and eraser Lecture content up to and including 10 5 23 Lab content up to and including Lab 5 The Primates Note that the Lab 5 Cladogram KEY is available on Canvas for that week 2 1 2 University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus 1 ANTH1001 Human Evolution Nieves Col n Tostevin Fall 2023 Review sessions running this week in Blegen Lab Go to anyone s review with your questions ChimeIn Question 1 In evolutionary systematics what term is equivalent to convergence 3 4 A Homology B Humongous C Homoplasy D Hungarious E Homologous 3 4 University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus 2 ANTH1001 Human Evolution Nieves Col n Tostevin Fall 2023 ChimeIn Question 2 A trait shared by Species B C and D but not shared by A the Outgroup would be called A A unique derived trait B An ancestral trait C A convergent trait D A shared derived trait ChimeIn Question 3 If you only consider the Ingroup species without comparison to the Outgroup A the SAME TRAIT would be called what A A unique derived trait B An ancestral trait C A convergent trait D A shared derived trait 5 6 University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus 5 6 3 ANTH1001 Human Evolution Nieves Col n Tostevin Fall 2023 Key Questions for Today Which scientific disciplines are involved in the study of human evolution What is a fossil How do they form What are site formation processes and how do they help us find fossils and preserved behaviors How do we establish the age of a fossil site Context Dating techniques both relative and absolute Paleontology vs archaeology what is the difference Paleontology the study of the history of life on earth as it is preserved in fossils plants animals microbes etc Archaeology the study of humans in the past and present through the physical evidence of their behavior including material culture 7 8 7 8 University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus 4 ANTH1001 Human Evolution Nieves Col n Tostevin Fall 2023 Overlap between paleontology and archaeology Much of the evidence data comes from the ground 9 10 Paleoanthropology The study of human evolution through the fossil and archaeological records Some of the many disciplines within it Paleontology Comparative primatology Anatomy Paleogenetics Paleoecology Archaeology Geoarchaeology Geophysics Geochemistry Biomolecular archaeology 9 10 University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus 5 ANTH1001 Human Evolution Nieves Col n Tostevin Fall 2023 Paleontological and archaeological sites Paleontological site a location on the landscape where fossils are preserved Archaeological site a location on the landscape where the remains of past human activity are preserved it may contain fossilized or unfossilized animal or human bones The main difference is the focus on hominins or not 11 McNulty s Work on Rusinga Island Hundreds of fossils within a single square meter on the surface So what are fossils anyway 11 12 University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus 6 ANTH1001 Human Evolution Nieves Col n Tostevin Fall 2023 How do fossils form Fossils are formed after an animal dies decomposes and is covered in sediment Minerals in ground water replace bone mineral turning bone into stone 13 Taphonomy The study of the processes that affect the state of an organism s remains from the time an organism dies until the time the fossil remains are recovered http www telegraph co uk news science evolution 6159294 Georgian fossils indicate humans lived in Europe thousands of years earlier html 14 14 University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus 13 7 ANTH1001 Human Evolution Nieves Col n Tostevin Fall 2023 Extreme Preservation extreme environments Very Cold Very Dry Very Wet anaerobic tzi 3000 BCE Alps Incan Mummy 1500 CE Andes Unfortunately these types are irrelevant for paleoanthropology 15 Tollund Man 300 BCE Danish bog 15 16 Conditions affecting fossil formation Favorable Conditions Rapid burial Fine grained sediment Unfavorable Conditions Weathering sunlight rain Consumption and trampling airborne or from still water environments by animals Acidic soil Geologically active localities FOSSILIZATION replacing bone cid 415 ssue with stone University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus 16 8 ANTH1001 Human Evolution Nieves Col n Tostevin Fall 2023 Where does one find fossils and artifacts with which to reconstruct human evolution Site Formation Processes 1 Sediment Traps Depositional environment to capture the behaviors in the past 2 Stable environment that allows site preservation 3 Opportunity for site discovery in the present often erosion or the intersection between our landscape and the past landscape 17 18 17 18 University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus 9 ANTH1001 Human Evolution Nieves Col n Tostevin Fall 2023 Site Formation Processes as a Venn Diagram 0 Hominin use of the landscape 1 Sediment Trap 2 Stable environment 3 Opportunity for site discovery 19 The sparseness of the fossil record structures our view Robert Martin in Boyd Silk fig 9 19 20 10 University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus 19 20 ANTH1001 Human Evolution Nieves Col n Tostevin Fall 2023 Site Formation Processes 1 Sediment Traps Depositional environment to capture the behaviors in the past 2 Stable environment that allows site preservation 3 Opportunity for site discovery in the present often erosion or the intersection between our landscape and the past landscape 21 Types of Depositional Environments Airborne aeolian volcanic ash 21 22 University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus 22 11 ANTH1001 Human Evolution Nieves Col n Tostevin Fall 2023 Laetoli Tanzania 3 5 Ma 23 Types of Depositional Environments Airborne deposition of Loess 23 24 Airborne sand off of Africa Airborne glacial powder or loess 100 m of loessic mantle over Central Asia 24 12 University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus ANTH1001 Human Evolution Nieves Col n Tostevin Fall 2023 Types of Depositional Environments Lacustrine Lakeside environments as a natural sediment trap Olduvai Gorge sites 25 Types of Depositional Environments Alluvium Riverside environments as a natural sediment trap 25 26 University of Minnesota Twin Cities
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