EVERY SCORE SECURED!
What are three events made Africa the center of human evolution research? - Answer:
The discovery of
1.)The Taung Child
2.) Olduvai Gorge
3.) Lucy
What two epochs did human evolution take place in? - Answer: Pliocene, Pleistocene
Define prognathism - Answer: Bulging of the lower jaw
What were the Laetoli footprints? - Answer: Footprints found in Laetoli, Tanzania
preserved in volcanic ash-most likely belonging to A afarensis
-Suggested males and females were sexually dimorphic and bipedal
-Showed their gait (how they walked)
Define postorbital constriction - Answer: the narrowing of the cranium just behind the
eye sockets found in most non-human primates and early hominins
Who was the first family? - Answer: Group of fragmented bones found, mainly jaws and
teeth some cranial
Who are the australopiths and Paranthropus? - Answer: Australopiths: bipedal, brain
slightly larger than chimp, increase in size of molars, reduction in size of front teeth
Paranthropus: "robust" australopithecines with slightly larger brain
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, How do australopiths differ from Paranthropus? - Answer: Main difference- robusticity of
the skull. Paranthropus has a much larger face and jaw to support massive chewing
muscles.
Define stratigraphy - Answer: the branch of geology concerned with the order and
relative position of strata and their relationship to the geological time scale
Define biostratigraphy - Answer: the branch of stratigraphy concerned with fossils and
their use in dating rock formations
What is the significance of the Olduvai Gorge? - Answer: Old lake bed in Great Rift
Valley of Tanzania. Volcanic sediments preserved dead animals. Goldmine of early
hominins.
What are some problems with studying human origins? - Answer: Human brains did not
enlarge significantly until very late in evolution, therefore brain size cannot be a criterion
for distinguishing early human ancestors from other primate ancestors
What two features distinguish humans from other primates? - Answer: 1.) Bipedal
walking
2.) Diastema- apes and early hominins have a diastema, later hominins (humans) do
not
What are the differences between robust and gracile australopiths? - Answer: Robust
australopiths have a much larger face and jaw to support massive chewing muscles
What is the significance of the Taung child? - Answer: First time researchers saw
evidence of bipedal walking. Evidence- position of the foramen magnum, directly under
skull(hole through which the spinal cord connects to the brain)
What is the importance of Gona, Bouri, and Dikika, Ethiopia? - Answer: All produced
tools made by hominins
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