What do the Bones tell us?

What do the Bones tell us?

The scientific study of bones. Comes from the Greek word Osteon, meaning bone Sub-discipline of archaeology and physical anthropology, anatomy, forensics etc.

Age at death Height/stature Biological sex Health Habits Diet Cause of death Ancestry

The human skeleton is divided into two parts Axial Skeleton: skull, thoracic cage, vertebral column Appendicular Skeleton: Limbs and associated bones There are 206 bones in a mature human skeleton.

Axial Skeleton: skull, thoracic cage, vertebral column

Appendicular Skeleton: Limbs and associated bones

Skull: Limbs and associated bones

Sutural Bones Flat Bones Sutural bone Sutures Parietal bone External table Internal table Diploë (spongy bone) Irregular Bones Long Bones Vertebra Humerus Short Bones Sesamoid Bones Carpal bones Patella

Sutural Bones Small, irregular bones Found between the flat bones of the skull Irregular Bones Have complex shapes Examples: spinal vertebrae, pelvic bones

Short Bones Small and thick Examples: ankle (tarsals) and wrist (carpals) bones Flat Bones Thin with parallel surfaces Found in the skull, sternum, ribs, and scapulae

Short Bones Carpal bones

Flat Bones Parietal bone External table Internal table Diploë (spongy bone)

Long Bones Long and thin Found in arms, legs, hands, feet, fingers, and toes Sesamoid Bones Small and flat Develop inside tendons near joints of knees, hands, and feet

Long Bones Humerus

Sesamoid Bones Patella

Pre-Australopithecines (7-4.4 mya) Sahelanthropus Tchadensis - 7 mya Orrorin tugenensis 6 mya Ardipithecus ramidus ( Ardi ) 4.4 mya Australopithecines (4.2-1.0 mya) A. anamnesis 4.2-3.9 mya A. afarensis 3.9-3.0 mya A. platyops 3.5 mya A. africanus 3.2-2.5 mya Early Homo (2.5 + mya to present) H. habilis ( Handy Man ) 2.4 1.4 mya H. rudolfensis ( Rudy ) 1.9 mya H. erectus (ergaster/antecessor) A. ghari 2.5 mya A. aethiopicus 2.5 mya A. boisei 2.3-1.4 mya A. sediba 2.0 mya A. rubustus 1.9-1.0 mya H. heidelbergensis H. neanderthalensis H. floresiensis ( Hobbit ) H. sapiens

Genus: Australopithecus 4.2-1.2 mya Southern Ape: derived from the Latin word australo meaning southern and the Greek word pithēkos meaning ape.

Small size Small brain, small canines Large premolars and molars Bipedal yes! 2 types: Gracile Robust Difference: Bone density, muscle markings, bone size, skull size, teeth strength, etc. Some give the robust their own genus: Paranthropus Your book does, but by no means agreed upon and I m afraid I am once again going to disagree with your book

Gracile Robust

Sagittal Crest Sagittal Keel Supraorbital Tori Nuchal Torus Zygomatic Arch Supraorbital Torus Zygomatic Arch Nuchal Torus

1. Australopithecus anamensis 4.2 3.9 mya Bipedal Lake Turkana, Kenya/Ethiopia Similar to Ardipithecus Ancestral Traits: Large canines U-shaped dental arcade Ape-like premolars Appears transitional between apes and humans The word anamensis is from anam ; Turkana word meaning lake and is a reference to the ancient lake-side environment once inhabited by this species.

2. Australopithecus afarensis 3.9-3.0 mya Laetoli (Kenya) and Hadar (Ethiopia) Best known Australopithecine Over 300 individuals found Laetoli footprints 3.6 mya The famous Lucy 3.2 mya Bipedal, but hands and feet suggest partially arboreal More varied diet less specialized Brain: 430 cc Named for the Afar region where the first fossils were found

Most famous A. afarensis specimen 40% complete skeleton Human ancestor Dated 3.2 mya 3 5 tall 70 lbs

Walking with Lucy https://youtu.be/xt8np0gi1di

3. Australopithecus platyops AKA: Kenyanthropus platyops 3.5 mya Known for: Unusually flat face Similar to A. afarensis Thought to be same species, but further examination showed distinct differences Hence the debate new species or whole new genus Lake Turkana Lived in woodland environment

4. Australopithecus africanus (AKA Paranthropus africanus) 3.2-2.5 mya South Africa Robust Australopithecine Possibly gave rise to robustus Height, size similar to A. afarensis Larger teeth Famous ones: Taung Child Mrs. Ples Find A. africanus and A. robustus at the same time and place Brain: 450 cc Hint: Do NOT confuse africanus with afarensis!

Australopithecus africanus In 1925 Raymond Dart introduced the first Australopithecine ever found The 3.0 my old Taung Child or Taung Baby, as Dart called it, was the first member of the Australopithecus genus discovered Found in Taung South Africa Estimated to be 3 years old

5. Australopithecus garhi 2.5 mya Middle Awash, Ethiopia Larger teeth than early Australopithecines Face: Primitive projection Name means SURPRISE! Surprising because: Human-like ratio of arms to legs Direct ancestor to Homo? Body gracile, robust-like teeth Hyperdont gracile ( Big teeth gracile ) Evidence of tool use - Oldowan? Brain: 450 cc

6. Australopithecus aethiopicus (AKA Paranthropus aethipicus) 2.5 mya East Africa Known as: Black Skull Ultimate in robusticity Chewing MACHINE! Huge posterior teeth Small anterior teeth Thick enamel Related to A. boisei? Brain: 410 cc Aethiopicus is Latin for Ethiopian

7. Australopithecus boisei (AKA Paranthropus boisei) 2.3-1.4 mya East Africa Olduvai Gorge Hyper-robust Largest Australopithecus Holotype Nicknamed Zinj Or Nutcracker Man Originally Zinjanthropus boisei Brain: 510 cc

8. Australopithecus sediba Dates ~2 mya More recent than A. afarensis Transition between A. afarensis and H. habilis/h. erectus Clear bipedal pelvis But long arms Retaining arboreal trait Very dexterous hand tool maker? A lot of Homo habilis specimens have been reexamined and reclassified into this species Comparison: A. Sediba 1, Lucy, A. sediba 2

Australopithecus sediba Name means source Fairly new find 2008 South Africa- Malapa cave Two specimens in holotype: Juvenile male, adult female Very close to complete skeletons found Brain:~450 cc

9. Australopithecus robustus (AKA Paranthropus robustus) 1.9 1.0 mya South Africa Descendent of A. africanus? Larger, more pitted teeth Robust Sagittal keel, splayed cheekbones, big brow ridges Chewing machine! Brain: 530 cc

These are referred to as Paranthropus in your book A. aethiopicus, A. boisei, A. africanus, A. robustus all have: Large faces Massive muscle attachments (up to sagittal crest) Small front teeth Enormous premolars and molars

EXTINCTION OF ROBUSTS? Robusts persist for ~ 1.5 million years (2.5 1.0 mya) World-wide climate grows colder during this time Grasslands dry out Change may have occurred too quickly for robusts to adapt Completely disappear from the fossil record

Date Hominins 4.2 2.5 mya Australopithecus anamensis (gracile) 3.9 3.0 mya Australopithecus afarensis Lucy (gracile) 3.5 mya Australopithecus platyops Flat Face (gracile) 3.5 2.5 mya Australopithecus africanus Taung Child/Mrs. Ples (robust) 2.3 1.4 mya Australopithecus Boisei (robust) 2.5 mya Australopithecus garhi Surprise! (gracile) 2.5 mya Australopithecus aethiopicus (robust) 2.0 mya Australopithecus sediba Source (gracile) 1.9 1.0 mya Australopithecus robustus (robust)

Map of where the fossils were found.

Remember, this is our best idea of how the lineages play out but this can change with every new find!

Abundant Many well-preserved fossils Some with more complete skeletons or abundant body parts Well studied Growing consensus that A. afarensis is potentially the ancestor of all later hominins

Major features 1. They are all conclusively bipedal (although not necessarily identical to Homo in this regard) 2. They all have relatively small ape-size brains (at least compared to Homo) 3. They all have large teeth, particularly the back teeth, with thick to very thick enamel on the molars

Chimpanzee, quadruped, - feet far apart; femur comes straight out of the hip socket Lucy and the modern human feet close together, femur angles in from hip to knee

Footprints found in volcanic tuff Layer of ash from volcano that is cemented by rain Footprints of animals walking through the wet tuff before cemented Definite Hominid footprints Fully bipedal 2 sets One bigger, one smaller Some argue there is even tinier footprints inside the bigger ones Dated absolutely to 3.6 mya Species that made the footprints A. afarensis

Laetoli Footprints, found in Tanzania 3.6 mya

Hominin footprint from Laetoli, Tanzania, Africa Note the deep impression of the heel and the large toe (arrow) in line (adducted) with the other toes

Near Olduvai Gorge in Northern Tanzania 59 footprints of bipedal hominins were found in a now hardened volcanic ash layer These A. Afarensis individuals walked in two close parallel tracks across wet volcanic dust 3.6 mya which hardened over time

The A. Afarensis footprints look almost like those of modern humans

Bipedalism - 7 4 mya Sahelanthropus - possibly Ardipithecus ramidus yes, but lineage? Australopithecines definitely Increase in brain size - 2.5 mya Genus Homo Development of stone tool technology - 2.5 mya Genus Homo

H. habilis H. rudolfensis H. erectus H. ergaster H. antecessor H. heidelbergensis H. s. neanderthalensis H. floresiensis H. sapiens

At least one species (maybe two) of early Homo was present in East Africa a little prior to 2.0 mya These developed in parallel with an australopithecine species These hominin lines lived contemporaneously for at least 1 million years after which australopithecines seem to have disappeared forever

Compare brain capacity of Homo habilis to Australopithecines and later Homo erectus and Homo sapiens

Homo habilis handy man * African hominin fossils, Dates to 2.4 1.4 million years ago Found in Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania Brain: 600 cc *Latin translation habilis: able or skilled

Most primitive of all Homo long arms Short legs Short stature overall 4.5 ft fully grown Smaller face than Australopithecus

H. habilis was found with simple stone tools Tools are known as the Oldowan tradition

Simple chopping tools made by striking flakes off a rounded stone Gives it a rough cutting edge Capable of cutting animal flesh Requires considerable skill to make Made of lava and quartz

Used stone cores and small flakes Flakes for scraping wood, cutting meat, cutting grass stems Stone tools often found with butchered animal bones At Olduvai Gorge, stone tools and animal bones appear to have been brought from farther away

If Homo habilis was hunting animals, then we would expect: cut marks on bone first and then carnivore marks second What we see is the opposite

H. habilis H. rudolfensis H. erectus H. ergaster H. antecessor H. heidelbergensis H. neanderthalensis H. floresiensis H. sapiens

1.9 mya East Africa 1972 Lake Turkana in Tanzania (then known as Lake Rudolf) Its cranial capacity is somewhat larger than H. habilis (775 cc), but more similar to australopithecines in certain facial features Evolutionary relationships between species of early Homo are ambiguous

H. rudolfensis Brain: ~775 cc Cranial capacity is one of the main distinguishers between H. habilis and H. rudolfensis Homo size brain, but robust Australopithecinelike teeth (big brain, big teeth)

KNM ER 1470 (H. rudolfensis) KNM ER 1813 (H. habilis)

In Rudy, see post-orbital expansion compared to Australopithecus Doubling of brain volume ~440 cc (average Australopithecine) to ~775 cc (H. rudolfensis) Less Prognathism (protruding jaw)

Which best represents our ancestor? H. habilis has smaller, human-like teeth But also a smaller, australopithecine brain H. rudolfensis has a bigger, human-like brain But also has larger, australopithecine teeth Big debate: which best represents our ancestor? Small Teeth or Big brain?

It is difficult to learn anything about the earliest stages of hominin cultural development before the manufacture of stone tools Archaeological record is almost exclusively limited to material culture We can assume that early hominins used tools made of perishable materials, like wood, animal parts, plants, etc., and displayed an array of cultural behaviors even if little evidence remains in the fossil record

Multidisciplinary approach: Geologists Survey to locate potential hominin sites Vertebrate paleontologists Survey geological beds containing faunal remains and look for favorable conditions Paleontologists Give approximate ages of fossil sites in the field using faunal sequences Archaeologists Get involved with sites that post-date 2.6 mya to look for material hominin traces - artifacts

Gave crucial adaptive advantages to hominins Earliest tools likely made of perishable materials, leave no trace in fossil record Earliest stone tools date to about 2.6 mya, small sharp flakes Hominin bipedalism would have made tools easier to transport

Earliest recognized stone tool culture Oldowan tools found primarily in Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania Excavations led by Mary and Louis Leaky

1. Assignment 3 requires students to watch a series of three films DURING class, while filling in worksheets for these films. 2. Monday October 31, 2016 Part 1 and first half of Part 2 will be completed. 3. Wednesday November 2, 2016 2nd half of Part 2 and Part 3 will be completed. 4. Worksheets will be provided in class and MUST be handed in at the end of class to receive a grade. If you do not hand it in at that time, you will receive a zero for the worksheet. 5. If you are absent, you will receive a zero. If you are late, you will only be graded on the sections you are in class for. If you are more than 30 minutes late, you will receive a zero for that worksheet. 6. This is a graded assignment; no discussing or sharing answers. 7. There will be exam questions pertaining to these films. 8. There will be no makeup opportunities for this assignment. Pay attention Fill in the blanks Easy 100%