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Basics of Prehistory

Basics of Prehistory. Weltanschauung History/Prehistory Dating Techniques Relative….Stratigraphy Absolute….C-14, KAr. Evolution of Hominidae Earliest Hominids. Early Bipedalism.

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Basics of Prehistory

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  1. Basics of Prehistory Weltanschauung History/Prehistory Dating Techniques Relative….Stratigraphy Absolute….C-14, KAr

  2. Evolution of HominidaeEarliest Hominids

  3. Early Bipedalism Don Johanson…Afar Depression of N. Ethiopia...Lucy, 1974, Australopithecus afarensis....ca. 3.2 MBP…almost 50% Mary Leakey, Tim White…..Laetoli, N. Tanzania, Footprints, 1979, ca. 4.0 MBP Tim White…..Awash area, N. Ethiopia, 1994… Ardipithecus ramidus ("ground man-root”) ca. 4.4 to 4.5 MBP Michel Brunet….North central Chad, July 2001. Sahelanthropus tchadensis (“Toumai”)... ca. 6 -7 MBP

  4. Early Bipedalism Australopithecus afarensis (Lucy) Discovered by Donald Johanson at Hadar in Ethiopia. Its age is about 3.2 million years. Lucy was an adult female of about 25 years. About 40% of her skeleton was found, and her pelvis, femur (the upper leg bone) and tibia show her to have been bipedal. She was about 107 cm (3'6") tall (small for her species) and about 28 kg (62 lbs) in weight.

  5. Early Bipedalism Laetoli Footprints (ca. 3.6 MBP). In 1978, fossil footprints of an extinct human ancestor were discovered by Mary Leakey and Tim White. The Laetoli footprints are the most unique evidence of early hominid bipedalism. The prints were impressed in volcanic ash in that location 3.6 million years ago, in sight of the Sadiman volcano 20 kilometers away, whose subsequent ash falls buried them under 30 meters of deposit.

  6. Early Bipedalism Ardipithicus ramidus Ardipithecus ramidus is one of the earliest hominids found. Ardipithecus ramidus translates literally as "ground man-root" and is thought to be 4.4 to 4.5 million years old. Originally it was named as a member of the Australopithecine family, but it was later reclassified. Fragments of 17 different specimens were found including part of a child's mandible, some isolated teeth, a fragment of basi-cranium, and three bones of a left arm of a single individual.

  7. Cranium of Sahelanthropus tchadensis (Toumai)...recovered in Chad, July 2001. Dated at about 6-7 MBP. http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v418/n6894/fig_tab/nature00879_fs.html Early Bipedalism

  8. Early Bipedalism Australopithicus Many different variations…on average: About 4’ tall 500 cc skull capacity Fully bipedal Gracile (africanus) Robust (robustus)

  9. Early Bipedalism Homo habilis Very similar to late gracile Australopithecines Larger skull capacity More efficient blood circulation to brain (Fig. 6-10) Genus Homo or Australopithecus?

  10. Early Bipedalism Evidence of Culture? Pebble Tools….. Lithic Technologies Earliest Evidence of Culture Flake Core Blade

  11. By 1,000,000 Years Ago ... An adaptive radiation had occurred. Homo erectus from Zhoukoudian cave, China HOMO ERECTUS (PITHECANTHROPUS ERECTUS) Skull capacity: Range: 750cc - 1100cc Average: 900cc (Note: Australopithecus average Skull capacity 500cc) Associated Culture: Acheulean Early use of fire Hand Axe Culture Hand Axes Base camps Trinil, Java Representative Sites: Mauer, Germany Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania Ternifine, Tripoli Zhoukoudian, China “Dragon Bone Hill”

  12. HOMO ERECTUS (PITHECANTHROPUS ERECTUS) My old friend and colleague, Reid Ferring at NTSU, working at Dmanisi, near T’bilisi in Georgia….Important site for over a decade…. reported a 1.77 million-year-old specimen who was completely toothless and well over 40; a grand old age at the time.

  13. Pioneers of Modern Humanity

  14. By 100,000 Years Ago ... Discovered by Johann Fuhlrott in 1856 in a small cave at Feldhofer in the Neander Valley in Germany. The find consisted of a skullcap, thigh bones, part of a pelvis, some ribs, and some arm and shoulder bones. The lowerleft arm had been broken in life, and as a result the bones of the left arm were smaller than those of the right. Homo sapiens neanderthalensis There were actually two earlier Neandertal finds. A partial cranium of a 2.5 year old child found in 1829 in Belgium was not recognized until 1936. An adult cranium found on Gibraltar in 1848 gathered dust in a museum until it was recognized as a Neandertal in 1864.

  15. Comparison of top view of Chimpanzee, Homo erectus, and Neandertal skulls. Wesley Niewoehner from the University of New Mexico Homo sapiens neanderthalensis Mainly confined to SW Europe 1550cc skull capacity Very robust skeleton

  16. Homo sapiens neanderthalensis Mousterian Culture Flake tool technology… Levallois flakes Earlier cultures had core tool lithic technologies, Mousterian is characterized by flake tools. First hominid known to have buried the dead. consciousness… aesthetics…. religion

  17. By 40,000 Years Ago…. Homo sapiens sapiens ….had “grown into” a wide variety of local habitats throughout the Old World by cultural adaptation. Upper Paleolithic Sequence in Southwestern France and Northern Spain Magdalenian 15,000-10,000BC Lascaux Altamira Pech Merle Solutrian 18,000-15,000BC Solutrian Laurel-leaf Points Gravettian 22,000-18,000BC “Venus” figurines Aurignacian 28,500-22,000BC Burins Chatelperronian 38,000-28,500BC Backed blades

  18. Upper Paleolithic Art (ca. 12, 000 BP) Lascaux - southwestern France In this panel of Back-to Back Bison, reserves around the limbs in the background, distortion of shapes, choice of surface, symmetrical composition, are all used to create a three dimensional effect...

  19. Upper Paleolithic Art (ca. 12, 000 BP) Altamira - northern Spain In this representation of a horse, red is ocher, black charcoal. Undulations in cave wall and ceiling were incorporated in the composition of the paintings.

  20. Summary of Early Fossil Evidence This chart shows rough sequence of fossil hominids. 10,000BP ------------------------------ Homo sapiens (full culture, worldwide distribution) 100,000BP ---------------------------- Homo sapiens (Neandertal, et al.) 1mBP ---------------------------------- Homo erectus (Radiation thru Old World) 2mBP ---------------------------------- Homo habilis (Earliest Culture?) 3mBP ---------------------------------- Australopithecus var. (Fully bipedal) 4mBP ---------------------------------- Ardipithecus ramidus (Earliest hominines?) 5mBP ----------------------------------

  21. Post Pleistocene Adaptations Mesolithic and Archaic - After last glaciation in Europe and New World.

  22. Neolithic The Neolithic Revolution domestication of plants and animals occurred independently in several “hearths” Sedentary, population increase, specialization in division of labor Jericho; Jarmo - early villages

  23. Early Civilization Developed in various places at different times…. generally in area of earliest domestication. Sumerian Civilization - Early Phases (Developed in the Fertile Crecent region.) Sumerian Early Dynasty 3200-2800 BCE Sumerian Protoliterate 3500-3200 BCE Sumerian Ubaid Phase 3800-3500 BCE

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