Human Evolution and Homo Sapiens Homo Essay

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Anthropology 1030-1
Fall 2014
Study Guide Week 6
Key Terms atlatl Homo erectus expensive tissue hypothesis tailless striding biped grandmother hypothesis
Cro-Magnon people
Upper Paleolithic
Mousterian tool assemblage hybrid vigor/leaky replacement model

Movius line
Acheulean tools
Milankovitch theory
Pleistocene
Denisovians
Archaic Homo sapiens
Homo neandertalensis
Allen’s Rule blade tool technology

Essay Questions:
1. Describe glacial and interglacial sequences characteristic of the last one million years of global climate. How does the Milankovitch theory explain these cycles?
2. List the general characteristics of Homo erectus cranial and post-cranial structure. Which cranial features are unique to Homo erectus? How does Homo erectus diet compare to that of earlier hominins? Were C4 resources more or less important? Discuss.
3. Why is Homo erectus called a “tailless striding biped?” Why do researchers argue that Homo erectus was “Born to Run?”
4. Discuss the argument that selection for “running” restricted the size of the female birth canal resulting in the birth of very dependent neonates, long periods of juvenile dependency and long adult life spans.
5. What is the relationship of the “grandmother hypothesis” and “expensive tissue hypothesis” to changes in Homo erectus post-cranial structure?
6. Describe the physical characteristics of Archaic Homo sapiens in general and Neandertals in particular. Were they cognitively less advanced than later Homo sapiens? Use material from
“Refuting a Myth about Human Origins” to answer this question.
7. What is the general consensus regarding Neandertal lifeways? Include

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