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Chapter 11: The Emergence of Anatomically Modern Humans - Coggle Diagram
Chapter 11: The Emergence of Anatomically Modern Humans
Part 1: Anatomically Modern Human Morphology & the earliest AMH fossils
What human craniums have (that neanderthal craniums don't):
More vertical forehead & more proiminent chin.
Tall, rounded cranial vault.
Rounded Occiptial lobe.
Little or no browridge.
Large mastoid process.
Flat face.
Widest point is high up on sides.
More rectangular orbits.
Small nasal aperture.
AMH Skeletal Morphology: Postcrania
Tallest hominin? Maybe by a very small margin.
Narrow built (that isn't as wide as the body).
Less robust than Neanderthals & H. Heidelbergensis.
High crural index (like Homo Erectus/Ergaster).
Cylindrical rib cage (not robust0.
Earliest Homo Sapiens Fossils:
Jebel Irhoud, Morocco
2 crania & a mandible.
Robust features, but...
Cranial capacity of 1450 cc
300,000 years ago.
Omo Kibish, Ethiopia
Southwest Ethiopia.
2 crania, 4 mandibles, other assorted bits
235,000 years ago.
cranial capacity >1400cc
Clearly AMH.
Somewhat more recent SW African fossils:
Caves on South African coast:
Earliest clear evidence of symbolic behaviour @ 100,000 years ago.
Grotte des Contrebandiers,
(Smugglers’ Cave) Morocco
fully modern child: 8-10 yrs old
‘Bouchra’ (good news)
100 kya
Qafzeh Cave,
Israel
5 “intentionally buried” individuals
adult female and child at her feet.
fully anatomically modern.
100,000 years ago.
Skhul Cave, Mount Carmel, Israel
Excavated in the 1930s.
Remains of at least 10 individuals.
80,000 years ago.
variability among the skeletons:
some like Qafzeh - others more Neandertal-like
More Recent Early AMHs
Liujiang, China
well preserved cranium
70,000 ya
oldest example of AMH from East Asia
Cro Magnon, France
up to 8 individuals
27,000 years ago.
:
bone points and flint blades
Předmostí, Moravia, Czech Republic
18 individuals discovered in 1894
30,000 ya
mixture of AMH & Neandertal traits – hybrids like at Skhul
Peştera cu Oase, Romania
cave bear and human bones scattered on cave floor (not buried)
Part 2: The Emergence of Recent Modern Humans: Homo sapiens sapiens
Complete Replacement, or “Out of Africa” Hypothesis
AMH evolved exclusively in Africa between 300,000 and 150,000 years ago.
Shortly after 100,000 bp, we spread out from Africa
Between 70,000 and 40,000 bp, we replaced all other hominin species in the world (with little interbreeding)
Regional Continuity Hypothesis
AMH evolved as multiple populations in multiple regions across the Old World.
Appeared more or less at same time in Africa, Asia, and Europe.
This occurred through constant gene flow between regions: interacted like a single population - not parallel evolution.
Evidence in support of the "Out of Africa" Hypothesis:
The fossil record.
Genetics.
a. Compared to most other animal species, modern humans have a very low degree of variability in our mtDNA
b. Also appears to be a very low degree of variability in the Y chromosome among modern males.
c. Among modern humans, African groups have greatest degree of variability in their mtDNA and y chromosome.
Modern language origins.
Phoneme = basic unit of language: individual sounds which are combined to form meaningful units (words).
Advanced material culture appears earliest in Africa.
70,000 years ago:
Mode 4: Blade Technology
60,000 years ago:
Mode 5: Microlith Technology
Small bifacial spear points
Bone tools
Points of Coalescence
As time passes, genetic variability steadily increases:
in nuclear DNA: variability results from recombination and random mutations
in mtDNA: random mutation is the only source of variability