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Archaeology Chapter 8.1: Homo Ergaster & Erectus - Coggle Diagram
Archaeology Chapter 8.1: Homo Ergaster & Erectus
Homo Ergaster
Appeared in Africa ~2 million years ago.
Turkana Boy
West Turkana, Kenya
1.65 mya
2 Alternate Evolutionary Viewpoints
Simple ancestor descendent Replacement (uncommon in evolution).
Ancestor - descendent
Divergent Evolution (more common scenario).
H. ergaster/erectus adapted to open environments
Starting 2.5 mya:
Global reduction in forests >> increase in open, grassland habitats
Hominins faced with loss of original forest habitat: need to adapt
Evolved large body with long legs >> more efficient bipeds
Evolved effective thermoregulation system and hairless bodies
And an even larger brain
ALSO:
Grasslands have much larger quantities of animals (huge herds)
Increased reliance on meat (more active hunting and/or better at it?)
• Probably part of a general broadening of the diet
Classic example of adaptive radiation
Dmanisi, Georgia Hominin Sites
Dmanisi hominin fossils
taller (up to 160 cm) and look like ergaster …
Mean cranial capacity = 650cc (very small!)
smooth transition in brain size from small to
large-bodied hominins
Nihewan Basin
150 km west of Beijing
Sites with stone tools and animal bones
no hominin fossils – yet
oldest in Asia so far
Dates for Homo erectus’ arrival in Java?
Biochronology used.
Biochronology = correlation in time of biological events using fossils.
Biochronology looks at animal species through the layers
Asks the questions: What species are in layers close to hominin bones? When were these species around?
Sangiran 17
Cranial capacity = 1030 cc
best-preserved hominid cranium from Java & only known adult male Homo erectus from anywhere
Homo Erectus fossils = foreshadow characteristics of Homo Heidelbergensis
“Daka” cranium
1 mya H. Erectus skullcap.
discovered in the Middle Awash region of the Afar Rift in eastern Ethiopia (source of many fossil human ancestors).
Bodo cranium
Middle Awash region, Ethiopia.
Kabwe or “Broken Hill”
cranium, Zambia
300,000 years ago.