Anthropology 153 lecture

From: Charles Brown < Date: March 13, 2022 To: charles brown Figure 1: The human evolutionary family tree. Relationships and estimated divergence times of the living apes are shown. Hominins are all species, including side-branches and extinct species, on the human line (highlighted) after our Last Common Ancestor with chimpanzees & bonobos (marked “A”). Some fossil hominin species are shown in the right-hand column, with their approximate age ranges indicated; early hominins: gray, Australopithecus: blue, Homo: orange. © 2012 Nature Education All rights reserved. View Terms of Use Miocene Origins of the Hominin Lineage In order to understand the evolution of any species, we must first establish its ancestral state: what sort of animal did it evolve from? For our lineage, this requires that we try and reconstruct the Last Common Ancestor of humans and chimpanzees (marked "A" in Figure 1). The Human-Chimpanzee Last Common Ancestor (HC-LCA) is the species from which the hominin lineage and the chimpanzee & bonobo lineage diverged. Hominins are species on our branch of the hominoid tree after the split with the chimpanzee & bonobo line, including all of the extinct species and evolutionary side branches (Figure 1). There was a great diversity of ape species in the Miocene, with dozens of species known from the fossil record across Africa, Europe, and Asia. These species varied in their anatomy and ecology, and it is not clear which, if any, of the fossil species discovered thus far represent the HC-LCA (Kunimatsu et al. 2007; Young and MacLatchy, 2004). Nonetheless, we know from fossil and comparative evidence that it was much more similar to living apes than to living humans. The HC-LCA would have had an ape-sized brain and body, with relatively long arms and fingers and a grasping foot that allowed it to forage in the trees. The canine teeth were probably large and sharp, as seen in several Miocene hominoids. Moreover, the canines were probably sexually dimorphic, with males having much larger canines than females, as seen among the living great apes and Miocene fossils. Like living apes it would have walked quadrupedally (on all fours) when on the ground, and its diet would have consisted almost entirely of plant foods, primarily fruit and leaves Here are links explaining the term Miocene ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miocene) https://www.britannica.com/science/Miocene-Epoch “ Miocene Epoch, earliest major worldwidedivision of the Neogene Period (23 million years to 2.6 million years ago) that extended from 23 million to 5.3 million years ago. It is often divided into the Early Miocene Epoch(23 million to 16 million years ago), the Middle Miocene Epoch (16 million to 11.6 million years ago), and the Late Miocene Epoch (11.6 million to 5.3 million years ago). The Miocene may also be divided into six ages and their corresponding rock stages: from oldest to youngest these ages or stages are the Aquitanian, Burdigalian, Langhian, Serravallian, Tortonian, and Messinian. The Miocene followed the Oligocene Epoch of the Paleogene Period and was succeeded by the Pliocene Epoch.” Traditionally anthro is divided into four overlapping subfields : cultural anthropology, the study of living human populations ; archaeology the study of ancient artifacts from human societies of the past ; linguistics , the science of language or symbolic communication ( only humans have language; no other species does) ; and physical or biological anthropology, the focus of this class, the science of human evolution and biology, including so-called race . I say focus because the other branches I mention are also part of this class because concepts from the other branches must be understood to understand human evolution and biology. The concepts of language and culture are especially important for understanding all branches or sub-fields . Chapter 13 of our text essays the fossil record of hominin species that originated before we Genus Homo Hominins who invented the unique human capacity to communicate in LANGUAGE or in Symbolic Signs . There are no artifacts made by symbolic rules associated with these fossils , so at this time we designate them as pre-human . They are the Missing Link fossils that Charles Darwin predicted would be found linking humans to chimpanzees as our closest living “cousin “ species. The Australopithecine Genus hominin fossils are discovered and investigated These ideas demonstrate the overlapping use of anthro subfields in analyzing data . In this case all four subfields are pertinent : especially paleontological archaeology and biology-evolution ; but cultural and linguistic concepts are important to establish that this is pre-language and culture; or pre-human . We are bipedal (hominins) , but bipedalism is not our essential _human_ characteristic.; symbolic sign - WORDS ! - communication and symbolic inheritance CULTURE or custom -tradition is . This link explains the difference between human and all other animals’ _communication_ ; critically we have DISPLACED COMMUNICATION ( past tense , et al ) and there is no evidence that any other species does , including chimps and apes do NOT. In my opinion , the ability for displaced or abstract communication origins with the Genus Homo , Chapter 14 of our text . https://owlcation.com/stem/The-difference-between-animal-and-human-communication Scientific study means The investigation of human beings in all times and places , study that is historical , systematic and objective ; that is to say scientific based on logical consideration and testing of material evidence and natural hypotheses ; concerning hundreds of thousands of years ago to the present ; from Detroit to the other ends of the Earth . Chapter 12 and 13 of our text report on hominin fossils from 6 million years ago forward to 1 million years ago . This is investigation of humans from just before our origin . To understand our origin , it is necessary to understand just before our origin. The fossils and artifacts from our origin are reported on in Chapter 14. Study from our origin expands the scientific investigation of humans to a whole ; it helps get at the whole truth of our being . Scientific understanding of humans is in contrast with understanding humans based on whims , superstition , untested intuition , uncritical faith , unquestioned authority or supernatural beings. However , religious texts contain statements of scientific truths shared with Darwinist science . Religious text state agreement with scientific truths in metaphors and parables . For example , in the Bible’s Genesis , God tells humans to be fruitful and multiply. This tracks the “advice” that Darwin sort of gives all species in that the test of Darwinian fitness is whether a species’s population grows ( is fruitful and multiplies ) or is not . If the population grows , the species is fit ( survives as fit) ; is selected for ; if the population shrinks and goes to zero , it is EXTINCT and selected against , not fit . Also , if Darwin’s theory of natural evolution conflicts with religious beliefs on human origin , think of this class the way you would think of a science fiction movie , travellng in a fictional time machine back 100,000’s of years -As if You are writing on a novel or other fiction Charles Brown Sent from my iPhone