ORIGIN OF MODERN HUMANS

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ORIGIN OF MODERN HUMANS
lt Transitions
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Genesis 27

• And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the
  ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath
  of life and man became a living soul.

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Apparent Age and History
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Some Short Readingslinked on the Core 6 Webpage

• Fossil Hominids The Evidence for Human Evolution
• African Legacy
• N'tal DNA
• H. floresiensis
• The Man from Neander Valley

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Some Extinct Hominines

• A. africanus

• A. afarensis

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Out of Africa I

• 1.8 million years ago (1.8 Ma)
• Homo ergaster/erectus populates the Old World
• Fairly well established (Consensus Science)

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Out of Africa II

• 100,000 years ago (100 Ka)
• Homo sapiens populates the Old World
• Controversial (Frontier Science)

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Out of Africa I 1/2

• 700,000 years ago (700 Ka)
• Homo antecessor (?) populates the Old World
• Even more Controversial

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TIME PERSPECTIVE of these lectures...
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IN THESE LECTURES...

• Were concerned with the last 2,000,000 years (2
  Ma) or so of Earths 4.5 billion year (Ga)
  history
• 2,000,000 4,500,000,000 .044
• If all Earths history were one day...
• .044 X 24 X 60 X 60 38 seconds

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THE ARCHEOLOGICAL AGES

• Classified by types of tools

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THE STONE AGES
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PALEOLITHIC

• Old Stone Age
• 2.5 Ma gt about 10 Ka
• Started with Homo habilis (maybe Australopithecus
  garhi 2.5 Ma)
• Chopped stone tools

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NEOLITHIC

• ? 10 Ka gt ?
• Agricultural Revolution
• A neolithic product BEER!

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Beyond the NEOLITHIC

• Copper, Bronze Age, Iron Age,
• Industrial Age
• 1700s in England
• Now Information Age?

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Lumpers vs. Splitters

• Lumpers gt Favor a ladder pattern to evolution
  (fewer species)
• Splitters gt Favor a bush pattern (lots of
  different species)

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Anti-Evolutionary Creationists

• Can be both lumpers and splitters at the same
  time!
• Lumping All Australopithecines are apes, and
  all Homo are humans
• Splitting Yet, they complain about absence of
  missing links

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The Changing Position of Homo erectus
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First half of 1900s Splitters

• Scholars commonly assigned a new species name to
  virtually each new fossil unearthed.
• E.g., Pithecanthropus erectus was the name given
  to Java Man
• Sinanthropus pekinensis was the name give to
  Peking Man
• Later both became Homo erectus

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Pre-1990s Lumpers

• By 2 Ma in Africa, Homo habilis had evolved into
  Homo erectus.
• By 1 Ma, some H. erectus left Africa for Asia
  and, later Europe
• By 200 Ka, H. erectus had evolved to H. sapiens
  (either in Africa or separately in Africa and
  Eurasia).

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Present view Moderate Splitting

• From discovery of early (1.6 - 1.8 Ma) H.
  ergaster/ erectus outside of Africa

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Moderate Splitting
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H. ergaster/erectus

• Scholars still disagree on the taxonomy (family
  tree) of these species, but all believe they are
  an evolutionary step up from H. habilis
• According to paleoanthropologists, a new grade
  of hominine evolution

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H. ergaster/erectus firsts

• First hominines outside of Africa
• Dmanisi (Georgian) skull D2700???
• Systematic hunting
• Beginning of home bases
• Systematic tool making
• Fire!
• Extended childhood

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Something Between H. erectus and H. sapiens?
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H. heidelbergensis

• Lived 500 Ka - 100 Ka
• Little more modern than Homo erectus/ergaster
  gt basically modern brain size
• Heavy brow ridges like Neanderthals, but less
  robust, more human face

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H. heidelbergensis

• Heidelberg Man in Europe (500Ka)
• Rhodesian Man in Africa (200Ka)
• Sometimes referred to as Archaic Homo sapiens
• Evolved into Neandertals in Eurasia, into H.
  sapiens in Africa

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GEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

• Of the last 2 Ma

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Over 20 ICE AGES paired with warm
interglacial periods

• In the past 2 Ma

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THE LAST ICE AGE

• Lasted from 70 Ka to 10 Ka

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American Midwest 16 Ka
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Human ancestors in the North had to cope with
these ice ages...
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A BIT ABOUT DATING

• C-14 has a half life of 5,700 years, so only
  effective to about 70 Ka
• Works on organic material - wood, bones, shells,
  etc.
• Older stuff must be dated with K-Ar method on
  surrounding rocks
• But K-Ar only effective on rocks older than 100
  Ka

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RECENTLY...

• Newer techniques (Thermoluminescence, electron
  spin resonance)
• Related to radioactive decay, but work in the
  missing time range (70 Ka - 100 Ka)
• Fact All dating methods agree where they overlap

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How did early humans make a living?

• SCAVENGER OR HUNTER?

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SOME EVIDENCE

• Suggests that early man (Homo habilis gt Homo
  erectus) was a scavenger (lack of hunting tools,
  carnivore teeth marks on bones)
• Later humans ... (Neandertal and moderns)
• were foragers hunters gathers
• Until the Agricultural Revolution

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FOR SURVIVAL

• Foraging societies are adapted to their natural
  environment
• E.g., they control population naturally by later
  breeding and prolonged lactation

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!KUNG BUSHMEN
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Modern Example of a foraging society

• Live in Kalahari Desert
• Work 12-20 hours/week
• Eat healthier diet than many Americans
• Good article in Feb. 2001
  National Geographic

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But, Foragers In

• colder climates didnt have as much fun ...
• The Ice Man, whose preserved carcass was found
  in 1991, belonged to a foraging people in Europe
  about 5 Ka - Copper Age

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Out of Africa II

• 100,000 years ago (100 Ka)
• Homo sapiens populates the Old World,
• Replacing Neandertals and Archaic Hs.
• Controversy! (Frontier Science)

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Neanderthal MEN
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Neandertal

• remains were first discovered in 1856 in the
  valley (tal) of the Neander River near Düsseldorf
• Thought to be a diseased Mongolian Cossack
• Existed from probably at least 230 Ka to about
  29 Ka
• At least 350 individuals found

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DISTINGUISHING FEATURES INCLUDE

• Short and stocky
• High brow ridges
• Weak chin
• Protruding face
• Muscular
• Slightly bigger brain!

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DISTINGUISHING FEATURES INCLUDE

• Short and stocky
• High brow ridges
• Weak chin
• Protruding face
• Muscular
• Slightly bigger brain!

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BRAIN SIZE

• Average Neandertal 1450cc
• Average modern human 1360cc
• Much variation in modern humans
• Jacques Anatole France 1,000cc
• Ivan Turgenev 2,000cc
• 19th Century novelists - geniuses

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WERE NEANDERTALS HUMAN?

• I.e., are they Homo sapiens
• or Homo neanderthalensis
• or Homo sapiens neanderthalensis ?

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Or were they Homer sapiens ???
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Three lines of Evidenceto establish Origin of
Modern Humans

• Anatomy --gt fossils
• Genetics --gt mostly on present-day humans
• Archeology --gt Tools and Art

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Genetic Diversity

• Modern humans are genetically
• less diverse than most other species
• .08 F vs. gt.20 F

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Mitochondrial DNA Study
lt Rebecca Cann
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MtDNA Study conclusions...

• Genetic variability shows the greatest amount of
  diversity in sub-Saharan African populations
• High variability suggests that the African
  populations have been accumulating genetic
  mutations for the longest time--i.e., they are
  the oldest living populations

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MtDNA Study conclusions...

• Genetic distance is greatest between African
  populations and other groups

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MtDNA Study conclusions...

• Tends to support the Out of Africa II
  (monogenesis) rather than the multiregional
  hypothesis

Multiregional
Recent (Out of Africa)
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MODERN RACES ?

• "From a scientific point of view, the concept of
  race has failed to obtain any consensus and none
  is likely, given the gradual variation in
  existence." (Cavalli-Sforza, History and
  Geography of Human Genes, p 19)

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N-tals HUMAN ?

• To answer this question, we must consider the
  meaning of culture, the uniquely human adaptation

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RECALL CORE 5 (ow)

• This course is about ...
• Cosmic evolution (most of Core 5)
• Biological evolution (Core 6 so far)
• Cultural evolution
• This lecture crosses the boundary between
  biological evolution and cultural evolution

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CULTURE

• What it means to be human

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DEFINITION

• Culture the patterned behavior and mental
  constructs that individuals
• learn, are taught, and share
• within the context of the groups to which they
  belong

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LANGUAGE

• Is essential for human culture
• But not equivalent to it

blah, blah, blah ...
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Could N-Tals Talk?

• Had big brain with Brocas Area, but...
• Did they have the right plumbing?

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Could N-Tals make all the same sounds as modern
humans?

• Another example of Frontierscience
• Well, at least about the plumbing part

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Position of Larynx

• Would indicate N-tal speech was probably very
  nasal, couldnt make certain sounds
• ee, ah, oo, as well as g and k

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But fossil Hyoid bone is like modern humans

• Which supports the possibility of modern speech
  abilities

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NTals had a shorter childhood than us

• So perhaps Ntals didnt have time to develop
  language skills as moderns
• These controversies show why this kind of thing
  is called frontier science

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Neandertal Cultural Activities
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SPECIALIZED TOOLS

• Levallois technique (flaking)
• 20 different types discovered gt

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HUNTING STYLE

• Did not know how to throw !

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HUNTING STYLE

• Did not know how to throw !

Ow...
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Just Like the Rodeo
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BURIAL OF DEAD

• Ritual ?
• Evidence of plants in grave
• Shanidar Cave 60 Ka

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Shanidar Cave, Iraq
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ALTRUISM ?

• Some evidence of altruism
• This specimen was old and crippled
• Chimpanzees, e.g., abandon their sick

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ART ?

• No evidence of genuine art
• Were they too dumb or
• Just too busy?

Reindeer phalangesgt
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LANGUAGE ?

• Already discussed N-tal speech
• Did they use human language?
• How does human language differ from animal
  communication?
• Evolution of Communication lecture by Dr.
  Martin Nickels, March 24...

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LAST N-TAL FOSSILS

• Found are 29 - 32 Ka
• In Gibraltar (Portugal)

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Are N-tals Human

• DNA evidence
• http//www.talkorigins.org/faqs/homs/mtDNA.html

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1997

• Mitochondrial DNA analysis from bones of the
  type specimen (the original one found in the
  Neander valley)
• Concluded common ancestor of Neandertal and H.
  sapiens to be 600 Ka
• Supports N-tals arent human!

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1997 mtDNA Study

• Also gives powerful backing to the theory that
  all humanity descended from an "African Eve"
  about 100 Ka to 200 Ka gtOut of Africa
  hypothesis
• and that Neandertals were an evolutionary dead
  end

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CRO-MAGNONSandCAVE ART

• More in Jody Watkins lecture

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Point of Information

• Cro-Magnon is an historical but not scientific
  term Very few if any paleoanthropologists use
  this terminology

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CRO-MAGNONS

• First fossil found near Hotel Cro-Magnon in Les
  Eyzies in SW France - 30 Ka
• They are modern Homo sapiens AmHs Anatomically
  modern H. sapiens
• Africa 130 Ka gt present
• Europe 35 Ka gt present

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CRO-MAGNONS

• Had better tools than Neanderthal
• Gave C-M a competitive edge over N-tal

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BETTER TOOLS ...

• E.g., spear thrower
• Note also the carving (art)

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An Unanswered Question

• Did C-M outcompete or outfight Neanderthals ?
• Only 1 competitive edge in niche could lead to
  extinction in 5,000 years!
• Or were N-tal genes absorbed into C-M population?

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Ntal replacement by modern H. sapiens or
absorption?
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CAVE ART

• Cro-magnons had a truly human culture
• Chauvet cave art 32 Ka
• Discovered in 1995
• Whats the meaning of this art? gt

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Chauvet Cave
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Paleogeography of Modern Humans

• Very simplified here
• When were each of the continents settled by
  modern humans?

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Assuming Out of Africa II
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Continents were peopled in this order

• Africa (130 Ka)
• Asia
• Middle East (100 Ka)
• Remainder (60 Ka)
• Australia (60 Ka)
• Europe (35 Ka)
• Americas (20 - 30 Ka) Dec. 2000 Natl Geographic

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Native Americans - Florida 14 Ka
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Midterm Exam

• Wednesday March 1
• Here in the Shen

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Recent Cro-Magnons in the field
Buh Bye!