Chapter 12 Neanderthals and Archaic Homo sapiens - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Chapter 12 Neanderthals and Archaic Homo sapiens

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Chapter 12 Neanderthals and Archaic Homo sapiens Early Archaic H. Sapiens A Review of Middle Pleistocene evolution Middle Pleistocene Culture Neanderthals: Late ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Chapter 12 Neanderthals and Archaic Homo sapiens


1
Chapter 12 Neanderthals and Archaic Homo sapiens
  • Early Archaic H. Sapiens
  • A Review of Middle Pleistocene evolution
  • Middle Pleistocene Culture
  • Neanderthals Late Archaic H. Sapiens
  • Culture of Neanderthals
  • Genetic Evidence
  • Evolutionary Trends in the Genus Homo

2
Early Archaic Homo sapiens
  • Homo erectus continued to evolve as transitional
    forms between Homo erectus and Homo sapiens
    sapiens.
  • All Middle Pleistocene specimens are classified
    within the species Homo sapiens.
  • There is variation within and between samples of
    these hominids and they are geographically widely
    dispersed.

3
Middle Pleistocene Culture Levallois technique
  • Tool making technique for controlling flake size
    and shape invented by the archaic Homo sapiens in
    Africa and Europe.
  • Required several coordinated steps suggesting
    increased cognitive abilities in archaic Homo
    sapiens.

4
Middle Pleistocene Culture
  • Dwellings included caves, open-air sites and
    temporary structures.
  • Chinese archaeologists insist that sites contain
    evidence of human-controlled fire.
  • Many different food sources including fruits,
    vegetables, seeds, nuts, and bird eggs.

5
NeandertalsLate Archaic H. sapiens
  • Classified H. sapiens, they are like us, yet
    different.
  • Brain size larger than that of H. sapiens today.
  • Cranium was large, low and bulging at the sides.
  • France, 1908 - Nearly complete skeleton was
    found surrounded by tools and animal bones.

6
Neandertal Culture Settlements
  • Improved on the previous Levallois techniques by
    inventing a new variation.
  • Lived in open sites, caves and rock shelters.
  • Fire was used for cooking, warmth, light, and
    keeping predators at bay.
  • Some indication of specialization of tools.

7
Neandertal Culture Subsistence
  • After the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic the
    spear thrower was invented.
  • Besides meat, Neandertals ate berries, nuts and
    other plants.
  • Due to the bitter cold of the last glacial
    period, it is assumed that Neanderthals wore
    simple clothing.

8
Neandertal Culture Symbolic Behavior
  • Consensus is that Neandertals were capable of
    articulate speech.
  • Neanderthals deliberately buried their dead.
  • Burials contained grave goods (stone tools,
    animal bones and flowers) and graves were covered
    with stone slabs.

9
Evolutionary Trends in the past 2 million years
  • Early Homo to Homo erectus
  • Homo erectus into early Homo sapiens
  • Archaic Homo sapiens to anatomically modern Homo
    sapiens

10
Three Taxonomic Issues
  • Classification of fossils in archaic Homo
    sapiens" is imprecise, since this group is
    ill-defined.
  • Several early archaic specimens show derived
    features different from Homo sapiens.
  • Neanderthals are viewed by many researchers as
    representing the species, Homo neanderthalensis.
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