Scavenging of Peking Man by Noel T.

Boas

Question # 2. Taphonomic analysis challenged the early views of H. erectus at the Zhoukoudian site. What data and reasoning was used as the fossils and artifacts were analyzed more recently? Be specific as to why the early assumptions were challenged and how taphonomic analysis changed the early views of H. erectus behavior. Through taphonomic analysis allowed archeologist to conclude through one of taphonomys maxim that since the most common remains in the area were of the giant hyenas, that was where they lived. This also meant that Homo erectus were not the ones who were living there which suggests that they were prey on by the giant hyenas not the other way around. Then archeologist set out to explain how the markings on the H. erectus were caused, and through their research they conclude that instead of the previous claim of cannibalism it was done by the hyenas. Hyenas preferred to attack the faces of its prey and gnaw at the ends of bones which would explain why the hands and legs were dismembered. Archeologist reveals that the bite marks on the skull could have been done by hyenas attempting to crack the skull to eat the brains. The assumption that since there was fire in the cave it was used by the H. erectus is challenge by the fact that the fire were not started by wood or plants which would have left biological traces on the cave walls, so it was not control use of fire. This showed that through closer examination with the taphonomic approach the previous hypothesis were refuted in light of new findings.
Hard Times Among Neanderthals by Erik Trinkus

Question #1. Briefly outline some of the key physical differences between Neandertals and Homo sapiens. What is the speculation as to how the environment affected their physical features (discuss the environment that they evolved in)? What is the speculation as to how and why their specific physical traits developed (in relationship to the environment)? What processes of evolution would be involved in the evolution of Neandertals (be specific as to the process and the role it would play)? In the article Hard Times Among Neanderthals, Neanderthals are describe to be larger and much more robust than humans. They have bigger bones that can handle much more stress than humans and have developed lots of muscle in order to survive their daily lives. This would suggest that Neanderthals have very active lifestyles and also reveal that there they must have lived very tough lives. The articles also mention that with so much muscle and energy consumption they would require much more food and water. Another interesting fact was that the female Neanderthals were as strong as the men. The Neanderthals were needed to be strong in order to defend themselves from predators or survive the harsh environments. I

think that natural selection was the evolutionary aspect that leads to Neanderthals to be as muscular and strong as they were. The weak died out and the strong survive, but that could be a disadvantage later on, with so much of the bodys energy devoted to strength there was probably not much left for the brain. Which could be the reason why Homo sapiens are the ones who out competed them, through brains over brawns.
Questions 1. What are the major trends that we see physically and behaviorally with the genus Homo? List at least 2 items for each (physical and behavioral).

2. What physical traits and behavioral traits likely led to Early Homo out-competing the early small brained gracile and robust species?

3. Name one pro and one con in relationship to large brains.

4. Who am I and what tools do I use? Below the neck I am similar to Australopithecus and Paranthropus. I make and use simple stone tools that involve the knocking off of flakes and I use the resulting flake and core tools for cutting meat and plant material. My brain size is slightly bigger than the Australopithecines. For this question specifically name the group of hominins the above would refer to as well as the stone tools associated with them.

5. State and briefly describe two of the big debates regarding Neandertals cognitive abilities and basic nature (e.g. are they human like?). These debates are discussed in your text, my notes, powerpoints and in the article Hard Times Among Neandertals. 1. Homo genus has bigger brains, and is bipedal which is more efficient for running. As for behavioral aspect, Homo genus use fire to cook, ward off animals. They also use tools and weapons to help them survive. 2. With larger brains they were smarter and with cooking they were able to eat a larger variety of food that they couldnt before. With smaller bodies they used less energy than apes and since they are bipedal walking is more efficient and quicker to evade predators. With weapons they became efficient hunters which provided them with more nutritious meat. 3. With a larger brain came innovations and better problem solving that keep them ahead of the curb. Their larger brain is very advantageous but it would also require more energy, since the brain uses 20% of the human bodys resources, although it was probably less for these less intelligent species it would still be significant.

4. The group of hominin is Homo Habilis(handy man) and their tool is called Oldowan which are flake and core tools. They are used to hunt/ gather, and the process to make them required some cognitive abilities. 5. One debate over the Neanderthal is whether they merged with Homo sapiens or did the split off and die. Another debate is whether Neanderthals had a religion or some significant form of religion/afterlife. They did bury their dead with artifacts but not to the extent of Homo sapiens. How the Neanderthal died out is also a topic of debate as some say with such a robust way of living mortality rate is high while another says they were out-competed by Homo sapiens. The debate on Neanderthals cognitive ability suggest that although they had bigger brains they did not have developed neo-frontal cortex which is used for higher thinking and planning.