Evolutionary Theory
Change of allele frequencies in a population over time
What is biological evolution
Unique trait defining the hominins
What is bipedalism
Name a primate that can use tools
What is macaques, capuchins, apes
Two factors contributing to fossilization process
What is avoid scavengers, get buried quickly, soil not too acidic or alkaline (neutral pH), low-oxygen level to avoid decomposition by bacteria
Two negative health effects associated with bipedalism
What is scoliosis, hernia, arthritis in joints, childbirth problem
Differential reproductive success as adaptation to the environment over multiple generations
What is natural selection
A trait characterized as projecting face and found in non-human primates and early hominins
What is facial prognathism
The most common form of locomotion found in strepsirrhines
What is vertical clinging and leaping (VCL)
Two shared derived traits of the primates (name and describe evolutionary advantage)
What is locomotive flexibility, grasping hands & feet, decreased reliance on smell, stereoscopic vision, enhanced color vision, postorbital bar/plate, generalized diet, increased brain size, slow life history, and very social animals
What is the foramen magnum
Mass extinction of species due to a random, natural event
What is bottleneck effect
Hominin species that lived in East Africa and one of the of the individuals from this species was named after a song
What is Australipithecus afarensis
A group of primate with dry nose, enclosed eye socket, and extended parental care
What is haplorrhine
Name and definition of the subdiscipline of Anthropology to which Paleoanthropology belongs
What is Biological Anthropology, the study of human biological evolution and variation, including primates, our closest living relatives.
An hominin species with opposable big toe but angled-inward legs and curved-forward iliac blades
What is Ardipithecus ramidus
The force of evolution that is the only source of novel variation in a population
What is mutation
Several species of hominins that appear to have been an evolutionary dead-end because of their extreme dietary and anatomical specializations.
What are the Robust Australopithecines (or Paranthropus sp.).
A layer in the eye enhancing night vision in primates
What is tapetum lucidum
The study of what happen to an organism after death, including fossilization
What is taphonomy
Three anatomical adaptations associated with bipedalism
What is anterior position of foramen magnum, S-shaped spine, bowl-shaped pelvis, angled-inward femurs, aligned big toe, double-arched foot
The key evolutionary mechanism that prevents speciation from occurring
What is gene flow
Two physical traits associated with suspensory locomotion and name of the primate taxonomic group characterized by this type of locomotion
What is arms longer than legs, curved fingers/phalanges and what is Hominoids/Apes
Difference between hominins vs. hominoids
What is human-lineage descents from last common ancestor shared with chimps/bonobos vs. descents from the last common ancestor of all apes
Name, age, and type of evidence of what is considered the earliest DIRECT evidence of bipedalism in hominins
What is Laetoli footprint, 3.6 mya