Lab #9. Trends in the evolution of Homo, early "modern" H. sapiens

NOTE: There are 3 goals to this lab. First, you have an opportunity to review various fossil Homo specimens and take notes on their morphology. Second, you should be looking for morphological trends in human evolution (this is why the stations have been arranged in roughly chronological order), and third, you will have a chance to look at some specimens considered by many to be examples of early "anatomically modern" Homo sapiens. When making comparisons, be specific about character states. Finally, pay close attention to the dating of each specimen (some are more securely dated than others) and attempt to integrate your own observations with the discussion of the opposing models for the origin of modern humans discussed in the text and in the lecture to follow this lab.

Station #1: Early Lower Pleistocene Homo. A: KNM-ER-1470. early Homo, Koobi Fora, East Turkana, Kenya, approx. 2mya, CRANIAL CAPACITY: 775 cc B: KNM-ER-1813. early Homo, Koobi Fora, East Turkana, Kenya, approx. 1.8mya CRANIAL CAPACITY: 600+ cc C: KNM-ER 992, early Homo/Homo erectus? Ileret, East Turkana, 1.4-1.6mya D: OH 13. early Homo/Homo erectus? aprox. 1.7mya E. D2700 & D2735. Dmanisi, Homo erectus? Dmainsi, Republic of Georgia, 1.75mya.

COMPARATIVE SPECIMENS: F. Sts 71 and Sts 5, A. africanus, Sterkfontein Cave, South Africa, approx. 2-3mya CRANIAL CAPACITIES: 400-450 cc G. Homo sapiens. Recent, CRANIAL CAPACITY: 1200-2000 cc H: Hadar reconstruction. A. afarensis, Hadar, Ethiopia approx. 3.5-3mya. Gracile Australopithecine. CRANIAL CAPACITY approx. 400+ cc I: LH 4. A. afarensis, Laetoli, Tanzania, approx. 3.8-3.5mya, gracile australopithecine J. KNM-WT-40000, Kenyanthropus platyops, Lomekwi, West Turkana, Kenya, approx. 3.5 mya, CRANIAL CAPACITY: approx. 400-450 cc

Station #2: later Lower Pleistocene Homo erectus. A: KNM-ER-3733. Homo erectus. Koobi Fora, East Turkana, Kenya, 1.6mya CRANIAL CAPACITY: 848 cc B: KNM-ER-3883. Homo erectus. Koobi Fora, East Turkana, Kenya, 1.4-1.5mya CRANIAL CAPACITY: 804 cc C: OH 9. Homo erectus. Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, 1.2mya CRANIAL CAPACITY: 1067 cc D. KNM-WT-15000 Homo erectus. Nariokotome III, West Turkana, 1.6mya CRANIAL CAPACITY: 900 cc E: Sangiran 4 (reconstruction), Homo erectus. Sangiran, Java. F. Sangiran 17. Homo erectus, Java, CRANIAL CAPACITY: 900cc

COMPARATIVE SPECIMEN: Homo sapiens. Recent. CRANIAL CAPACITY: 1200- Evolution of Homo, Page 2

2000 cc Station #3: Middle Pleistocene Homo erectus & Archaic Homo sapiens A: Zhoukoudian (reconstruction), Homo erectus. China, CRANIAL CAPACITY: 1100cc B: "Sinanthropus" I, Homo erectus. Zhoukoudian, China, CRANIAL CAPACITY: 1100cc C: Ngandong IV, Homo erectus?? Solo River, Java, CRANIAL CAPACITY: 1150 cc D: Broken Hill 1, archaic Homo sapiens, Kabwe, Zambia, CRANIAL CAPACITY: 1300 cc E: Steinheim, archaic Homo sapiens, Germany, CRANIAL CAPACITY: 1100 cc F: Eringsdorf mandible, archaic Homo sapiens (early neandertal), Germany. G: Saldanha, archaic Homo sapiens, Cape Province, South Africa, CRANIAL CAPACITY: 1250cc H. Mauer Mandible, Heidelberg, Germany, early middle Pleistocene.

COMPARATIVE SPECIMEN: recent Homo sapiens

Station #4: Mostly Upper Pleistocene Homo. LATE-MIDDLE/UPPER PLEISTOCENE 120,000 to 60,000 BP A: La Ferassie 1, (neandertal), Savignac du Bugue, France, CRANIAL CAPACITY: 1700cc B: La Chapelle-aux-Saints, (neandertal), France, CRANIAL CAPACITY: 1650 cc C: Gibraltar 1, (neandertal), Forbes Quarry, Gibraltar, CRANIAL CAPACITY: 1286 cc D. Teshik-Tash, Juvenile neandertal from Uzbekistan. E. Atapuerca 5, Spain, approx 300,000 bp. Neandertal precursor?

FIGURE F: Shanidar 1, (neandertal), Kurdistan, Iraq, CRANIAL CAPACITY: 1500 cc FIGURES G: Variation in the Skhul and Quafzeh crania, Mount Carmel, Israel, dates: 60,000 to 100,000 BP?

H: Skhul V, ("anatomically modern" H. sapiens?), Mount Carmel, Israel: 1550 cc I: Border Cave 1, (anatomically "modern" Homo sapiens?), 33-90,000 BP?, Older?

LATE UPPER PLEISTOCENE 40,000 to 12,000 BP. J: Predmosti (anatomically "modern" H. sapiens male), Czech Republic: CRANIAL CAPACITY: 1600 cc K: Brno II (anatomically "modern" H. sapiens female), Czech Republic: CRANIAL CAPACITY: 1459 cc L: Brno I (anatomically "modern" H. sapiens male), Czech Republic: CRANIAL CAPACITY: 1400 cc M: Cro Magnon 1 "the old man" (Anatomically "modern" H. sapiens male), Dordgne, France: CRANIAL CAPACITY: 1636 cc N. Mainz 1. (Anatomically "modern" Homo sapiens) Discovered in 1998 in the Rhine River deposits in South West Germany near Mainz. The association with Mammuthus, Megaceros and Equis, as well as the state of mineralization, suggests an age of at least 10,000 to 30,000 bp.

COMPARATIVE SPECIMEN: recent Homo sapiens, CRANIAL CAPACITY: 1200-2000 cc

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Question #1. Having examined these specimens and consulted your previous lab exercises, what trends do you see in human evolution over the period from which these specimens were sampled? Suggested things to look for are changes in cranial capacity, shape of the cranial vault, presence, size and thickness of various tori, relative size of the face and anterior or posterior teeth, positioning of maximum breadth of the skull, parietal shape and any other traits you can think of (which might get you some extra credit if valid). Do these trends continue throughout the entire chronological sequence represented or do some start and stop at different times?

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Question #2. Examine carefully the specimens at Stations #3 and #4. Do any of these specimens exhibit characteristics commonly thought to be characteristic of anatomically modern Homo sapiens? (see list below). In addition, do any of the commonly alleged "anatomically modern" specimens exhibit traits of archaic humans in general or neandertals in particular. Be very specific about specimens and traits in your response to all three parts of this question. I'm going to be very picky about grading it.

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Partial List of Derived traits Commonly used to define "anatomically modern" Homo sapiens.

1. Cranial Vault. Short from front to back (Glabella to Inion) and high from Porion (top of earhole) to Vertex (highest point on top of skull). This is associated with a vertical forehead.

2. Small to tiny supraorbital tori. The tori over each orbit are usually divided into a trangular medial portion (supraorbital trigone) and a much thinner lateral supracilliary arch.

3. Maximum breadth of skull high on parietals (parietal bosses) when viewed from behind. In posterior view, the walls of the cranial vault appear to run parallel to each other.

4. Loss of strong torus development. Separation of occipital/nuchal torus into superior and inferior nuchal lines.

5. The reappearance of a well excavated canine fossa. Very reduced face (length & breadth) relative to the size of the cranial vault.

6. Presence of a mental eminence (chin) at the lower border of the mandible at the symphysis.

7. Reduction in size of anterior, as well as posterior teeth.

Note that traits 2 and 5 throuugh 7 are highly correlated, relate to an extreme reduction in emphasis on the masticatory system and are trends that have continued up to the present day. Thus, although we may call some Pleistocene hominid "anatomically modern" based on derived freatures it shares with us, that does not mean that human morphological evolution stopped at the end of the Paleolithic. These people would represent an extreme,very robust phenotypes, of the range of variation in living humans.

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