Homo Habilis

EARLY ANCESTORS ARCH 0440 Archaeologies of the Ancient Middle East Early Hominin Radiation Occurred between 4 and 2 m.y.a. Included three distinct genera of hominins: Kenyanthropus Australopithecus Paranthropus Walked upright Lacked pronounced canines Brain size 450-475 cubic cms Australopithecines Known from six species Fossils date to 4-2.5 m.y.a Most specimens from East and South Africa Australopithecus afarensis – LUCY Footprints found in Laetoli, Tanzania, show that the species walked upright Kenyanthropus Dates to 3.5 m.y.a. First discovered in 2001 in Kenya Appears to be similar to australopithecines Still poorly understood Paranthropus Also known as robust Australopithecus Dates to 2.5-1.4 m.y.a. Characterized by massive molars and muscles for chewing Believed to have had a diet of seeds or fruits with hard outer coatings Homo Habilis First primate with a large brain —500-800 cubic centimeters First primate assigned to genus Homo Found at sites in East Africa Dates to 2.5-1.6 m.y.a. Homo erectus Second oldest member of the genus Homo Dates to 1.9-1.5 m.y.a. First hominid to spread out of Africa— fossils found in Africa, Europe, and Asia Very similar to modern humans in body shape East African Rift Valley Stretches from Malawi in southern Africa to Turkey and Syria Has three characteristics that make it valuable in the search for early hominin sites 1. It is a trough that fills up with sediments, preserving potential sites 2. It is tectonically active, so there is a lot of erosion 3. It is volcanically active, so there are levels of volcanic ash that can be used to date sites Lower Paleolithic: The Oldowan Earliest well characterized tool industry Dates to between 1.9 and 1.15 m.y.a Which hominin(s) are responsible for making these tools is uncertain Paranthropus, Homo habilis, and Homo erectus all lived during the Oldowan period Characteristic Oldowan tool is the chopper Make a chopper by taking a rounded stone and striking flakes off one edge Oldowan Replicas 2.23.jpg 2.25.jpg Lower Paleolithic: The Acheulian Dates to between 1.7 m.y.a. and 400,000 to 200,000 years ago Acheulian sites found throughout Africa and in Europe, the Middle East, and India Acheulian appears at the same time as the emergence of Homo erectus and extinction of Homo habilis An Acheulian cleaver (left) and handaxe (right). Archaeologists stress the symmetry of many Acheulian handaxes. Acheulian Replicas The Origin of Tool Use: Tool Use by Animals Most evidence for tool manufacture and use come from studies of chimpanzees and other great apes Jane Goodall was the first to document tool use by chimpanzees Observed chimpanzee tool use includes: Using twigs to fish termites or ants out of mounds Using stone hammers and anvils to crack nuts The Origin of Tool Use: Archaeological Evidence The oldest known stone tools date to 2.5 million years ago They were found in the Hadar region, Ethiopia Almost 3000 stone tools were recovered The major types of tools are sharp-edged flakes and cores, including choppers Stone tools from Lokalalei, Kenya date to 2.3 million years ago Here about 2000 stone flakes and cores were recovered These tools indicate that early tool manufacture followed a clear and consistent strategy Were Early Hominins Hunters? Early views held that australopithecines were brutal hunters Archaeologists began to question this view in the 1970s It is difficult to prove archaeologically whether early hominins were hunters or scavengers Hominin tools are found in association with many bones These bones exhibit cut marks from tools and bite marks from carnivores The question is which came first to the kills: the carnivores or the hominins? Hominin Living Floors and Base Camps The home-base/food-sharing model sees sharing of meat at base camps as a fundamental part of early hominin life According to this model, hominins created places on the landscape to which meat was brought for sharing among members of a community The stone circle at DKI site in Olduvai Gorge may be evidence of a structure build on a home-base site The Use of Fire Very little evidence for controlled use of fire from Oldowan and Acheulian sites in Africa Tentative evidence for the use of fire by early hominins dates to 1.4 million years ago in Kenya at the site of Chesowanja The burnt clay at Chesowanja may be from a hearth or the result of natural fires Hard evidence that early hominins used fire has not been found to date Expansion of the Hominin World: Middle East and Europe The site of Ubeidiya, Israel, is one of the earliest Homo erectus outside of Africa Dates to 1.4 and 1.0 million years ago Site produced tools characteristic of the Oldowan and fragmentary hominin remains The site of Dmanisi, Georgia, the oldest known archaeological site outside of Africa Dates to 1.8 and 1.7 million years ago Site produced 3 nearly complete Homo erectus crania and stone tools, mostly simple flakes No evidence of Acheulian technology Expansion of the Hominin World: Asia Sites on the island of Java show that the hominin dispersal spread into Asia Homo erectus fossils from Java date to 1.8 million years ago No evidence of stone tools has been found on Java The Nihewan Basin, China, is rich in early hominin sites Dates from these sites show that members of the genus Homo occupied the area between 1.36 and 1.1 million years ago Stone tools have been found, but there is no evidence of Acheulian technology .

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