10.5: End of Chapter Review

Last updated
Save as PDF

Page ID: 177685

\( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \) \( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)\(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)\(\newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\)

Test Your Knowledge

Describe the climate during the early Pleistocene. Explain why climate is important for understanding the evolution of early Homo.
List the key anatomical characteristics that are generally agreed to define the genus Homo.
Why has classification of early Homo fossils proved difficult? What are some explanations for the variability seen in these fossils?
Compare and contrast the Oldowan and Acheulean tool industries.
Name some specific behaviors associated with Homo erectus in the areas of tool use, subsistence practices, migration patterns, and other cultural innovations.

GLOSSARY

Acheulean: Tool industry characterized by teardrop-shaped stone handaxes flaked on both sides.

Developmental plasticity: The capability of an organism to modify its phenotype during development in response to environmental cues.

Human behavioral ecology: Study of human behavior from an evolutionary and ecological perspective.

Occipital torus: A ridge on the occipital bone in the back of the skull.

Perikymata: Microscopic ridges on the surface of tooth enamel that serve as markers of tooth development.

Pleistocene: Geological epoch dating from 2.6 million years ago to about 11,000 years ago.

Sagittal keel: A thickened area along the top of the skull.

FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION

Boaz, Noel Thomas, and Russell L. Ciochon. 2004. Dragon Bone Hill: An Ice-Age Saga of Homo erectus. New York: Oxford University Press.

Human Evolution by the Smithsonian Institution: http://humanorigins.si.edu/ Produced by the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, this website covers many aspects of human evolution including 3-D models of hominin fossils.

Jablonski, Nina G. 2010. “The Naked Truth.” Scientific American 302 (2): 42–49.

Lewin, Roger, and Robert A. Foley. 2004. Principles of Human Evolution. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing.

Stoneking, Mark. 2015. “Of Lice and Men: The Molecular Evolution of Human Lice.” Lecture, Center for Academic Research & Training in Anthropogeny, San Diego, California, October 16, 2015. https://carta.anthropogeny.org/events/unique-features-human-skin

Tarlach, Gemma. 2015. “The First Humans to Know Winter.” Discover, February 26.

Ungar, Peter S. 2017. Evolution’s Bite : A Story of Teeth, Diet, and Human Origins. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Wrangham, Richard. 2009. Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human. New York: Basic Books.