Not all living organisms that have ever lived are preserved as fossils. What are three consequences of this fact?
Describe the five things that anthropologists want to do when a new fossil is found.
What is the law of superposition? Why is it important?
What is potassium-argon dating? How does it work? What materials can be dated with it?
What is radiocarbon dating? How does it work? What materials can be dated with it?
Give the dates and the main characteristics or trends of primate evolution for each of the following epochs: Paleocene, Eocene, Oligocene, Miocene.
Describe the following fossils, give their age (just the epoch is OK), and indicate why they are important: Purgatorius, Aegyptopithecus, Gigantopithecus, Ardipithecus.
Identify three trends in primate evolution that are evident from the earliest primates through the Australopithecines.
When (in terms of geological epochs and in terms of mya) did the first Australopithecines plus the first members of the genus Homo live?
Who was Raymond Dart? What did he do? How/why was his work significant?
What are Australopithecines? Describe three of the main physical features of the Australopithecines. Why are Australopithecines important?
What is the probable relationship between Australopithecus, Paranthropus (robust Australopithecines), and Homo?
Describe three physical characteristics that indicate bipedalism in fossils like Lucy. What are some characteristics that indicate that their bipedalism may not have been exactly like ours?
Describe five possible explanations for why bipedalism was selected for in early human ancestors.
In lecture it was suggested that Paranthropus “chewed” its way across the savannah while Homo “thought” its way across the savannah. What does this mean or refer to?
What is Homo habilis? How old is it? Who found and named it? Where was it found? Why is it important? What are some of its physical characteristics?
What sorts of tools were apparently made by Homo habilis? What are they called? How are they made? Were they used for hunting?
What is Homo erectus? How old is it? Why is it important? What are some of its physical characteristics?
What type of tools were made by Homo erectus? How are they more sophisticated than earlier tools? Were they used for hunting?
