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Tuesday, 26 November 2024, 23:46 (11:46 PM) CST, day 331 of 2024

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Chicago Manual 16th Ed. 

Prehistoric Cultures

Fall 2012 Calendar -- DAY  [archive]

Fall 2012 Calendar  -- EVENING [archive]

Dates and Times to Remember 

class slides on-line 

Wednesday, 27 November 2024, 05:46 (05:46 AM) GMT, day 332 of 2024
. . . in History 
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Prehistoric and Contemporary Primates

Kingdom = Animalia >> Phylum = Chordata >> Subphylum = Vertebrata >> Class = Mammalia >> Order = Primates

127-141
98-110
103-105

I. PARTIAL TAXONOMIC CLASSIFICATION OF PREHISTORIC AND CONTEMPORARY PRIMATES

  Suborder Inraorder Superfamily Family Subfamily Tribe Genus Species Common Name
127-129
198-200 		Prosimii
(Strepsirhini)

Lemuriformes

Lorisiformes
Tarsiiformes

   

[tree shrew = insectivore]

lemur
loris and bush baby
tarsier
129-130
198-200		 Anthropoidea
(Haplorhini)		 Platyrrhini
129		 Ceboidea Atelidae
Cebidae
[Callitrichidae]
     *Parapithecus
 (basal anthropoid)
*Apidium
(basal anthropoid)
New World Monkey


Catarrhini
129-134		 Cercopithecoidea
132-134		 Cercopithecidae     Macaca
Papio
*Propliopithecus
 (basal catarrhine)
 *Aegyptopithecus
(basal catarrhine)
Old World Monkey

macaque
baboon
guenons . . .
        Colobidae     Colobus
Presbytis		   colobus monkey
langur
      Hominoidea
134-140
201-204		 Hylobatidae     Hylobates   gibbon
siamangs
        *Proconsulidae     *Proconsul    
        *Oreopithecidea     *Oreopithecus    
        *Pliopithecidae     *Pliopithecus    
                   
   






("The Great Apes" =

orangutan

gorilla

chimpanzee)
Hominidae Pongines Pongo
*Dryopithecus
*Sivapithecus
*Gigantopithecus
*dryopithecus
*ramapithecus
*kenyapithecus
*ouranopithecus

pygmaeus
abelii		 orangutan
        Gorillines   Gorilla


 gorilla [gorilla]
gorilla [diehli]
beringei [beringei]
beringei [graueri]		 Western Lowland
Cross River
Mountain
Eastern Lowland
        Hominines Panins Pan traglodytes
?
paniscus
 chimpanzee
chimpanzee
bonobo
("pygmy chimpanzee")
                   
      213-245
204-208
213-245


217-245
     Hominins
(modern humans
and now-extinct
bipedal relatives
of humans)
202-204
*Ardipithecus
*Australopithecus1



*[aka Paranthropus]1


*Kenyanthropus		 *ramidus
*anamensis
*afarensis
*africanus
*garhi
*aethiopicus
*boisei
*robustus
*platyops		 Ardi

Lucy / First Family
southern ape
Zinj
                   
      222-223
Ch. 10
Chs. 11-12 		   
Homo1 *rudolfensis
*habilis
*erectus

sapiens		 ER-1470
human
Java / Peking "Man"

Mary / John

Compare:

FIGURE 6-10 Primate taxonomic classification, p. 126
FIGURE 5-1 Classification chart, modified from Linnaeus p. 97
FIGURE 9-3 Major events in early primate evolution, p. 200

1Note: Australopithecus and Paranthropus make up a "Subfamily" called Australopithecinae, more commonly known as Australopithecines. The genus Homo is in the "subfamily" called Homininae, more commonly known as Hominine.

An * marks groups known only through fossils.

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Primate taxonomic classification. This abbreviated taxonomy illustrates how primates are grouoped into increasingly specific categories. Only the more general categories are shown, except for the great apes and humans.

Primate taxonomic classification. This abbreviated taxonomy illustrates how primates are grouoped into increasingly specific categories. Only the more general categories are shown, except for the great apes and humans. (Compare with figure below.).

 Understanding Humans, 11th Ed., p. 126
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Revised partial classification of the primtes. In this system the names Prosimii and Anthropoidea would be replaced by Strepsirhini and Haplorhini, respectively. Tarsiers would be included in the same suborder as monkeys, apes, and humans to reflect a closwer relationship with these species than with lemurs and lorises.

Revised partial classification of the primtes. In this system the names Prosimii and Anthropoidea would be replaced by Strepsirhini and Haplorhini, respectively. Tarsiers would be included in the same suborder as monkeys, apes, and humans to reflect a closwer relationship with these species than with lemurs and lorises. (Compare with above figure.)
 Understanding Humans, 10th Ed., p. 130
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II. A COMPARISON OF APES AND HUMANS


Characteristic Gibbons
(Hylobatidae) 		Orangutan
(Pongo pygmaeus) 		Chimpanzee
(Pan troglodytes) 		Gorilla
(Gorilla gorilla)		 Human
(Homo sapiens)
           
Number of species 4 species
15 subspecies 		1 species
2 subspecies 		2 (or 3?) species
3 (or 2?) subspecies		 1 (or 2?) species
2 (or 1?) subspecies 		1 species
           
Average Height 2.3 ft 4.8 ft (male)
3.0 ft (female) 		5.0 ft (male)
4.3 ft (female) 		6.0 ft (male)
4.3 ft (female) 		5.6-5.8 ft (male)
4.1-5.3 ft (female)
           
Average Weight 11 to 24 lbs. 82 to 179 lbs. 73 to 132 lbs. 150 to 450 lbs. 146-200 lbs. (male)
100-126 lbs. (female)
           
Female body weight as % of male body weight 94% 46% 78% 51% 81%
           
Social Unit Small family units of 2 to 6 Small family bands;
least gregarious
males may live alone		 Family bands of
about six;
often join other bands;
very gregarious 		Family bands;
less gregarious
han chimpazees 		Families (bands),
clans, tribes,
chiefdoms,
sovereign states
           
  Monogamous
families		 Mother and infant;
lone males 		Multimale
multifemale;
dispersed
community;
fusion-fission 		Unimale or
multimale with one
dominant silverback
male; also lone males;
multifemale 		Multimale
multifemale
community;
fusion-fission
           
Group Size Adult pair and
1 or 2 offspring 		2 (mother and
offspring) 		20-105 2-34 25-500
           
Home Range 0.08-0.2 mi2
(0.2-0.5 km2) 		2-215 mi2
(0.4-6 km2) 		2-115 mi2
(5-560 km2) 		1.9-3.1 mi2
(4.9-8.1 km2) 		varied
           
Habitat Forest Indonesian jungles;
herbivorous (mostly
frugiverous) diet		 Deciduous woodland; omnivorous (mostly frugivorous) diet Lowland and
mountain rainforest
and bamboo forest 		varied, tropics to arctic
           
Diet / Food Habits Mostly leaves,
grass, fruits, also
insects, snails,
frogs, young birds’ eggs 		Predominantly fruit
eaters; some leaves
and bark		 Essentially
vegetarian; fruits,
leaves, shoots,
buds 		Completely
vegetarian; young
leaves, berries, bark,
roots, grains, fruit		 Omnivorous
           
Cranial Capacity 98-125 cm3
(103 cm3 avg.) 		276-540 cm3
(377 cm3 avg.) 		285-500 cm3
(383 cm3 avg.) 		340-572 cm3
(505 cm3 avg.)		 1150-1750 cm3
(1325 cm3 avg.)
           
Age at Sexual Maturity 5 to 8 years 10 to 12 years 7 to 12 years 7 to 10 years 10 to 17 years
           
Gestation Period 200 to 212 days 233 days 202 to 261 days
(231 average) 		268 days 280 days
Average Longevity
(*in captivity) 		>30 yrs. (?)* >55 yrs.* >50 yrs. (?) >50 yrs. 75 yrs.
(American)
           
Est. Population 200,000+ 5,000 100,000 15,000-Down arrow. 6 billion (A.D. 2000)
           

Sources: Bernard G. Campbell and James D. Loy, Humankind Emerging, 8th ed., Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2000, pp. 121, 98, 106, 162; Ruth Moore, et al. Evolution. New York: Time-Life Books, 1964, p. 185; John E. Pfeiffer, The Emergence of Humankind, 4th ed., NY: Harper & Row, 1985, p. 194.


Compare: “Primate Characteristics,” pp. 118-122
“Primate Adaptations,” pp. 122-127
“Primate Classification,” pp. 128-130
Ch. 7 “Primate Behavior,” pp. 149-174
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138-148

III. GENERAL FEATURES AND MAJOR EVOLUTIONARY TRENDS OF APES AND HUMANS

Important Terms:
anthropoids
hominoids
hominids
hominins
and those in bold font

 
 
  1. As a group the apes have been the subject of much mythology and many misconceptions.
     
  2.

“Dental Apes” appeared first, in the Oligocene, ca. 33 mya1. Dental apes are “apes” with monkey-like bodies who did not hang or swing. These include Apidium and Aegyptopithecus.

 
(Began mya.2)
Holocene  
0.012
Pleistocene  
1.8
Pliocene  
5
Miocene  
23
Oligocene  
34
Eocene  
55
Paleocene  
65

1110
204-206		 3. True apes probably originated in the early Miocene period, ca. 20 to 17 mya.
204-206   Apes flourished in the later part of the Miocene, 15 to 5 mya.
     
204-206 4.

Well represented in the fossil record by such forms as:

Sivapithecus
(Ramapithecus / Kenyapithecus / Ouranopithecus)
Dryopithecus
Proconsul
Oreopithecus
Pilopithecus
Gigantopithecus
and others

 
139-143 5. The three "great apes" (chimpanzee, orangutan, and gorilla) probably shared a common ancestor with hominids, although the approximate time of separation and the physical nature of the ancestral lineage are still the subject of much scholarly debate. (The split from the Homo line was probably ca. 13 mya for the orangutans and 5-7 mya for chimps-gorillas.)
     
   
"hominids" = modern humans and their nearest predecessors

(Homo sapiens, early Homo, Australopithecus, and Paranthropus)
     
  6. As a group, the apes are quite variable, physically and behaviorally. (See A COMPARISON OF APES AND HUMANS.)
     
    a. They vary physically--differing in size, for example, from the relatively small gibbon with little sexual dimorphism to the huge gorilla with considerable sexual dimorphism.
       
150-160   b. They vary behaviorally--their social structure, for example, includes both the territorial, closed groups of the gibbon and the free-ranging, open groups of the chimpanzee.
     
  7. Apes, for the most part, are "vegetarians" (actually frugivors and herbivores, and occasionally insectivores), but the chimpanzee has been observed hunting and consuming meat -- including other chimps' children. (So they’re really omnivores, right?)
     
122-130
207-208
425-427 		8. Many major evolutionary trends relate to brachiation and upright orientation (the ability to assume a fairly erect posture:
120
 208-216		 9. Arm swinging and erect (bipedal) or semi-erect walking resulted in a number of postcranial (below the head in bipeds, behind the head in quadrupeds) changes:
     
208   a. LEGS AND FEET
     
213, 432     i. Feet become more foot-like.
425-427     ii. Leg bones are much stouter and have more pronounced dorsal ridges.
210     iii. Leg muscle structures change.
210     iiii. Humans have developed a "closed-knee stance."
213     v. Loss of some mobility and prehensility in feet.
         
    b. PELVIS
         
431
213		     i. A number of changes take place in the pelvis. Basically, with bipedalism the pelvis becomes shorter and wider, has a "distinct pelvic bowl," and the ridges where the leg muscles attach become heavier. Humans also have a deep sciatic notch. These changes will be reviewed later with the discussion of Australopithecines ("southern apes").
138, 430     ii. External tails are lost.
         
    c. UPPER BODY
       
212, 430     i. Spine has become more massive and rigid, with fewer vertebrae. And humans developed an S-curve backbone rather than one with a simple curve.
425, 427     ii. Chest has become wider and more barrel-like.
425, 427     iii. Shoulders have broadened.
425     iiii. Relatively longer necks developed.
         
    d. ARMS AND HANDS
         
118-122
127
425-427 		    i. The forelimbs of the apes have become elongated and strengthened relative to the length of the body.
118-120
431 		    ii. Hands become more hand-like:
power grip (prehensility)
precision grip (opposability)
         
122   e. SKULL
428-429     Many changes take place in the skull:
         
429     i. The occipital condyles (the hinges on which the skull articulates with the atlas of the spine) have moved from a position far back on the occipital bone forward to an intermediary position.
212
210-213
215, 429 		    ii. The related foramen magnum (the opening through which the spinal cord passes from the cranium) has also moved forward and downward.
120-122     iii. The eyes are placed at the front of the head, resulting in stereoscopic vision and depth perception. (Humans also have color perception.)
220-222
216-217
221 		    iiii. In some adult male apes the heavy chewing and neck musculature is attached to a bony ridge that forms a sharp crest along the top of the skull (sagittal crest).
426     v. Most apes have a supraorbital ridge (a marked bulge of bone across the region over the eyes).
428     vi. Modern adult humans have a cranial base flexure (bend).
[This seems to be related to a low larynx, which is associated with a longer pharynx. See next item.]
      vii. Humans have a longer pharynx, a feature associated with human speech.
428     viii. Noses are elevated in humans, and are separated by the septum into two chambers.
      ix. In comparison with apes, human upper lips are relatively short; human's lips are never as thin as apes.
         
120-121
   f. BRAINS
113, 208


225
113
216 		    Apes and humans have a large head and brain relative to body size. The large brains are also developed more than those of other animals:
size
complexity
brain weight / body weight ratio
         
428     i. Humans have larger brain cases (for their larger brains), with highly developed frontal and occipital regions. Skull is more developed in the frontal and occipital (curved back and base of the skull) regions as the cerebrum (large rounded structure of the brain) becomes increasingly larger.
      ii. Cerebral cortex (thin layer of grey matter covering the cerebrum, also known as the neocortex) increases in area. In humans this lies in folds or convolutions over the entire surface of the cerebral hemisphere. This can often be seen in endocasts (fossilized casts of the interior of a skull).

166-172		     iii. Humans have developed "association" areas (regions of the cerebrum surrounding the sensory area).
--cognition
--language
238-239     iiii. The brain weight / body weight ratio increases.
         
    g. TEETH / JAW AND DIET
123-126     Important changes take place in dentition:
         
426-427     i. In apes jaws slant outward and downward (prognathism).
428-290     ii. Human's lower jaw is comparatively small, but always has a distinct chin.
123-126     iii. Apes have cusp patterns for the lower molars similar to those of humans. (They have a "Y-5" pattern rather than the "plus-4" bilophondonty characteristic.)
217     iiii. Apes still possess conical, daggerish canines projecting well beyond the surface level of the lower teeth and overlapping them, with corresponding diastemata (singular is diastema).
[A diastema is a space in the toothrow that accommodates one or more teeth in the opposite jaw when the mouth is closed.]


123-126		     v. Both apes and humans have: 8 incisors, 4 canines, 8 premolars, 12 molars : dental formula =

2-1-2-3
2-1-2-3
215     vi. In humans the palate is arched and curves outward at back (parabolic arch).
         
  10. Other Changes:
         
161-165   a. Trend: multiple    Right arrow.    single births.
         
120   b. Longer periods of pregnancy.
         
120-122
164-165 		  c.

Longer periods of growth to adult size and status, with corresponding prolonged periods of dependence.

And thus a greater dependence on flexible, learned behavior.

         
166-168
208
302-304
246-247
250-252
265, 267
274-275 		  d. Tool making (Note: Tool making and tool using are different features.)
         
150-160   e. The tendency to live in social groups and the permanent association of adult males with the group.
         
122   f. The tendency to diurnal (daytime) activity pattern.
         
300-308   g. The beginnings of art and ritual.
         
  11. Future:
144-148   Extinction of native habitats and poaching may mean many apes will survive only in places like zoos and laboratories.
         
  12.

For the remainder of the semester pay special attention to major areas of change related to:

bipedal walking
stereoscopic vision
grasping hand
brain development
language and speech
hunting
tool manufacture
art and ritual
agriculture
the development of civilizations
         

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