P1: 000 GGBD138FM GR3673/Dunsworth July 12, 2007 16:32 Human Origins 101 P1: 000 GGBD138FM GR3673/Dunsworth July 12, 2007 16:32 Recent Titles in the Science 101 Series Evolution 101 Janice Moore and Randy Moore Biotechnology 101 Brian Robert Shmaefsky Cosmology 101 Kristine M. Larsen Genetics 101 Michael Windelspecht P1: 000 GGBD138FM GR3673/Dunsworth July 12, 2007 16:32 Human Origins 101 Holly M. Dunsworth Science 101 GREENWOOD PRESS Westport, Connecticut r London P1: 000 GGBD138FM GR3673/Dunsworth July 12, 2007 16:32 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Dunsworth, Holly M. Human origins 101 / Holly M. Dunsworth. p. cm. — (Science 101, ISSN 1931-3950) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978–0–313–33673–7 (alk. paper) 1. Human beings—Origin. 2. Human evolution. I. Title. GN281.D865 2007 599.93  8—dc22 2007022747 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available. Copyright c  2007 by Holly M. Dunsworth All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, by any process or technique, without the express written consent of the publisher. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2007022747 ISBN-13: 978–0–313–33673–7 ISSN: 1931-3950 First published in 2007 Greenwood Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881 An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. www.greenwood.com Printed in the United States of America The paper used in this book complies with the Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National Information Standards Organization (Z39.48–1984). 10987654321 P1: 000 GGBD138FM GR3673/Dunsworth July 12, 2007 16:32 For Mom and Dad, Model Human Beings P1: 000 GGBD138FM GR3673/Dunsworth July 12, 2007 16:32 P1: 000 GGBD138FM GR3673/Dunsworth July 12, 2007 16:32 Contents Series Foreword xi Preface xiii Acknowledgments xvii Introduction xix 1. A Brief Overview of the Search for Human Origins 1 The Science of Human Origins and Evolution 1 Scientific Method 2 Forefathers 5 Piltdown 9 Dubois and Beyond 10 Current Issues 13 2. From Fish to Fishermen 17 Evidence for Evolution 17 Biogeography 18 Fossils and Geology 19 Artificial Selection 19 Homology and Analogy 19 Vestigial Traits 21 Embryology 21 Natural Selection 22 Variation 23 Heredity 23 Differential Fitness 24 Adaptation 24 From Mendel to the Modern Synthesis 25 DNA, Chromosomes, Cells, and Inheritance 27 P1: 000 GGBD138FM GR3673/Dunsworth July 12, 2007 16:32 viii Contents Forces of Evolution 30 Mutation 30 Gene Flow 31 Genetic Drift 31 Selection 31 Sexual Selection 32 Speciation 34 Clarifying Evolution 37 Taxonomy and Classification 38 Primates 41 Monkeys and Apes 44 3. Prehistoric Evidence 47 What Is a Fossil? 47 Geology and Dating Methods 50 Climate Change and Paleoenvironment 54 The Earliest Primates and Fossil Monkeys 55 Fossil Apes 57 Bushes and Trees 61 The Last Common Ancestor 62 Quadrupedal to Bipedal 64 The Earliest Hominins 65 Sahelanthropus 67 Orrorin 69 Ardipithecus 69 Australopiths 70 Australopithecus anamensis 72 Australopithecus afarensis 73 Australopithecus africanus 75 Australopithecus garhi 77 Paranthropus (Robust Australopiths) 78 The Human Genus 80 Homo erectus 82 Archaic Homo Sapiens 86 Neanderthals 88 Stone Tools 90 Anatomically Modern Humans 93 Homo Floresiensis 95 4. Modern Evidence 97 Molecular Clocks 97 Humans and Chimpanzees: The Narrow Divide 99 P1: 000 GGBD138FM GR3673/Dunsworth July 12, 2007 16:32 Contents ix Mitochondrial Eve and Y-Chromosome Adam 102 Human Adaptation 105 Sickle Cell Trait 106 Lactose Tolerance 106 Skin Color 107 Ancient DNA and the Neanderthal Genome 109 5. Interpreting the Evidence 113 Big Brains and Intelligence 113 Evolutionary Psychology 117 Bipedalism 118 Reduced Body Hair 122 Body Size, Shape, and Strength 124 Teeth 126 Tool Use 128 Diet 131 Scavenging and Hunting 133 Fire 136 Reproduction 137 Language 140 Human Revolution 143 Altruism and the Human Colony 146 WarorPeace? 148 6. Beyond Human Origins 151 Multiregional and Out of Africa Models 151 Worldwide Dispersal 155 Will We Evolve or Will We Go Extinct? 158 Deep Impact 160 Rewinding and Replaying Evolution 162 Appendix A: Human and Chimpanzee Skeletal Anatomy 165 Appendix B: Geologic Time Scale 167 Appendix C: Recommended Resources 169 Glossary 171 Selected Bibliography 179 Index 185 P1: 000 GGBD138FM GR3673/Dunsworth July 12, 2007 16:32 [...]... bibliography for places to start your own quest for human origins Chapter 1 begins the book with a brief history of the search for human origins and human evolutionary studies As a consequence of selfconsciousness, humans have probably been curious about their origins since the first hominin developed the mental capacity to do so But the modern study of human origins did not seriously begin until the middle... to human origins and evolutionary science prior to the 20th century Furthermore, much of the theoretical and philosophical background of the science of human origins 14:31 5 P1: 000 GGBD138C01 6 GR3673/Dunsworth July 12, 2007 Human Origins 101 and evolution is based in Europe because that is where science as we know it was born But for Europeans and non-Europeans alike, the quest to discover human origins. .. of humankind would be found in Africa But some, like Ernest Haeckel and Eug` ne Dubois, saw sime ilarities between humans and orangutans of Indonesia and anticipated that human origins occurred there Eug` ne Dubois was an extraordie nary character in the history of human origins science He packed up 14:31 P1: 000 GGBD138C01 GR3673/Dunsworth July 12, 2007 A Brief Overview of the Search for Human Origins. .. modern genetics, Chapter 4 includes advances that the field of genetics has made in our understanding of human origins and evolution Through DNA, human ancestry can be traced as far back as the origins of life and multicellular organisms With increasingly powerful biotechnology, the search for human origins is no longer simply based on dusty fossils and artifacts Today, artifacts within the genome are... the first recorded philosophy on human nature and human origins They considered humans to be part of the natural world just like other organisms and put them at the top of the “Great Chain of Being.” With the spread of Christianity, the chain was adopted into a ladder with God at the top, angels just below him, humans split into ranked racial categories below angels, nonhuman primates under them, mammals,... 2007 1 A Brief Overview of the Search for Human Origins THE SCIENCE OF HUMAN ORIGINS AND EVOLUTION Whether they study Ice Age cave paintings, chimpanzee DNA, or the bones of the first tiny squirrel-like primates from 60 million years ago, scientists are asking the same questions: Where did we come from and how did we get here? Although the search for human origins draws upon research from many scientific... of the genetics, behavior, biology, ecology, and evolution of humans and nonhuman primates that fall under disciplines like “paleoanthropology,” which is the study of human evolution (Figure 1.1), and “primatology,” which is the study of living primate behavior and ecology Biological anthropology does not stand alone in the search for human origins The other anthropological fields of archaeology and cultural... was neither an ancestor of chimpanzees or humans because it may have belonged to a lineage that went extinct and did not contribute to our evolution or to that of our ape cousins The overarching framework in the quest for human origins is a theory that has achieved factual status: evolution by natural selection The scientifically rigorous investigation of human origins and evolution was able to flourish... not begin to make musical instruments until at least 100,000 years ago Each acquisition of a human trait affected events further along the human evolutionary path It is because of this broader quest for human origins that there is more to discuss than simply “200,000 years ago in sub-Saharan Africa.” If every human drew their family tree all the way back to the beginning of life on planet Earth, each... your 16:32 P1: 000 GGBD138FM GR3673/Dunsworth July 12, 2007 Preface great-great-great grandmother emigrated to America on a boat from Ireland It is my hope that readers of Human Origins 101 take away this important tenet of human origins studies: we are modified African apes that, despite seemingly great variation in biological and cultural ornamentation, share a common African ancestor We are all one . 2007 16:32 Human Origins 101 P1: 000 GGBD138FM GR3673/Dunsworth July 12, 2007 16:32 Recent Titles in the Science 101 Series Evolution 101 Janice Moore and Randy Moore Biotechnology 101 Brian Robert. Shmaefsky Cosmology 101 Kristine M. Larsen Genetics 101 Michael Windelspecht P1: 000 GGBD138FM GR3673/Dunsworth July 12, 2007 16:32 Human Origins 101 Holly M. Dunsworth Science 101 GREENWOOD PRESS Westport,. M. Human origins 101 / Holly M. Dunsworth. p. cm. — (Science 101, ISSN 1931-3950) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978–0–313–33673–7 (alk. paper) 1. Human beings—Origin. 2. Human