Sunday, December 8, 2013

Spotlight on Students: Physical Anthropology

The following is a featured assignment by one of my Anth 102 students, Scott Bower.  



INTRODUCTION
In the below paragraphs I will discuss what defines us as “human”.  I will also provide information on the first species in fossil record that I would define as “human”.  This species is that of Homo habilis, which primarily inhabited southern and eastern Africa around 1.6-2 million years ago.  This species is a successor of Australopithecus and a predecessor to Homo erectus. Homo habilis appears to have broken many of the barriers that separated humans from apes and is the first chronological species in the genius Homo.
WHAT IS “HUMAN” AND WHOM WERE THE FIRST
I believe a variety of characteristics define the human being.  One of the most obvious is the human locomotion pattern of true erect bipedalism.  The first example of true bipedalism in the Homo fossil record is that of Homo habilis, which was discovered in 1960 at Olduvai Gorge by Jonathan Leaky.  The “Olduvai foot” was reconstructed in 1960 and demonstrated a stout basal bone of the big toe aligned with the other toes.[i]  This is in contrast to the large and divergent big toes of monkeys and apes and demonstrates strong evidence of true bipedalism.
            Another characteristic that defines us as humans is the ability to make tools and the use of vocalized language for communications between each other.  H. habilis, which literally means “handy man”, has been associated with 11 different kind of tools that are known as the “Olduvan industry”[ii]. These abilities are correlated, largely, with an enlarged braincase.  The braincase of H. habilis is, although small in comparison to modern-day humans, at around 674CC[iii] (Homo sapiens 1600CC), may have been large enough to provide the degree of intelligence required to manufacture crude stone tools and speak a basic form of language.  This is a monumental leap in evolutionary biology where primates evolved away from ape-like features into a more human form.
            A further important characteristic of humans is the formation of complex social structures.  The fact that H. habilis is associated with tool making in conjunction with an enlarged braincase, aiding in the possibility of H. habilis obtaining the ability to speak; the probability of some type of complex social structure is great.  The only reason why H. habilis  maintained the ability to construct a more complex assortment of tools would be to aid in a hunter gatherer society.  This formation of a “society” is key in understanding the evolution and origin of Homo sapiens.
            Also unique to H. habilis was their ability to construct and live in shelters, which also aided in the ability to form complex sociocultural structures.  In 1966, Henry de Lumley discovered a camp that was inhabited by H. habilis.  This camp located in Terra Amata, France contained evidence of large huts constructed of animal skins.  Also discovered at the site was further evidence of advanced stone tools and the ability of H. habilis to use fire.  This discovery was the first evidence of a primate being able to construct and live in artificial dwellings and is a monumental step in human evolution.  
            CONCLUSION
In conclusion, Homo habilis appears to be the first species in the fossil record that had the ability to form many of the fundamental characteristics that define “human”.  Although, Homo habilis had many divergent qualities in comparison to that of Homo sapiens, they were the first to develop the basic foundations of what makes us human.  In my opinion, Homo habilis is the first species in the fossil record that can be considered “archaic human”.  I believe they had too many human like qualities, running in conjunction, to not be considered the first true primitive form of human.
REFERENCES
[1] Graham Brown, Stephanie Fairfax, Nidhi Sarao, and S. Anonymous (2013). Human Evolution. Retrieved from http://tolweb.org/treehouses/?treehouse_id=3710
[1] Graham Brown, Stephanie Fairfax, Nidhi Sarao, and S. Anonymous (2013). Human Evolution. Retrieved from http://tolweb.org/treehouses/?treehouse_id=3710
[1] Philip L. Stein & Bruce M. Rowe (2014). Physical Anthropology 11th Ed: Early Species of the Genus Homo. Pg. 325. Fig. 14.2
 

18 comments:

johanna trelles said...

it would be neat to see a picture of the tools they found.

Dr. Christine Elisabeth Boston said...

Pics are available in the textbook and an upcoming blog post. :)

Anonymous said...

this article gives information on what the class anthropology is going to be about and is very useful for people who are not sure what the class is about. Very helpful
briana banuelos
anthro 102 1001

Anonymous said...

I like the definitions of humans like "handy man". it shows we have the ability to make a wide variety of tools and use them for a number of activities. Our ability to create large structures shows a lot about how our species has evolved.

Great article!

Zachary Forrester
anthro 101 3001 summer

Unknown said...

"I think therefore i am" from an unnamed Shakespearean play puts it into perspective. However, the question still remains why did we evolve? What made us evolve? Why do we have a complex vocal pattern? How and why did we decide to write? These are some of the questions that need answering yet today. What does it mean to be human? To me it is being as nice to your fellow human. From a biological standpoint it is the ability to walk upright.

Dr. Christine Elisabeth Boston said...

As noted in this class natural selection is not a purposeful process and traits are selected for based on an organism's environment. So those traits that are beneficial are more likely to be passed on than those that are not. There are other factors that drive evolution aside from natural selection. You will need to know them for your final exams, so I recommend reading up on the topic.

Hannah Little said...

Why didn't the ancestors of apes evolve to be bipedal? Was it just not necessary for them, even though we probably experienced the same ecological changes and struggles? I also wonder about brain size, because we discussed in class how the Homo Floresiensis had a small brain, but didn't they still make tools? How critical is brain size to intelligence?

Dr. Christine Elisabeth Boston said...

Great questions, Hannah, but if you think back to class then you can consider the concepts of natural selection and how that is a driving force in evolution. If nature does not require and "select" for specific traits they do not get passed down to future generations. As the film in class pointed out there were very specific reasons why humans evolved to be bipeds, which may not have been a necessity for other nonhuman primates. Also, brain size has nothing to do with intelligence. It is brain composition that plays a huge role in intelligence.

D.Traywick said...

It's good that the more beneficial and necessary traits will be passed on more than likely. What is the defying concept that made us evolve though?

Anonymous said...

S.Carter
Different traits I see in humans today validates everything in this blog for me. Its funny to me sometimes how I relate the things I learn in class about where we come from to people today and the things we do.

Mara Caudel said...

This paper was a great way to review the material for our test on Monday! "Handy man" is a great way to remember Homo habilis for this test.

Anonymous said...

Jovie Black
Nice paper.
Would a different species be considered human, if the retain the characteristics that makes us human?
I was just talking to a friend about the evolution of humans, and what she believed was true. She thinks that we are just intelligent mammals.

Julian Anderson said...

This Blog post gives a lot of information on what the anthropology is and what the class is about, I remember going over these topics in class and watching informative videos that left me wanting to learn more. All and all this was a great post

Anonymous said...

Wow this was a great blog I never knew that the first human beings were called Homo habilis . I had never heard of them only until after reading this blog what's so cool is that all this was found just from a foot I think that is great how something so little as that led to such a great discovery. - Mykia Chaney

Anonymous said...

Great Paper, This Blog post gives a lot of information on the the first human beings such as the Homo habilis. i think we have went over the homo species in class, very interesting to learn about.
-Micah Seals

Unknown said...

My name is Aleisha watts, and I think this post is informative about creative thinking information. Like they associated hand man to the creation and use of tools. I think it is a great thing that we know what the Homo Habilis is because it's a piece of the world we still need answers to. Since we have something to start on, it gives the other people something to follow and find out more about to expand the knowledge of the past humans and animals there once were.

Anonymous said...

Now I just have a few questions. I would like to know how do what Homo existed first? And the other question is how do you know what are australopithecus known for?
-Jaden Clark

Dr. Christine Elisabeth Boston said...

Jaden, I am surprised to see you ask this since we covered the answers to both of your questions in class when we covered hominid evolution. I encourage you to go back through your notes and the textbook to find the answer yourself. :)