ENVS 1500 Lecture Notes - Lecture 23: Australopithecus, Relative Dating, Paleomagnetism

• School: York University
• Department: Environmental Studies
• Course: ENVS 1500
• Professor: Gail Fraser

Document Summary

Physical human biology within the framework of evolution. Relative dating something is older or younger than something else. Radioactive isotopes: potassium-40 half life of 1. 25 billion years and produces argon-40, 1-5 mya range in rock or fossilized bone, carbon-14 half life of 5730, recent 75,000 years. Earliest stages of hominid evolution were in africa (fossil records and molecular studies) Homo erectus 1. 8 mya 200,000 yrs ago. Archaic homo sapiens transition between erectus and australopithecus 400,000 . Neanderthals 130,000 10, 000 years ago. Sapiens arose in africa, left 50,000 years ago and replaced homo erectus. Bone tools, harpoons, bow and arrow, boats. Art work (cave paintings, statues, musical instruments) Anatomical perfection of the voice box (led to language) Alternate hypothesis to that proposed in journey of man: multi-regional hypothesis. Arachaic h. sapiens in different regions evolved together into modern h. sapiens. Migration important component in the transfer of new mutations.