ANT100Y1 Lecture 4: 4. Primate and Human Evolution

• School: UTSG
• Department: Anthropology
• Course: ANT100Y1
• Professor: Ivan Kalmar

Document Summary

Paleocene: 65. 5, 55. 8 million years ago, geography and climate, very different from present-day conditions, hotter, more humid, no ice, paleocene and primate-like mammals: pledisapiformes. Body size: tiny, shrew-sizes to size of small dog. Niche: likely solitary, nocturnal, quadrupeds, well-developed sense of smell. Used to be classified as primates because of primates-like teeth and limbs that are adapted to an arboreal lifestyle: recent: plesiadapids not primates. Enlarged incisors: huge cap front teeth and behind. Not using scientific method only scientific opinion-phonetics, biased opinion: more recent: plesiadapids & others are primates. Cladistics analysis to determine genetic origin of primates. Eocene: 55. 8-33. 9 million years ago, continents shifted, climate: continuous reduction in global average temperatures reaching similar temps to modern day, two main eocene primate families: adapidae. Mainly arboreal quadrupeds, some were specialized leapers. Smaller adapids ate mostly fruit and insects, larger forms ate more fruit and leaves. Led to lemurs: two main eocene primate families: onomyidae. Onomyids thought to have been specialized leapers.