Name: Daniel L.

Solano
ANTH 101
10/25/2024

Homework Assignment #2: Paleoanthropology at work

1. Dr. Meave Leakey: “Piecing Together Human Ancestors” (5 points)

https://youtu.be/ZsvRi59--IQ

1a. Where in the world is Dr. Meave Leakey working?

She is working in Lake Turkana, located in northern Kenya.

1b. How does Dr. Meave Leakey’s team spend the majority of their time?
Dr. Meave Leakey’s team spends the majority of their time walking on the surface of the area. She had a
crew of local people who were skilled at identifying fragments of bone and could tell what part of the
body and what animal it came from.

1c. How long did it take Dr. Meave Leakey to piece together the skull they had found?
It took Dr. Leakey six weeks to piece together the skull they had found. She spent her afternoons
working on it with her daughter.

1d. What does Dr. Meave Leakey say “always happens in the last week” of your fieldwork season?
She said that "the most exciting discoveries always happen in the last week" of the fieldwork season.

1e. What is the importance of the fossil discoveries from the Turkana Basin from Dr. Leakey’s
decades of research? (briefly summarize what you thought was important.)
The fossil discoveries from the Turkana Basin are significant to us because they provide evidence for the
evolution of humans. The discoveries include the first human ancestor to move out of Africa, Homo
erectus, and the earliest known member of the genus Homo, Kenyanthropus platyops. This enhances our
knowledge of the evolutionary process.

2. Dr. Louise Leakey: “Digging for Humanity’s Origins” (5 points)

https://youtu.be/V-TGxJI4JwA

2a. How many other species of “upright, walking apes” have there been in the last 6-8 million
years?
There have been at least 16 other species of upright, walking apes in the last 6-8 million years.

2b. To become a fossil, what does Dr. Louise Leakey recommend you do?
She recommends that you die somewhere where your bones will be rapidly buried. You then hope that
the Earth moves in such a way as to bring the bones back up to the surface, and then you hope that one
of us will walk around and find a small piece of you again.

2c. What is the evidence that the Homo erectus boy was looked after by members of his group?
According to the video, it is that he had a bad back, probably from an injury as a child, and yet he
survived to adulthood. So, this suggests that he must have been cared for by others in the group, who
helped him with tasks that he could no longer do for himself.

2d. What is the name of the hominin species that was found in Indonesia? What makes this species
interesting? (2 points)
It is called Homo floresiensis. This species is interesting because it's a dwarf species of human with an
average height of only about 1 meter that lived until 18,000 years ago. It's the most recent extinct human
species, and it's the only known human species to have lived on the island of Flores.

3. Dr. Zeresenay Alemseged: “Finding the Origins of Humanity” (5 points)

https://youtu.be/JVbl-IaklIo

3a. What is the nickname of the “first child” fossil? How old was she when she died? (2 points)
The nickname of the "first child" fossil is Selam, and she was three years old when she died.

3b. How does Dr. Alemseged explain the fact that we can find the fossils of animals that needed
lots of lush food in areas that are barren and harsh today?
He explains that we can find fossils of animals that required abundant food in areas that are now dry and
harsh because the climate was different in the past. These regions used to be much wetter and more
fertile, allowing them to support a greater variety of life.

3c. Why is it so rare to find the fossils of a young hominin?

It's so rare because young hominins are very fragile and their bones are easily broken. They are also
much smaller than adults, so they are more difficult to spot.

3d. Alemseged ends his talk by saying we, as humans, are in a position to influence the future of
our planet. He also mentions the “chronic problems of Africa.” What does he say we all must
doing going forward when it comes to these problems?

Alemseged says that we all must do our part to address these problems, such as climate change, poverty,
and disease. In addition, he encourages us to promote a positive attitude towards Africa and to help
Africa walk upright and forward.

4. Dr. Lee Berger: “Discovering Homo naledi: Journey to Find a Human Ancestor” Parts 1, 2, and
3 (6 points)

Watch Part 1 as an introduction: https://youtu.be/36_LNsN9W3s

Part 2: https://youtu.be/Z04rDGM7pk8

4a. Why was Dr. Berger so excited by the photos he was from the Rising Star Cave System?
Dr. Berger was excited by the photos he received from the Rising Star Cave System, recognizing they
depicted something remarkable. The images included a skull and other bones that clearly belonged to a
hominin, but they were unlike anything he had encountered before. The bones were small and delicate,
exhibiting a unique mix of characteristics that indicated the existence of a new species of human
ancestor.

4b. How many hours did it take to “prepare” the skull that had been found at Malapa from the
Part 1 video?
It took 45 minutes to prepare the skull.

4c. How did Dr. Berger recruit anthropologists to conduct the excavations at Dinaledi Cave?
By posting a Facebook ad, he recruited young, early-career scientists and anthropologists to conduct the.
Dr. Berger was looking for individuals who were passionate about paleoanthropology, physically fit, and
willing to work in challenging conditions.

Bonus (+2 points): Dr. Berger says that 80% of the scientists who fit the description of his search
were women, and the six scientists he selected were all women. Why were women more likely to fit
the job description than men, and what term from the “Mechanisms of Genetic Evolution” lecture
explains a possible difference between male and female applicants?

These women were more likely to fit this job description than men because they are typically smaller
and more slender than men. As a result, this makes them better suited for working in tight spaces, such
as caves. Additionally, women are often more patient and detail-oriented than men, which is important
for tasks like excavation and data collection. The term that explains a possible difference between male
and female applicants is sexual selection.

Part 3: https://youtu.be/RqyI_0H6uHM

4d. What are some of the physical characteristics of the Homo naledi fossils and why is this
interesting?

The characteristics of the Homo naledi fossils are their small brain size, human-like feet, and primitive
shoulder and hand. These physical characteristics are interesting because they suggest that Homo naledi
was a complex species with a mix of primitive and advanced features. According to the video, it's also
possible that Homo naledi was a transitional species between earlier hominins and more modern
humans.

4e. What was Dr. Berger’s explanation for how all those Homo naledi fossils came to be deposited
in the Dinaledi Cave?
He explains that they were intentionally placed there by other Homo naledi individuals. Dr. Berger
believes that this behavior suggests a level of complex social behavior, including a possible belief in an
afterlife.

4f. What does Dr. Berger say that the Homo naledi fossils should inspire us to do?
Dr. Berger said that the Homo naledi fossils should inspire us to continue to explore the world around us
and to never stop asking questions. He believes that there are still many amazing discoveries to be made
in our world and that we should all be curious and have a open mind to new ideas.
5. Imagine you are a professor teaching Anthropology 101, and you are creating a homework
assignment for your wonderful and brilliant students. Pick one of the articles or videos in the long
list that’s been provided with the assignment description in BrightSpace. Write TWO questions
based on the information in that article or video, and give the answers to those questions. Include
the name of the video or article you looked at. (4 points)

Age of 'Hobbit' species revised

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-35930979?ocid=socialflow_twitter

1. 1. What evidence indicates that Homo floresiensis likely used certain tools, and how is this
connected to their extinction?

Cave evidence shows that the stone tools found with Homo floresiensis were made from silicified tuff,
which the "Hobbits" preferred. These tools are around 50,000 years old and likely show their
craftsmanship. When modern humans arrived, using materials like chert, there may have been
competition for resources, which could have led to the Hobbits struggling for food and land, eventually
resulting to their extinction.

2. What are the possible genetic effects of the interaction between Homo floresiensis and modern humans,
as mentioned in the article?

The article highlights that there might have been interactions, like mating, between Homo floresiensis
and modern humans since they lived in the same area for a while. If that happened, it could have caused
some mutations or DNA mixing that still affects our genes today. This idea raises interesting questions
about our ancestry and how different early human species influenced who we are now.
 Work Cited

Amos, Jonathan. “Age of ‘Hobbit’ species revised.” BBC News, 30 Mar. 2016,

www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-35930979?ocid=socialflow_twitter.

National Geographic. “Meave Leakey: Piecing Together Human Ancestors | Nat Geo Live.” YouTube, 24

Sept. 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsvRi59--IQ.

National Geographic. “Discovering Homo Naledi: Journey to Find a Human Ancestor, Part 1 | Nat Geo

Live.” YouTube, 27 June 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=36_LNsN9W3s.

National Geographic. “Discovering Homo Naledi: Journey to Find a Human Ancestor, Part 2 | Nat Geo

Live.” YouTube, 4 July 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z04rDGM7pk8.

National Geographic. “Discovering Homo Naledi: Journey to Find a Human Ancestor, Part 3 | Nat Geo

Live.” YouTube, 11 July 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqyI_0H6uHM.

TED. “Louise Leakey: Digging for humanity’s origins.” YouTube, 23 July 2008,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-TGxJI4JwA.

TED. “Zeresenay Alemseged: Finding the origins of humanity.” YouTube, 18 Sept. 2007,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVbl-IaklIo.