Chapter 9 Studying the Human Past Before we start on the hominin fossil record it helps to have some knowledge

as to what we can learn about the past and how we can learn it. Osteology: Paleopathology: 1. How do we sex a skeleton !hat data can be used How reliable is the data "s there one part of the skeleton that can be used to reliably sex a skeleton "s overall si#e a reliable indicator for sex

$. How do we age a skeleton !hat data can be used How reliable is the data "s there one part of the skeleton that can reliably be used to sex a skeleton Or do multiple indicators need to be used %. !hat can we learn about the health and life of an individual from skeletal remains &an we know what activities they engaged in &an we know what foods they ate !hat diseases they had !hat can we know about trephination &an we know why they did it Fossils '. "f you are looking for early hominin remains why is Olduvai (orge a good place to go ). "f you find a fossil what is the most important thing to note *if you don+t note it the fossil is largely useless for scientific purposes, Dating Techniques -. !hat is the difference between a relative dating techni.ue and an absolute dating techni.ue !hen absolute dating techni.ues were developed starting in the 1/)0+s it revolutioni#ed some of the timelines which had previously been developed. !hy would this have happened

1. How are relative dating techni.ues used to determine the relative age of a fossil

2. !hat type of absolute dating techni.ue would be used to date a 3eandertal find from %04000 years ago

/. !hat type of dating techni.ue would be used to date volcanic rock $mya !ould this techni.ue be useful on a Homo erectus fossil

10. !hat is biostratigraphy "s it useful for relative or absolute dating

11. 5ossils are said to be rarer than diamonds. 6he vast ma7ority of organisms that die do not fossili#e. 8nder what conditions does fossili#ation occur

1$. 6aphonomy basically looks at what happens to an organism after death. !hat is the text definition of taphonomy

1%. How did taphonomy change our understandings of early hominin+s lives in 9outh :frica !hat were the early assumptions and what were the understandings after further analysis

1'. !hat is the molecular time clock and how is it used

1). :t one time it was thought that humans and apes shared a common ancestor some 1$;1)mya. 6his was based on the <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< differences between humans and apes as well as a 1$ million year old fossil. :nalysis of the molecular time clock today reveals that humans and apes shared a common ancestor some <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< mya.

1-. Park states that the most important thing to ask is= 1, <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< genes differ between humans and chimps4 $, <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< much these genes differ4 and <<<<<<<<<<< those genes do.

Read pgs 347 3!" on #orensic anthropology. $hat can %e learn a&out the li#e and death o# 't(i through scienti#ic methods) 1. How was Ot#i+s body preserved $. How old was Ot#i when he died !hat methods of dating were used to determine this %. !hen did Ot#i live !hat methods of dating were used to determine this *were they relative and>or absolute4 what type of absolute dating, '. !hat does Ot#i+s mummified remains tell us about his life and lifestyle *his teeth4 body4 etc., 9pecifically what was his diet ?id he always get enough to eat

). ?o we know how Ot#i died Contemporary Re#lections $ho '%ns 'ld *ones) 6he 3:(P@: :ct of 1//0 set right many in7ustices of the past. Historically the bones of 3ative :mericans were often not accorded any sacred status. Bones were dug up for sport4 research4 etc. However it has also lead to the taking of remains and artifacts from museums and out of the hands of scientists. 6he case of Aennick Ban is interesting. !hat is the story of this fossil !hat is the debate over this fossil "n your opinion what should be done with this fossil "s there a compromise between honoring cultural heritage and access for scientific research